The Definitive Guide to Comedy
One of the pure joys of writing about arts and entertainment is the chance to happen upon something or someone quite unexpected or new, to get a chance to see it/them develop, and then to watch as this new unexpected thing gets recognized by others. I suppose it’s much like …
The judge’s rulings are final. So I’m going to withhold final judgments on some of the New Faces until further review. At Montreal’s Just For Laughs, the New Faces have to deal not only with the pressure of a large foreign comedy club, but also with the added nerves of …
Most of the industry just got to Montreal, Just for Laughs still has four nights to go, but that’s not stopping them from jump-starting and continuing to schedule a nightly showcase at Comedyworks as "Best of the Fest." How would they know? Was someone judging? These are rhetorical, moot questions, …
This year, Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival has expanded to include a two-day Just Comedy industry confab to discuss the state of comedy and network and do all of those things that someone interested in taking their comedy career to the next step should be doing. Over the next two …
If last night’s show at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden is any indication, Ricky Gervais is not taking any chances with his first American TV stand-up special (HBO is taping his NYC shows this week for broadcast in November). Because for "The Out of England Tour," Gervais has …
A packed crowd at Carolines at 7 p.m. on a Monday, in the summer. Something must be amiss. Then again, the club, mere blocks from Times Square, did put a poster of Ann Curry up by the front door (and also in the green room, hello!). Yes, that Ann Curry, …
How silly is too silly? Can you imagine an online video in which Tim and Eric allege that Zach Galifianakis isn’t being subtle enough? If you cannot, then the fine people at Absolut Vodka (please do not send me any free bottles, because that will just make my mother angry) …
It’s the second week of the 2008 Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, which means we finally learn the identities of this year’s crop of New Faces and Masters to perform later this week. Much more to come, as I’ll be reporting from Montreal starting on Wednesday. For now, though, …
It’s the All-Star break in baseball, and with festivities just a couple of boroughs away from The Comic’s Comic HQ over at Yankee Stadium, we cannot help but notice. Nor can we fail to mention that yesterday’s All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game included four comedians: Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, …
Comedy Central announced today that it’ll release the posthumous third album from stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg, "Do You Believe in Gosh?" on Sept. 9, including 40 minutes of material previously unreleased and three previously unheard prank phone calls Hedberg made for the network’s Crank Yankers show. Hedberg had recorded this …