Day: June 18, 2010

Comedian/actor T.J. Miller came back to Chicago this week and brought some of his Windy City comedy friends back with him for a stand-up show billed as "Drinking Buddies," and the buddies certainly believed the drinking part was mandatory for the evening, in back-to-back shows that went well into Wednesday night at the Lincoln Lodge. Host James Fritz complained early on that the Lincoln Lodge and JFL hadn't gotten with the program. "All they have for us backstage is water!" Fritz made do with the cash bar. Mike Bridenstine (pictured) opened by commenting on Fritz and the fellow Chicago comedy scene and how gross they are. As for his drinking story, Brido shared that he had gotten drunk as a sixth-grader when his eighth-grade sister held a houseparty when their parents were away. "Aw, hell, no!" On a more sobering note, he also has written a great TV ad for a karate place that could join the pantheon of infamous local TV ads, whether in Chicago or anywhere. Kyle Kinane was ready for "Showtime!" "I buy my beer in 12-packs so I'm not such a boozebag," Kinane claimed. "I like to get my exercise, so when I'm done, I can walk back and get more." He joked with the crowd about being so drunk, that he has pretended to take a cell phone call to mask his puking. But...

Remember all the way back to a year ago, when Funny People hadn't yet come out, but Aziz Ansari already was generating buzz for his caricature of a stand-up comedian called Raaaaaaaandy ("that's Randy with eight A's")? Fast-forward back to now, and Ansari — who just hosted the MTV Movie Awards and has several movie deals in the works in addition to his supporting role on NBC's Parks and Recreation — is a bonafide celebrity, getting name-dropped by people who he was name-dropping only a year ago. Ansari packed the Vic Theatre in Chicago for four shows this week, two on Wednesday, two on Thursday. Watching the crowd go gaga for Ansari, and even more so for Raaaaaaaandy, it has become increasingly clear that his hopping, singing overconfident character isn't all that different from the Ansari who earlier in his act, ends a series of tags about a racist locksmith with a jingle, or comes up with new song-raps for R. Kelly as an online dictionary resource. It's just that now, Ansari closes his 45-minute set, then after briefly leaving the stage, returns to welcome Raaaaaaaandy as his "special guest" to wild applause and audience suggestions for his blowjob jokes. That's not to say Ansari doesn't still want to be known as a more reserved, less confident type. When he told the Vic audience on Wednesday, "I'm single now,"...