January Guests: Janeane Garofalo, Seth Rudetsky, John Mulaney
I love this show!!! It was really the funnest. I have never seen a show at Mo Pitkin’s before. This show was in the upstairs theater. It was small but cozy and the place was packed.
I was very excited because I love Janeane Garofalo and have never seen her live and in person. She waxed obsessive about Rome. Not the place, but the TV series. I am in awe of her.
An added bonus was John Mulaney of Oh, Hello fame, who I have seen before and who is not only funny but totally crush-worthy. He gave a hilarious history lesson, both informative and silly.
Seth Rudetsky brought proof that the 70s was really the most surreal time in network television. You’d believe me if you saw Tony Randall’s appearance on the Brady Brunch variety show.
I have to say that Julie & Jackie were the highlight of the show for me. They were awesome together. The night started off with a slideshow of things they are currently obsessed with like Carly Simon & James Taylor as a couple and OJ: the drink and the man. There was also some talk of Screech’s sex tape and for that, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch Saved by the Bell again. Thankfully, they didn’t show any footage. Julie ended the show with a rousing rendition of Carly Simon’s Let the River Run while a slideshow of photos of Carly Simon who looked like she may have been peeing ran in the background. Jackie has a special place in my heart because she wore a New England Patriots jersey and kept checking the score throughout the show. As a fellow Pats fan, I appreciated this. Julie won me over with her Carol Channing dummy. I read an article in Vanity Fair recently about how women aren’t funny. I’d like to invite the author of that to come see this show because Julie and Jackie are effortlessly funny and now I’m obsessed with them.
Next show is Thursday, 2/20 at 9 pm. You should totally be there.
Find out more about Julie and Jackie
I was a big fan of Hot Tub when it was at The PIT so I was curious to see what would become of the beloved alternative comedy variety show in a bigger venue like Comix, where it now appears on a monthly basis. I wasn’t disappointed. I love the space: brand new, clean and a little swanky. The stage is too small for the blow up kiddie pool they used to have at The PIT, so instead they use a projection of a real hot tub as a backdrop.
The ticket cost $15 plus a $5 handling charge, but thankfully no drink minimum as the drinks are pricey. My friend’s well vodka and soda cost $8 but your standard girly drinks, like cosmos, ran from $11-16. There are food options as well, and since I was hungry I chose the eggplant and zucchini chips appetizer ($8) and a coke ($4). It was tasty, albeit a little cold.
Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal were fabulous as always. They work so well together and it’s hard to tell whether it’s scripted or improv or both because they are so natural and hilarious and lovable. They should have their own tv show. I would watch it. It would be way better than Leno. Check out video clips of these two performing.
The line up for this show was incredible, starting with Michael Showalter and ending with David Cross. Yay!
Despite their name, the Cool Kids’ Club is an event for uncool kids.
In a style popularized by Mystery Science Theatre 3000, the five hosts, Jeff, Matt, Kevin, Daniel and Steve show public domain educational films from the 50s (funny just by themselves) and add their own witty commentary. “Dating Do’s and Don’ts”, “Speaking of Rubber” and “Build Your Vocabulary” were some of the more benign films. They also showed “Boys Beware” in which young boys are warned about the evils of homosexuality and “Easy Does It” a film which illustrates that even though women are the weaker sex, their household chores can still be difficult. My personal favorite was “Soapy the Germ Fighter” (pictured), in which a young boy dreams of a giant bar of soap who teaches him the virtues of washing his hands.
If you’ve ever seen MST3K, then you have an idea of the commentary — responses to questions asked on-screen, pop-culture references thrown in where they don’t fit and speculations of the characters inner monologue. The hosts got a lot of laughs, abut they also got plenty of crickets. Just like uncoolkids, they were trying to be funny, but it didn’t always work. And even at their most clever, there is no way I would describe our hosts as “cool” (at least, not like Fonzi cool).
If you ever attend a meeting of the Cool Kids’ Club, you would be wise to bring along a six pack, like most of audience tonight did. This was the second meeting, and while only half the films were new, all the jokes were. This means that you can attend again and again.
