byron bowers – The Comedy Bureau

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 154: Byron Bowers & Keeping It Raw

March 8, 2023

byron bowers, car culture, jfl, jfl montreal

Often, the idea of being raw on stage gets misconstrued with spouting off and saying shocking things for unfettered schadenfreude. The rawness of Byron Bowers and his comedy comes from such a genuine place as he is in between so many worlds and wants to speak his comedic truth in the purest way possible. The result often takes him and his audience into darker territory, but always subverted with hysterical observations, which has gotten him his first special on the coolest cable network, FX, and a number of roles on such high profile shows as Irma Vep and the upcoming Natalie Portman-vehicle Lady in the Lake. We talk with Byron on this week’s TCB Field Report on his whole journey, which might turn into a book that you very much should get and read, to being truly one of the funniest comedians working today.

Follow Byron across socials @byronbowers and watch Spiritual N**GA on Hulu.

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via Patreon or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Troy Conrad

Byron Bowers Waxes Poetic, Transcends, and Is, Per Usual, Hilarious on Special, Spiritual N**ga

September 19, 2022

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byron bowers, comedy special, fx, stand up

Over the last few years, the name Byron Bowers has been seen more often in credits of prestige TV and acclaimed art house movies than on live comedy line-ups, but that doesn’t mean that Bowers isn’t one of the most imaginative and engaging comedians taking the mic these days.

His first hour special, Spiritual N**ga, shows off how deep he wants to get with the art of stand-up as well as break the mold in every single aspect, whether it be aesthetic or content. Bowers stitches together exquisite vignettes of his life as well as flights of fancy (that are occasionally induced by psychedelic mushrooms) making for what is the most poetic hour of comedy that we’ve seen this year (or in awhile). The contrast of his vivid imagery and his sharp, satirical wit are the perfect pairing for so many of the laughs throughout this hour. Ranging from 1700s “streetwear” to some of the darkest chapters of his life to his visions from his first time on shrooms, Bowers manages that ever illusive balance in comedy of getting philosophical and having punchlines to punctuate his points.

The whole look of it is a welcome departure, thanks to direction from rising auteur Alma Har’el, from the normal special too. Spiritual N**ga opens with a literally trippy narrative leading into a modified boxing ring as opposed to some cavernous theater that has been around for several decades. Killer Mike and Susan Sarandon are evens in the crowd and Byron runs a Casablanca scarf through his hoodie in place of drawstrings as sweet, atypical touches to a special.

Essentially, this special is, in all facets, a lot to behold making Spiritual N**ga a very fitting name. Get a taste of it with this trailer, then go watch it immediately on FX on Hulu right now.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Byron Bowers (@byronbowers)

FX Will Keep Their Comedy Programming High Brow with Debut Comedy Specials from Kate Berlant and Byron Bowers

September 13, 2022

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byron bowers, comedy specials, fx, kate berlant

From just Atlanta, Better Things, What We Do In the Shadows, Baskets, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and, before Louis C.K. was found out to be the Louis C.K. we know now, Louie, FX has one of the best track records in comedy of any network or streaming service. Their sole focus on high profile, high concept scripted comedies has earned them endless acclaim and plenty of rewards to boot.

Intriguingly, they haven’t really dipped into stand-up or comedy specials, well, at all. They did put out the documentary Hysterical, which covered a myriad of women pushing their way forward in stand-up comedy, but it’s only now that they’ve played some big cards for comedy specials, keeping in line with their highly touted comedy brand.

Both Kate Berlant and Byron Bowers, two highly respected comedians that have been deserving of an hour special for years now for all the trailblazing stand-up and acting they’ve racked up, are going to have their very first hour specials drop via FX. Kate’s special will be the hour solo show that you have been lucky enough to see in LA or NYC this year and will have been directed by comedy auteur Bo Burnham. Byron’s hour will very likely be a showcase of how exquisite he can weave together long form jokes/bits/stories along with his cavalier persona. From where the two and FX as a network stand, this feels like a similar precipice that Netflix was at when they entered into original comedy specials with Ali Wong, Jen Kirkman, and Tom Segura several years ago.

