The Definitive Guide to Comedy
After six years, comedians don’t even have to write jokes about President George W. Bush.To them, Bush seems to write his own punchlines into the daily headlines.Which makes being a satirist tougher than ever.“You can’t parody a parody,” Will Durst tells me.“I actually had a Republican come up to me …
At this summer’s Del Close Marathon, Rob Riggle and the Daily Show/Colbert Report improv jam received the suggestion: Iraq. Someone joked that Riggle would be heading there soon. Riggle groaned. Little did we know Riggle was heading to Iraq. He got back late Saturday from a USO tour with fellow …
For all the talk about Lucky Louie and how unlucky it was with HBO last year, you need to move on. Louis CK certainly has. He has a DVD out of "Shamless," his one-hour HBO special from January, but he’s developed an even funnier brand-new hour of material since then, …
Normally, the concept of rapping comedians turns my hack sensors on stun with an urge to bolt. So when a friend asked me to join her for a show with Freestyle Love Supreme, I accepted her offer with caution. I mean, they’re from Wesleyan — Gawker’s choice for most annoying …
Anyone who went to see Tracy Morgan this past weekend at Carolines had to notice the sign by the ticket podium that warned of extremely adult and potentially offensive material. The sign for the 30 Rock star should’ve read: Warning! Crazy funny comedy ahead. No, really. He’s crazy. Not sure …
I managed to catch Chris Rock during one of his impromptu unannounced club appearances at the Comedy Cellar this summer as he prepared for his first stand-up concert tour in almost four years. A lot of this stuff already was hitting very well, and here are some notes from a …
What happens when you look over your handwritten notes a year later? Let’s find out as we jog our memories on the 2007 Del Close Marathon, held over the last weekend in July… Satellites: Oh, this was a fun way to start my Del Close Marathon in 2007, as Ed …
As they say in France, que sera sera, je ne sais quoi — which translates into not one but two cliches. As for French Canada and Montreal, what better way to close out the 25th anniversary of Just For Laughs than with a gala hosted by native son William Shatner. …
The New Faces of Comedy showcase is Montreal's version of the Best New Artist Grammy. Most of the 16 stand-ups selected for this week's showcases have several years of experience onstage, but they're new in the eyes of industry scouts, because this is the first step up the festival ladder. …
The guys from Kids in the Hall reunited onstage for three nights only this week at Just For Laughs in Montreal. Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson hadn’t performed together for a live audience in about five years, and it showed a bit in their …