Don’t let it blow your mind, but the UNCOOLKIDS whole-heartedly recommend the Cool Kids’ Club (but only because they really aren’t).
I went to The Greg Johnson Show at Rififi on Friday night for the very first time. All you need to do to get in is buy a drink; my Jack and Coke cost $7, a fair price for a drink and a show. Last night, Dan Newbower, comic and Rififi regular, hosted the show for Greg. Dan’s shtick is the politically incorrect kind, and he sometimes makes the audience uncomfortable in a completely hilarious way. Even if he’s trying out new material that fails, he’s fun to watch. This being my first time at the show, I was a little upset that Greg didn’t host, but I enjoyed myself so much that I will definitely be back again.
Of the five other comics that performed, the standouts in this show were definitely Greg Johnson, Jordan Carlos, and Chelsea Peretti. Greg Johnson is so damn likable and very funny; the kind of comic who seems to really get a kick out of what he’s doing. Jordan Carlos of “The Colbert Report” (where, according to comedycentral.com, he appears as “Allan,” Steven’s long-suffering black friend) was next. I’m too uncool to have cable, so iI was unaware of his act, but he was hilarious. I haven’t laughed that hard in ages, tears were streaming down my face. Also, he gets bonus points for being a super nice guy. I chatted with him afterwards, even casually plugged my own upcoming show at The PIT, and he sincerely sounded like he was going to come check it out. I had seen Chelsea Peretti before and thought she was just okay, but last night she was quite funny.
Next week, guests include Michael Showalter and Leo Allen! Check it out, but buyer beware, Rififi is small, so you must get there early if you want to get in when they have the big names performing. I would say check it out a couple hours in advance and see what the scene is like. If you can get in, it’s definitely worth it to see your favorite comics perform in an intimate setting.
Would Lenny Bruce be proud of the homage to him that was held on Wednesday night at the 92 St Y?
Maybe.
Everyone was shocking. Eugene Mirman punctuated each joke with the word ‘cocksucker’. Julie Goldman and Judy Gold spoke openly about their lesbianism, much to the dismay of the elderly group behind me. Lewis Black went on one of his trademark tirades about the state of our union. Surprise guest Sarah Silverman won the gold prize (and the audience’s heart) for her sexually scandalous remarks. Jeff Garlin and Todd Barry didn’t have shocking subject material, but did make ample use of the word fuck and I believe cunnilingus was also mentioned. But it was the author of the evening, Jonathan Ames, that I think paid the biggest tribute when he told a story about ending up in a run-down motel with a black transexual, smoking crack on Christmas Eve.
Lenny Bruce was the first comic that shocked people — sometimes it was just to be shocking — but most of the time it was done with sensitivity, intellect, insightfullness and passion. Most of the performers last night were just going through the motions; Black rehashed jokes from his show at Carnegie Hall, Mirman played a phone conversation that has been on his website for a year and Barry did his entire set that’s on MySpace right now, word for word (I think he even had on the same outfit). Ames alone seemed to tap into that special something that made Bruce legendary.
But that’s not to say that I didn’t like the show. One of my problems is that I love all of these comedians and go see them every chance I get, so of course it starts to feel stale. The crowd, mostly older, seemed to appreciate the evening — and since most of them probably saw Lenny Bruce live I should just shut the fuck up and defer to their opinion.
The thing about Sweet is that there’s a host (Seth Herzog) a revolving DJ friend, a bunch of guest comics and a mom. So it feels like you’re hanging out in someones living room and a bunch of guys are just taking turns telling stories.
That was especially true this Thursday at Sweet when the guests were Will Frankin, whose non-sensical ramblings only made sense to those who knew him, Jakob Lodwick, who brought a home movie of Mr God vs. Mr Gay, and Leo Allen, who was pretty much making things up off the top of his head.