Thankfully, you won’t have to ponder about what any of these specials will be (and we won’t spend any more time pontificating on the possibilities) since they’ll both be premiering exclusively on Hulu just a couple days from now on Thurs. Sept. 15th.

we're dropping two first-time comedy specials from @kateberlant and @byronbowers. watch thursday 9/15. only on hulu. pic.twitter.com/VUJaDyaAXL

— FX Networks (@FXNetworks) September 13, 2022

SXSW 2022 Announces SXSW Comedy Festival Line-Up for This Year (Yep, the First One Since 2020)

February 28, 2022

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asssscat, byron bowers, comedy festival, creek and the cave, eddie pepitone, jim gaffigan, joe derosa, john cleese, jon daly, matt besser, mitra jouhari, rosebud baker, shane torres, sxsw, the comedy store, three busy debras

In Jan./Feb. 2020, we were so excited that we were getting to go to SXSW for their big comedy shindig for the first time. For years, SXSW’s comedy off-shoot was a pretty big, fantastic swell of comedy in Austin, an already very solid, thriving comedy scene as is.

2020 was 2020 and, of course, that didn’t happen. SXSW was actually one of the world’s first major festivals to postpone indefinitely due to COVID-19.

Now, here in Feb. 2022, SXSW is thankfully resuming their comedy festival and are doing things up bigger than we remember from last time. From Mar. 11th-19th, those in attendance will get to see the comedy stylings of:

Alyssa Stonoha • Andy Haynes • Anthony Atamanuik • Blair Socci • Bonnie McFarlane • Bruce McCulloch • Byron Bowers • Camilla Cleese • Danielle Schneider • Doug Benson • Dulcé Sloan • Eddie Pepitone • Eleanor Kerrigan • Emma Willman • Ian Lara • Jessica Michelle Singleton • Jim Gaffigan • Joe DeRosa • John Cleese • John Gemberling • Jon Daly • Kiry Shabazz • Liza Treyger • Logan Guntzelman • Marina Franklin • Mary Lynn Rajskub • Matt Besser • Matthew Broussard • Mike Lawrence • Mike Yard • Mitra Jouhari • Nick Thune • Punkie Johnson • Rich Vos • Ricky Velez • Rosebud Baker • Sandy Honig • Scott Thompson • Sean Patton • Shane Torres • Stuart Goldsmith • Vanessa Gonzalez • Yamaneika Saunders

as well as special presentations/events:

Adult Swim Presents Three Busy Debras Season 2 Sneak Peek • ASSSSCAT (the first in-person since 2020) • The Comedian’s Comedian • A Night at the Comedy Store • Comedy with the Cleeses • The Creek & The Cave • Doug Loves Movies • Find Your Beach • Gotham Comedy Club • improv4humans • Matt Besser’s 420 Show • Roast Battle • The Stand NYC • Wide World of Dougs • Would You Bang Him?

Since SF Sketchfest had to postpone again, this will be the first big comedy festival of 2022 and you wouldn’t want to miss that, now would you?

If you don’t already have a badge for SXSW, you best get on that right now, right here.

Pick of the Day: The Comedy Bureau Double Anniversary LA 10/25

October 12, 2021

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anniversary, byron bowers, clown zoo, dave ross, hannah einbinder, james adomian, la comedy, reggie watts

Not only are we celebrating our 10th and 11th years keeping the lights on TCB (again, we weren’t going to mark a decade of being a comedy institution by doing a show on Zoom), but we’re doing double the anniversary by doing it up with our favorite comedians on either coast. The NYC Double Anniversary is happening this Fri. Oct. 15th at Union Hall 7:30PM ET (get your tickets while you still can) and then we have the LA Double Anniversary at LA’s shiniest, new venue, The Elysian (located in Frogtown at 1944 Riverside Dr.) on Mon. Oct. 25th at 8PM PT.

It’s a dream line-up of our absolute favorites from past, present, and future, in and around all corners of comedy including:

James Adomian
Hannah Einbinder
Reggie Watts
Dave Ross
Byron Bowers
Clown Zoo

Also, TCB’s founder and director (and so many other things) Jake Kroeger will be serving as host.

