dave helem – The Comedy Bureau

Pick of the Day: Thank You Very Much: A Juneteenth Comedy Show (in LA) 6/18

June 10, 2022

candice thompson, chinedu unaka, chris spencer, dave helem, juneteenth, los angeles comedy, stand up comedy, zainab johnson

As Juneteenth, a major milestone in slavery coming to an end in the U.S., is now a federal holiday, there are, of course, comedy shows/happenings to go right along with it, especially ones celebrating black comedians, giving them shine when they still aren’t receiving it the way they deserve.

The very funny Dave Helem is putting on a very special stand-up showcase, Thank You Very Much, in South Central’s cultural hub, Leimert Park, at The Metaphor Club to highlight some of those very same comedians that represent some of LA’s very best.

For this Juneteenth show, Dave will bring in

Zainab Johnson (Upload, Bust Down)
Chris Spencer (Black-ish, The Real Husbands of Hollywood)
Clayton Thomas (Family Time, Uncle Buck)
Chinedu Unaka (Insecure, House Party)
Candice Thompson (The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon)

Thank You Very Much: A Juneteenth Show is set for Sat. Jun. 18th at 8PM PT, again, at The Metaphor Club. Tickets are $20 and you can (and should) go get them here.

Who Else Could Have Been Nominated (and Maybe Win) for Best Comedy Album at The Grammys Besides an Undeserving Louis C.K.?

As much as we’d love to dissect C.K.’s lack of a proper mea culpa for being an admitted, repeated sex pest, how that has soured his comedy since his return, and how he’s wholly undeserving of his third Best Comedy Album Grammy win (he’s artistically regressed with his last couple of hours), we’re pretty sure that such words would only be affirmed by those already demoralized by his latest success or tossed to the metaphorical curb by his diehard acolytes. We could even spend hundreds of words on how The Recording Academy, the governing body responsible for The Grammy Awards, has long since been out of touch with what would supposedly be the “Best Comedy Album” having largely succumbed to Netflix and HBO and the like putting out audio versions of highly produced and promoted specials that end up edging out other purely audio comedy albums from ever even getting nominated.

Hmph. We digress.

Rather than delve into that endless rabbit hole or go into the systemic issues at The Recording Academy that reduce this particular Grammy category, amongst others, to mostly a popularity contest (the voters for this category, like any major awards, have no real incentive to listen to every single album and often just go with what they know ahead of time), we’ll instead show you the folks that met all the qualifications to even be in the running to be nominated (ostensibly, who was left out of the equation against C.K.’s lackluster Sincerely Louis C.K.)

You already know that the other nominees for Best Comedy Album were Kevin Hart: Zero F***s Given, Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American, Lewis Black: Thanks For Risking Your Life, Chelsea Handler: Evolution, and Lavell Crawford: The Comedy Vaccine. One could make the argument, if you’re already OK with CK returning to stand-up, that he is most definitely in the running against the five other nominees (especially Kevin Hart’s very tone-deaf special done in his basement that’s bigger than most apartments anywhere).

However, there are plenty of folks that, because of lack of fame, prestige, etc., were already doomed to not get any recognition from the Recording Academy despite their comedic prowess (and explicit lack of sex crimes). Amongst those that could have been nominated for Best Comedy Album this year were Beth Stelling, Rory Scovel, Michelle Buteau, Chad Daniels, Sean Devlin, Ester Steinberg, Ziwe, Tim Minchin, Atsuko Okatsuka, Ben Roy, Robin Tran, Tim Heidecker, Ian Edwards, Lisa Curry, Chris Gethard, Dan Soder, Sam Tallent, Dave Helem, and Lil’ Rel. Those names represent some of the very funniest people in comedy right at this moment, but only a fraction of who could have been nominated for a Best Comedy Album Grammy this year (and possibly beat out Louis CK).

Thanks to an industry source, we’ve got a list of pretty much everyone else that was in the running for a Grammy nomination this year, but ultimately was left out for the aforementioned reasons above and many others. Even though you might think major awards ceremony are largely overly self-important and indulgent, we hope that you can get some perspective on who is left out (and much more likely has the actual Best Comedy Album of this past year).

