Month: August 2008

Bumbershoot 2008 highlights changes in Seattle comedy scene

Posted by | Aug 29, 2008 | |

Labor Day weekend in Seattle means the biggest music and arts fest of the year there, aka Bumbershoot. A decade ago, the weekend attracted names both big and small in music to come together in celebration of culture and all things good and fun, with one show or maybe two devoted on the side to comedy. Well, one look at the 2008 Bumbershoot comedy schedule shows how far we’ve come, with three full days and nights of funny in multiple venues this weekend. Human Giant will be there. So, too, will Janeane Garofalo, Marc Maron, Tom Rhodes, Doug Benson, Hannibal Buress, Jessi Klein, TJ Miller, Nick Thune, Michelle Buteau, the People’s Republic of Komedy, Vince Averill, Tig Notaro, Greg Behrendt, The Sound of Young America Live!, UCB-LA’s MySpace show, and many more. It’s also a time for sad and glad news. Sad? Final weekend for the Mainstage Comedy crew on Queen Anne (as reported by the Seattle Comedy Blog). Waiting for the full story on that development. On the other hand: Glad? The Comedy Underground finally gets to reopen in its new location a couple of blocks over in Pioneer Square at 109 S. Washington St., with a grand reopening debut UPDATED: The Comedy Underground’s people report they’re moving the Sept. 9 for the Mitch Hedberg CD release/tribute show over to Laughs in Kirkland because it’s possible the new...

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Comedy flow charts!

Posted by | Aug 29, 2008 | |

My friends at The Apiary provide a clever defense today of Carlos Mencia (really? really) by whipping out this handy "Universal Comedy Flowchart" and suggesting that instead of stealing jokes (wink-a-wink-a), Mencia merely is raking his mind over the handy dandy chart that unlocks the secrets of comedy. The chart comes from none other than Doogie Horner, and before you say Doogie Who?, he’s a comedian and graphic designer from Philadelphia, and here is his original contribution earlier this month to the grand Comic Vs. Audience blog. Horner also drew up a chart of things people say during sex, which not only comes in handy when you’re having sex and at a loss for words, but also if that topic comes up when you’re playing The $25,000 Pyramid. (click to enlarge) But take a good look at this chart. Don’t mind the typos, but look to see if you agree with the chart itself. Is there anything missing? Ventriloquists get overlooked. Drugs are way off in the corner, which seems to underplay their use by stand-up comedians. Also how stand-ups talk about drugs. Hey-o. The inclusion of Dom DeLuise under impersonations/impressions is an amusing, odd touch. How would you change this...

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Brian Regan’s 20th Letterman appearance

Posted by | Aug 29, 2008 |

Brian Regan taped his 20th appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday afternoon, and it’ll air tonight, with Regan hilariously describing how he fakes his massive amount of expertise about art. His appearance helps promote his upcoming hour special on Comedy Central, "The Epitome of Hyperbole," that debuts 10 p.m. Sept. 6 (and available as a DVD with extra footage on Sept. 9). I chatted with Regan after his Letterman taping in the green room, and despite my amazingly artistic camera angles, you’ll still be able to hear Regan explain the peculiarities of performing stand-up for a TV audience, including how the cameras and applause meters all make a difference in telling jokes. Watch our chat: Brian Regan after his 20th Letterman appearanceUploaded by thecomicscomic Related: His theater tour continues Sept. 4 in Joliet, Ill. Buy tickets for Brian Regan here. <A HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fthcosco-20%2F8010%2Fafb58e82-4376-4624-9086-56ad49f33bb3&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com...

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Todd Barry: Sexus gets stiffed!

Posted by | Aug 28, 2008 | |

It appears Super Deluxe wants us to see what happens to Todd Barry’s prostitute character in the cliff-hanger comedy series that is Sexus. In addition to this week’s new episode, the site implores us to come back Sept. 3 for the next NSFW episode. Such range, Mr. Barry. Such range! So you can watch this installment knowing the storyline will not die just yet. Is it Sex Sigma, or Sex Stigma, though? Hmmm…ma Cache amour,...

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Preview/review: Mitch Hedberg’s “Do You Believe In Gosh?”

Posted by | Aug 28, 2008 | |

Listening to Mitch Hedberg’s posthumous CD, Do You Believe in Gosh? (available Sept. 9 on Comedy Central Records), it’s difficult for me to maintain objectivity. After all, I knew Mitch Hedberg. I interviewed Mitch Hedberg. I performed alongside Mitch Hedberg. And no comedian is, or will ever be, Mitch Hedberg. The world lost this comedian much, much too soon in 2005. In fact, when Hedberg died in March 2005, he was just starting to develop a new hour of material that he would have recorded that October. Instead, we get treated to an even earlier version of his last new jokes, recorded at one of the Improv clubs two months before his death. You can preview the CD here. For my review, and a chance to win a free copy of the CD, read on! Mitch Hedberg had a way of making you laugh at just about anything. Listening to this CD, even in this rough live comedy club form, you see just how in the moment Hedberg could be onstage. Right from his first words in this show, Hedberg proves how cognizant he was about his audience and his surroundings, announcing: “All right. There are a lot of people in the bathroom, so…I don’t want to waste these jokes.” So very Mitch. The audience laughs.“Are there speakers in the bathroom? Alright, well f*@& it. Let’s do it. I’ll...

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