Tickets are only $15 and you best get your tickets right here right now. If you somehow pull off going to both shows, we’ll give you one of our limited edition enamel pins that usually reserved for our top Patreon backers.

Pick of the Day: The Byron Bowers Experience (in NYC) 7/20

July 13, 2021

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byron bowers, nyc, stand up, the stand

Often in LA, we’re lucky to get treated to the wild, dark, and hysterical comedy musings and stories of Byron Bowers. He has been a beloved fixture in the scene for as long as we have seen him in and throughout LA.

Bowers often has a knack for lulling people into his sharp comedic turns and really diving deep into his material and expanding his bits to their fullest potential. We got to see Byron run this particular hour and we didn’t even realize that he had actually gone well over an hour by the end of it (as a testament to how captivating his presence and command of the stage really is).

So, Byron is bringing his Byron Bowers Experience to The Stand in NYC on July 20th at 9:30PM ET with Josh Adam Meyers opening. Tickets are going for $20 (plus $5 service fee). Go get them here right now.

Pick of the Day: Normalize Everything 1/30

January 21, 2021

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atsuko okatsuka, byron bowers, jibz cameron, katy french, mental health, normalize everything, sadia azmat, valerie tosi

Some people felt a modicum of relief yesterday as Biden got sworn in as POTUS, but the wounds and scars we’ve endured (and are going to very likely going to continue to endure) need to heal (especially in regards to mental health).

Thus, a comedy live-stream on mental health, specifically great comedians sharing their lives that they’ve lead with parents with mental illness might be something pretty perfect for right now. Atsuko Okatsuka is hosting yet another Normalize Everything that is exactly that, thanks to mental health org Painted Brain.

This round will feature another grand line-up that includes Byron Bowers, Jibz Cameron, Valerie Tosi, Sadia Azmat, and Katy French.

Normalize Everything is set to stream on Sat. Jan. 30th at 7PM PT/10PM ET. All you have to do is RSVP for live-stream access and you can (and should) do that right here.

October 2, 2019

Uncategorized

asif ali, byron bowers, eddie pepitone, ian edwards, james fritz, karen kilgariff, lizzy cooperman, taylor tomlinson

If you follow us, you ought to know that The Super Serious Show is something that you should always be in attendance for as they always have a magnificent line-up featuring all sorts of comedy, both of stage and screen.

This edition for Oct. 2019 is no different as you can see above. In fact, this month, you’ll get to see, in addition to the fantastic comedic stylings of Byron Bowers, Lizzy Cooperman, James Fritz, Eddie Pepitone, Taylor Tomlinson, and host/headliner Asif Ali, My Favorite Murder’s Karen Kilgariff return to the stage and short films from the TBS-made-a-huge-mistake-by-shelving-their-brilliant-series sketch group The Dress Up Gang.

That should be more incentive than usual, which is a lot, to show up for this Super Serious Show.

You can tickets now for $7 (they’ll be $10 cash at door). Please do so here.

March 26, 2019

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byron bowers, caitlin weierhauser, comedy show, dewayne perkins, emma willmann, los angeles, mitra jouhari, quinta brunson, stand up comedy

Without question, Byron Bowers is one of our favorite comedians to watch around town and has been for quite some time. He takes the stage and it is immediately and he immediately has the room captivated and then dives head first into the beautifully dark territory of his life experiences. Also, the supporting acts of Mitra Jouhari, Quinta Brunson, Emma Willmann, DeWayne Perkins, and Caitlin Weierhauser will make this one hell of a great night.

So, as he’ll be headlining at Dynasty Typewriter next month, you should go get your tickets ASAP here ($10 in advance and $15 on day of).

Byron Bowers Makes a Damn Fine Network TV Debut on Colbert

February 10, 2019

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byron bowers, colbert, late show, stand up

If you haven’t heard our praises of Byron Bowers over the years at TCB, we hope that this set on last week’s Colbert will fix his name in your memory as he is a wholly original voice and cut from such a unique, completely genuine cloth of comedy.

