The Definitive Guide to Comedy
When a web video makes it to primetime network television, kudos for everyone. Of course, Brian Williams more than plays along with Marcel the Shell with shoes on, and “his” parents Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp. Don’t ever accuse this network news anchor of not having a sense of humor. …
One of the more interesting aspects of a week in the life of Saturday Night Live is the ritual of staying up all night Tuesday into Wednesday morning to write sketches in time for the weekly table read. With the original cast, this could include all sorts of drug use …
Pablo Francisco is a whirling dervish of voices, noises, sound effects and impersonations. And on Francisco’s new CD/DVD, “They Put It Out There,” he puts it all out there. Before you can ask — Who is they, what did they put and where did they put it? — let’s take a look …
Josh Gondelman sincerely is one of the nicest people I know. Normally, in comedy circles, saying someone is nice is the “nice” way to say that person isn’t funny. Thankfully, though, Gondelman proves on his debut CD, “Everything’s The Best,” that he is an exception to this comedy rule. A …
Before you begin listening to Louis Katz’s CD, “If These Balls Could Talk,” it’s important that you know a couple of things. Dave Attell is a fan of his (often bringing Katz on the road with him as his feature act, and employing him on his Showtime series, Dave’s Old Porn). …
The CD, Wyatt Cenac: Comedy Person, begins with a bit of a bait-and-switch, as it’s not Cenac, but rather Daily Show colleague John Hodgman who is talking to the audience throughout the first introductory track. When Cenac does arrive onstage, he helps Hodgman out by explaining that his first bit, …
Norm Macdonald has gone on record saying that he tries to write jokes as short as possible. And on the record, Me Doing Standup (available in CD or DVD versions), Macdonald proceeds to do just that. He cuts to the chase in such a startling way that that in and …
Remember that one time Katy Perry was the musical guest on SNL, but also showed up in a sketch wearing a cleavage-bearing Elmo shirt and jumped up and down? You remember that, don’t you? Want me to wait here while you Google “Katy Perry Elmo gif” and do what you …
Hugh Fink. That there’s a name I hadn’t typed in a while. What’s he been up to? Fink popped up on camera a bit back when D.L. Hughley had a CNN show, but hadn’t been seen on my TV doing stand-up recently. Until Friday night. When Fink performed on Late …
San Francisco’s annual SF Sketchfest books so many uniquely special comedy shows over so many consecutive nights, I’m not sure why every comedy fan doesn’t just decide to live in San Francisco for the first month of every year. Proving that again is the lineup, announced today, for the 11th …