Nicole Burch: Never Been Kissed
Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia
Colin Cook: This Won’t Work
Affion Crockett: Mirror II Society
Lisa Curry: Alive for A While
Chad Daniels: Twelfth Night
Sandy Danto: Daddy Boy
Jim David: Gay Jokes for Straight Cruisers
DC Benny: Adrift in Predicaments-Stories of Shoulda Known Better
Mark DeMayo: Bangers
Sean Devlin: Airport, Animals
Eleanor Kerrigan: Lady Like
Paul Kim: The Lion Kim
Raul Kohli: All My Heroes Are Dead, in Jail, or Touched Up Your Nan
Nish Kumar: It’s In Your Nature To Destroy Yourselves, Parts 1 & 2
Preacher Lawson: Get to Know Me
Lewberger: Live at Lincoln Hall in Chicago
Orlando Leyba: Adorable
Lil’ Rel: Humbly Vulnerable-I Said What I Said
Joe List: I Hate Myself
Ignacio Lopez: EspañYOLO
Jonny Loquasto: The In 3-D
Levin McCachen: Illuminati
Ed Hill: Candy and Smiley
Melinda Hill: Inappropriate
Katie Hughes: Queen of the Castle
London Hughs: To Catch a D***
Taylor Hughes: Chasing Wonder
Katie-Ellen Humphries: Ladyfinger
David Huntsberger: Big Nothingness
Eddie Ifft: Sweet Home Malibama
Ryan James: I’m Fine
The Jerky Boys (self-titled)
Maz Jobrani: Pandemic Warrior
Danny Jolles: Six Parts
Jamie Kaler: Homeschooled
Noah Gardenswartz: New Fodder
Arthur Gaus: Nice Jokes for Smart People
Chris Gethard: Half My Life
Harrison Greenbaum: Live at Madison Square Garden
Nick Guerra: Love Me at My Worst
Joey Guila: Ringleader
Nathan Hansen: I Was Supposed To Get Married Today
Kevin Hart: Zero F***s Given
John Hastings: Float Like a Butterfly, John Hastings Like a Bee
Tim Heidecker: An Evening with Tim Heidecker
Dave Helem: D.J. the Chicago Kid
Amy Hill: Shades
Kevin Yee: One Boy Band
Ziwe: Ziwe-A Famously Iconic Soundtrack
Kevin Doyle: 30 Year Old Virgin
Scout Durwood: Comedy Electronica Vol. 1
Jeff Dye: Dumb Is Gooder
Mat Edgar: Take the L
Ian Edwards: Bill Burr presents IanTalk-Ideas Not Worth Spreading
Mark Ellis: Dog Stepfather
Felipe Esparza: Bad Decisions
Matt Falk: Optimistical
Randy Feltface: The Book of Randicus
Adam Ferrara: It’s Scary in Here
Glen Foster: Unchecked
Jen Fulwiler: The Naughty Corner
Jerry Garcia: It’s Not My Weekend
Tryf Da Comedian: Symphunny, Vol. 1
Bill Burr Presents the Ringers
More Funny Women of a Certain Age
Ron Vaudry: Talking on Thin Ice
Joey Villagomez: Jokes, Drugs, Rock & Roll
Paul Virzi: I’ll Say This
Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang
Jeremiah Watkins: Family Reunion
Daniel Webb: Hoe’s Parade at The Rose Bowl
Aaron Weber: Shirts and Skins
Jacob Williams: Unemotional Roller Coaster
Lance Woods: Undeniable
Glenn Wool: Viva Forever
Heather McDonald: Juicy Scoop
Harmony McElligot: The Struggle Continues
Michael McIntyre: Showman
Sean McLoughlin: Hail Mary
Doug Mellard: I’m Worried About Me
Garrett Millerick: Smile
Tim Minchin: Apart Together
Ginger Minj: Gummy Together
Daniel Muggleton: Unprecedented
Atsuko Okatsuka: They Call Me Stacey
Natalie Palamides: Nate – A One Man Show
Brian Parise: Last Wishes
Eddie Pence: The (Un)Special Comedy Special
Rojo Perez: Words
Nick Rado: On-Trend
Adam Ray: I’ll Take It From Here-The Crowd Work Album
Brian Regan: On The Rocks
Erica Rhodes: La Vie en Rhodes
Erik Rivera: Super White
Shayla Rivera: It’s Not Rocket Science
Darrin Rose: Wearing a Suit
Ben Roy: Take the Sandwich
Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities
Amber Ruffin: The Amber Ruffin Show-Music from the Original Series
Marc Ryan: The Clean Album
Brendan Sagalow: Not Now More Than Ever
Andrew Schulz: Brilliant Idiot
Rory Scovel: Live Without Fear
Harry Shearer: The Many Moods of Donald Trump
Dan Soder: Son of a Gary
Gianmarco Soresi: Shelf Life
Ester Steinberg: Burning Bush
Beth Stelling: Girl Daddy
Fatimah Taliah: Nice to Meet Me
Sam Tallent: Waiting for Death to Claim Us
Erik Terrell: Live at Helium Comedy Club
Robin Tran: Don’t Look at Me
Jesus Trejo: Stay at Home Son
Steve Treviño: I Speak Wife

Pick of the Day: Live at Tribeca Drive-In @ Rose Bowl

July 2, 2020

News

comedy dynamics, daniel rugg webb, dave helem, drive in theater, erica rhodes, ester steinberg, live comedy, stand up comedy

With the return to popularity that drive-in theaters have gotten during these months of lockdown, it’s no surprise to see that other forms of entertainment are opting to try to do something at a drive-in that isn’t just screening a movie because people can stay in their cars to stay safe as the COVID-19 pandemic persists (as well as being one of the very few permitted public events right now). That indeed includes live comedy. LA hasn’t gotten the experience of a live drive-in stand-up comedy show yet, though that will be changing next week.

Comedy Dynamics is hosting four exclusive nights of live stand-up comedy, July 9th-12th at 9PM, at the Tribeca Drive-In pop-up at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Tribeca Drive-In itself actually starts screening movies tonight.

Headlining will be a handful of comedians that you ought to get to know since they’ll, as far as we’ve seen, probably rise further up the comedy ladder than they already have very soon. That includes Dave Helem, Ester Steinberg, Daniel Webb, and Erica Rhodes performing 7/9-7/12 respectively.

Tickets are $26 per vehicle and you can go get tickets here. If you do go, do take proper caution and limit physical contact, wear a mask, and maintain distance at all times. Also, please note that Comedy Dynamics will be taping these performances for “later viewing” if you’d rather stay safe at home and still watch.

February 1, 2018

Uncategorized

comedy show, dave helem, dungeon, dungeons and dragons, experimental comedy, hollywood, ian abramson, janine brito, los angeles, meltdown comics

One of our favorite comedy things from 2017 is having its first go around for 2018.

Dungeon, “a stand-up role playing game”, put comedians in the driver’s seat of a streamlined fantasy role play game, even if they’re not that well acquainted with something like D&D. This latest edition will have Janine Brito, Dave Helem, Ian Abramson, Lydia Popovich, and host/Dungeon Master John-Michael Bond.

The next Dungeon is set for 7PM this Saturday Feb. 3rd at Nerdmelt Showroom at Meltdown Comics. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at door. Please go get them here.

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