Also, the way he opens might be one of our favorite openings to a late night set ever.

Please enjoy it here.

January 8, 2019

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barry rothbart, byron bowers, candice thompson, joe derosa, kara klenk, megan gailey, okay fine, ryan sickler, sabrina jalees, sara schaefer

We’ve got a good feeling that this show, The Professionals*, will be kind of like Tough Crowd with a modern twist (a thing we’ve been wishing would happen for awhile). Whether the comedians on the panel end up pulling off sounding like professionals outside of their areas of expertise or not, it’s an amazing line-up worthy of going to see do pretty much anything (we mean, just look at it).

Tickets are $5 in advance and $8 at the door. Go get them quick here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Win Ticket’s to Next Week’s Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen (7/30/18)

July 27, 2018

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byron bowers, comedy show, david venhuizen, DoLA, esther povitsky, free tickets, hot Tub, jay larson, kristen schaal, kurt braunohler, marcus coleman, the virgil, will weldon

Another Monday is coming, which also means you could win a pair of tickets to Hot Tub with Kurt & Kristen that we just happen to have handy with us!

Enter to win at here: http://thecomedybureau.dola.com/giveaways

June 6, 2018

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andy peters, byron bowers, improvised stand up, jay mohr, kira soltanovich, rick overton, sam tripoli, set list, sycamore tavern, troy conrad

It’s been awhile, but Set List: Improvised Stand-Up is doing their next proper show next week at Hollywood’s Sycamore Tavern.

Whether you’ve never seen it or not, you should go check out watch how esteemed comedians’ brains work while joking about an abstract, never-before-seen topic. Set List started here in LA, but has, over the years, toured nearly every comedy festival as well as been adapted into a TV show overseas.

Creator Troy Conrad gathered a heck of a line-up for this one too.

Get tickets here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Byron Bowers Tells One of the Darkest and Best Stories for This Is Not Happening

March 8, 2018

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byron bowers, comedy central, roy wood jr, storytelling, this is not happening

The stories of comedian/actor Byron Bowers are something to be reckoned with in the best, most all-encompassing way possible.

His story featured on Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening is proof positive of this as well as what we said in the headline.

Watch and revel in it here.

Our 7 Year Anniversary/”Staff” Fundraiser Is Tomorrow!

October 21, 2017

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anniversary, byron bowers, candice thompson, comedy bureau, donny divanian, dr brown, fundraiser, guy branum, james adomian, james fritz, los angeles, meltdown comics, moses storm, natalie palamides, nerdmelt, stand up

From what we hear around the “office”, this should be a really good time. Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-comedy-bureaus-7th-anniversary-show-and-fundraiser-tickets-38546826596

Posters by Jenny Chalikian and Jenn Scott respectively.

October 11, 2017

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anniversary, byron bowers, candice thompson, comedy show, donny divianian, dr brown, guy branum, james adomian, james fritz, los angeles, natalie palamides, nerdmelt, sketch comedy, stand up, the comedy bureau

Our 7th Anniversary show is next week! Yep, we’re almost 7 years old (and we actually remembered to do something to celebrate this time around!)

We added Talk Show the Game Show’s Guy Branum, James Adomian, who you might have seen wreak delightful havoc at LA Podcast Festival, and a flyer!

Also, we’ll be raffling some of those fancy enamel pins that are otherwise only available through Patreon and our brand new album from AST Records, Comedians of Interest Vol. 1.

Tickets are $10 if you get them in advance or $15 cash at the door.

Yes, We Are Turning 7 Years Old and (Remembered to Put On a Show to, You Know, Celebrate)

October 5, 2017

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byron bowers, candice thompson, comedy show, donny divanian, dr brown, fundraiser, hollywood, jake kroeger, james fritz, los angeles, meltdown comics, moses storm, nerdmelt

Yes, The Comedy Bureau will have officially served the LA comedy scene for 7 years at the end of this month. That’s 56 years in dog years and (probably 70 in “bureau years”?)

This time, we actually took enough of a break to remind ourselves that we should put on a show (and actually try to make some money doing so).