This particular Thursday was special because it was also the host of the LVHRD Society’s ‘Dance Hard’ auditions. Judges Kristen Sloane of the NYC Ballet, John Viener of the Family Guy and actors Josh Charles, Sam Rockwell were brought in to decide among the seven contestants who would be eligible to move on the the real competition on September 12th. Unfortunately, it turned into a mass of ironic hipsterness. Only one girl (Sharon, in the video) could actually dance, and little did she know she would become the butt of several chauvinistic and racist jokes by Viener. After almost making another girl cry, the judges decided to send two contestants to the finals, Sharon and Drunky Brewster(pictured), who through her alcoholic haze was able to say English words, but not put them together in any kind of coherent sentence.
Any fan of comedy should stop by the Slipper Room on Thursday nights. It’s reminiscent of being in high school and somehow ending up at the house of someone you don’t know very well. Maybe you don’t get all the jokes, but over all you think it’s funny and have a good time. Sweet is the place where comics go to perform for each other.
The day before it’s release on Subpop records Eugene Mirman decided to stage a protest of En Garde Society. Why was he protesting? That’s a good question, considering En Garde Society is Mirman’s own comedy CD.
This protest was arranged because it seemed like the perfect way to promote Mirman’s absurdest comedy. The plan was to start in Union Square and march down 14th street to The Beauty Bar where there would be a screening of the DVD. However, the event was half-assed at best. I don’t think any of the organizers thought they would get away with it, so they were much more concerned with getting in and out quickly than letting the crowd know what was going on. The result was a lot of loyal fans standing around with signs not knowing what to do with themselves. I overheard more than one person say, “Should we chant or something?”
After handing out all of his anti-Eugene placards, Mirman stood in front of the crowd with a loudspeaker and started protesting himself. About two minutes in, he admitted to the crowd that he was surprised the cops hadn’t stopped him yet. After 5 minutes and a round of “Boo-gene, Fuck you-gene” he led the crowd to the bar, where everyone piled in and started drinking. The whole protest had only taken fifteen minutes.
I was at Pianos in Oct 2005 when this album was recorded [review], and really liked it. I even think the protest/publicity stunt could’ve been a lot of fun; but it wasn’t, it was kind-of ‘eh’. I hate to say it, but I don’t think Mirman had the balls to pull this off. He should have been much louder, stayed there much longer, and taken it much further. However, I do think you should buy the CD and go see him in a regular venue, cause he’s usually funny as hell.
“Winner gets a trip to vegas, the chance to perform at our big Rock Honors show, and a spot in the US Air Guitar Championships in NYC. (we have some hott Gibson guitars up for grabs, too. kinky mirrored Gibsons, i might add.)”
Check the site for all the details and some funny videos.
Last night I went by The Slipper Room where Jack Kukoda was hosting I Like Your Style: A Variety Show. Despite being packed, I was able to find seats up front. Usually at events like these only one or two acts are good, but last night every single act was hilarious. Performers included: Roger Hailes, Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal (of Hot Tub), Trophey Dad, Elephant Larry, Jessica Delfino (singing about her magical pussy) and Seth Herzog dancing to the Wonder Woman theme:
In between acts Kukoda handed out raffle prizes including a Comedy Central prize package and two Coach bags. All proceeds went to the James F. Keppel Scholarship Foundation, so besides being an incredible line-up it all went to a good cause.
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I was a big fan of Hot Tub when it was at 
In a style popularized by Mystery Science Theatre 3000, the five hosts, Jeff, Matt, Kevin, Daniel and Steve show public domain educational films from the 50s (funny just by themselves) and add their own witty commentary. “Dating Do’s and Don’ts”, “Speaking of Rubber” and “Build Your Vocabulary” were some of the more benign films. They also showed “Boys Beware” in which young boys are warned about the evils of homosexuality and “Easy Does It” a film which illustrates that even though women are the weaker sex, their household chores can still be difficult. My personal favorite was “Soapy the Germ Fighter” (pictured), in which a young boy dreams of a giant bar of soap who teaches him the virtues of washing his hands.
This particular Thursday was special because it was also the host of the 
