The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Listening to “Impregnated With Wonder,” the new stand-up comedy disc from Pete Holmes, provided one of the more truly enjoyable experiences I’ve had listening to new comedy CDs this year. How could it not be enjoyable when Holmes himself clearly is having so much fun onstage. Throughout the 55-minute performance, …
“I’m not going for laughs. I’m going for sympathy,” Johnny Beehner tells us. After all, Beehner reveals upfront how his last name prompted taunts and insults toward him over the years, as its homonym is a racial and ethnic slur, and its closest rhyme for simpletons is, well, just remember …
Adam Newman opens his 58-minute disc “Not For Horses” by wanting customers (that’s you) to know that the audience at Atlanta’s Laughing Skull loved the comedian before him who performed “Piano Man” as “Piano Monkey.” Newman, meanwhile, wants to sell you on his pop-culture naming policy for dogs — spoiler alert: …
I’ve known Joe List for years, but I’d never had the opportunity to hear him deliver a headline-length set until receiving his debut disc, “So Far No Good,” a 14-track, 43-minute performance recorded at Skyline Comedy Club in Appleton, Wisc. Touring for the past few years as Nick DiPaolo’s support …
This gal’s got sass. Always has. Even when appearing on the first season of The Biggest Loser back in 2004 (she lost 72 pounds then). After questioning a silent audience member at Mottley’s Comedy Club in Boston who Kelly MacFarland presumed was questioning her running regimen: “I lost weight a …
Recording your comedy CD in Ottawa, Canada, isn’t something you’d normally see from an American comedian. But Jesse Joyce wants you to know he’s not as normal as you might think. And on his 2011 disc, “Pro Joyce,” Joyce lets you know that by opening with a series of bits …
No matter your feelings about the American version of The Office on NBC — love it, loathe it, or used to love it but have become disappointed in it over time (which is how I feel this current season) — this is the perfect time to revisit the original UK …
Sausage Party! No, not that kind of sausage party. This is a brilliant re-enactment of a classic scene from A Christmas Story, except sausages have replaced the roles of the humans. Thank you, Annie Lederman and Abbey Luck, for this glorious holiday treat. Roll the clip! I triple dog dare …
In the latest issue of Details magazine, Carrie Brownstein shares 20 behind-the-scenes photos captured during the filming of Portlandia, which begins its second season in January. Here are a couple of my favorites, with captions written by Brownstein. The photo above: “This is our core local cast. We get a …
Over the past few years, Rebecca A. Trent has built up The Creek and The Cave into a welcoming home for indie comedy one stop off the 7 train into Queens. Derrick Comedy — whose members, Donald Glover, DC Pierson and Dominic Dierkes, have since gone Hollywood for fame and …