As you can see from this scrawled upon napkin straight from the very desk of TCB itself, it ought to be a really good time. Also, there will be a raffle that includes fancy enamel pins, our album (more on that later), etc.

You can get tickets now for $10 or $15 cash at door. Get tickets, more details (that are more legible) here.

August 19, 2017

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byron bowers, free tickets, hot Tub, jimmy pardo, kyle kinane, los feliz, marcella arguello, silverlake, stand up, ticket giveaway, virgil village

OK, if you wanted to see Kyle Kinane, Jimmy Pardo, Byron Bowers, and Marcella Arguello AND a supposed very, very special guest (hint: they were on Kimmel this past week) for free, we might be able to make that happen for you.

Enter to win tickets to this coming Monday’s Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen here: http://thecomedybureau.dola.com/giveaways

Season 2 of Seeo’s Stand-Up Series “The Guest List” Is Now Streaming

There are plenty of our favorite stand-ups working right now that are spread throughout this whole thing. If you have Seeso (or Amazon Prime), go binge away on season 2 of The Guest List.

Crapshoot Comedy Festival Returns to Downtown Vegas with Quite a Fine Line-Up

February 1, 2017

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aparna nancherla, beth stelling, byron bowers, comedy festival, crapshoot, crapshoot comedy festival, dave attell, downtown, fahim anwar, kurt braunohler, las vegas, mark normand, matt braunger, morgan murphy, nevada

Scheduled to perform at this year’s Crapshoot Comedy Festival in Downtown Las Vegas:

Fahim Anwar
Dave Attell
Joel Kim Booster
Byron Bowers
Matt Braunger
Kurt Braunohler
Chris Cubas
Corinne Fisher
Krystyna Hutchinson
Sabrina Jalees
Morgan Murphy
Aparna Nancherla
Mark Normand
Chris Porter
Adam Ray
Ryan Sickler
Beth Stelling
Jesus Trejo
Liza Treyger
Brad Williams
Jenny Zigrino
&
Podcasts:
Guys We F@#cked: The Experience
About Last Night

If you’re in and around or Vegas and always wanted see the spoils of comedy in LA, but were never able to make it out, this is the perfect comedy festival for you.

Passes are now on sale from $179-$999.

November 30, 2016

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beth stelling, byron bowers, characters, comedy show, comedy variety, dicker troy, drew droege, james adomian, johnny pemberton, josh fadem, kiss my ass, los angeles, silverlake, the satellite

Dicker Troy (an otherworldly trucker version of Johnny Pemberton) and Josh Fadem reach now heights of delightful, outright goofiness with their show Kiss My Ass.

A fantastic line-up of Beth Stelling, Byron Bowers, Drew Droege, and James Adomian will be joining their folly this Sunday at The Satellite in Silverlake.

Tickets available here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $20 for VIP and you can (and should) get them here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Don’t miss out on this.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Seeso Orders 6th Season of JFL’s “Funny as Hell”

(via Deadline)

You’ll be treated to the stand-up of Cameron Esposito, Eugene Mirman, Janeane Garofalo, Beth Stelling, Aparna Nancherla, Kurt Metzger, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Liza Treyger, the Lucas Brothers, Byron Bowers, Sean Patton, Sam Morril, James Davis, Ian Abramson, Sean Donnelly, Thomas Dale, Ahmed Bharoocha and Emo Philips.

Part of a great comedy cultural exchange between the U.S. and Canada comes around during the JFL Montreal Comedy Festival when JFL also shoots their stand-up showcase series, Funny as Hell.

As past episodes have been streamed plenty on Seeso, Seeso has opted to make the series more known in the States, especially because of its heavy use of U.S. talent, to order a sixth season that’ll offered on NBC’s comedy streaming service.

There will be more names that’ll be added to the series during the festival, but that line-up alone is reason enough to go watch it.

May 13, 2016

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bootleg theater, byron bowers, carmen lynch, comedy shows, dan st germain, drennon davis, echo park, historic filipinotown, karl hess, los angeles, may 16, nick rutherford, stand up, that's gold, what to do

The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events and open mics along with corresponding maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.

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