A cavalcade of hysterical folks in character all follow the lead of host Tony Sam and Daniel Van Kirk in the great all-character comedy showcase, Persona.
More details here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.
1) Louis CK on the Tonight Show-Parts 1–2–3
2) If you’re staying in tonight, you will be watching Futurama on Comedy Central 10PM and Louie on FX 10:30PM, then Nick Kroll on Conan 11PM TBS.
3) Best part of Thursday? Taco Eating Contest on the Compatish
4) Coupling with going weekly, the comedy show, Holy Fuck has a brand new slick website… check out HolyFuckComedy.com
5) Rob Corddry on Conan already using a Tracy Morgan reference.
6) So Ron Howard is making a live action Spy vs. Spy happen… [via Deadline]
7) If you’ve never been to Tony Sam’s Persona, you need to go. It’s groundbreaking and hilarious, but why have us tell you with words when you can see a video?
8) FYF Fest is giving away tickets!!! (it’s mostly music, but as they’ve advertised at the bottom right hand corner of their flyer, there is stand-up comedy scheduled)
9) For the entirety of next week, the whole Bureau will be up in Portland, OR on “vacation” (interpret that how you will). Do not worry as we will continue posting and tweeting during our stay, but we won’t be able to circle our Twitter feed like a vulture with nothing better to do to find all the great bits of comedy news and shows, etc. that you’re all probably used to. If you have a tip for a story, something to be possibly posted here, or a possible mention/plug of a show, e-mail thecomedybureau@gmail.com or tweet us @thecomedybureau.
10) Puddin’-“Slants”
11) ON THE HORIZON
The Super Serious Show with Greg Proops @ Smashbox Studios Thurs. July 21st 7PM $15
12) COMEDY CRAWL
This Feels Terrible @ UCB Theatre 8PM $5
This Is Not Happening @ Hollywood Improv 8PM $5/2 item min.
6 Degrees @ Hollywood Improv Lab 8PM $5
Gonzo 4: Born this Gonzo @ Club L 8PM FREE
Carnyville @ Nerdist Theater 8PM $10
Tom Segura @ Irvine Improv 8PM $15/2 item min.
Kyle Dunnigan @ Comedy & Magic Club 8PM $15/2 item min.
The Josh & Josh Show @ Bar Lubitsch 8:30PM FREE
Hamclown! @ Alexandria Hotel 8:30PM FREE
Comedy Palace @ The Palace Restaurant 9PM FREE
Skurtch Sketch w/the Midnight Show @ Moving Arts Theater 9PM FREE
Nick Kroll & Friends @ Largo at the Coronet Theatre 9PM $25
Mapping the Heavens @ UCB Theatre 9:30PM $5 (stand by only)
Sweet Sweet Standup @ M Bar 10PM $10
Rest in Peace @ Hollywood Hotel 10PM FREE
Yassir Lester Day @ Hollywood Improv Lab 10:30PM $5
13) OPEN MIC RUN
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA 6PM/$4 minimum/first come, first served
COFEE BEAN 16101 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA, Suite 180/Starts 7PM/mixed mic/no purchase necessary
HOLLYWOOD HOTEL 1160 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 7PM/lottery/no purchase necessary
SANDWICH SPOT 3101 Ocean Park Ave., Santa Monica, CA/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM/first come, first served
CAFE ON 2ND 7 S. 2nd St., Alhambra, CA/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM/first come, first served/10 min.
CAFE UNURBAN 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 9PM/No purchase necessary
14) It took five (or ten, not really sure) cups of coffee to get through this post. You’re all welcome.
Report 00193
THE COMEDY BUREAU/@thecomedybureau
The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” this week to TONY SAM.
Any person involved in comedy that has respect for comedy as an art form will tell you, if you so ask, that one of the most important things for a comedian, or any artist really, is a unique “voice”. There needs to be something distinguishing in the way a person is funny for them to be a truly great comedian.
The Puppy Calendar @ Comedy Carhole from Anthony Sam on Vimeo.
Tony Sam has “voice” in spades. One of the funniest people in the intensively competitive and crowded LA Comedy scene, Tony has managed to become of favorite of both audiences and comics with a brand of comedy that’s quirky, yet captivating. Through his stand-up, plethora of hysterical characters, and his actual physical voice, Sam leaves an indelible impression on anyone who sees and hears him perform. Tony’s actual voice is so unique, drastically wandering up and down in frequency, that he makes some of the most unique characters such as Electroface and Reverend Boone Turde that are exceptionally hilarious and absolutely unforgettable.
The Reverend Boone Turde from Anthony Sam on Vimeo.
Tony’s most recent character, a Fun Police Officer, has been simply amazing, even though I’ve seen on five separate occasions. He starts off, dressed as a police officer, walking in from off stage, “Well, well, well…. well, well, well, well, well…. WELL, WELL, well, well… Anybody know why I pulled this show over? I clocked ya doing boring!”
Truly, Tony Sam is part a new surge in comedy that presents the art form of comedy and where it can possibly can go. Whether as one of his incredibly original characters (he even has one where he’s a country singer with a shark for an arm), just himself doing stand-up, or in a sketch or improv, Tony is deftly and skillfully pushing the bounds of comedy while managing to have crowds rolling in laughter.
As a result, Tony not only frequently performs around LA at some of the city’s best show, but has his own stellar show, Persona!, a character based comedy show, which has gotten stellar reviews from Punchline Magazine as well as here at the Comedy Bureau. Taking place every month, Sam has himself and several of LA’s best comedians and they only perform as characters, which has made for quite a hit amongst a sea of fantastic comedy line-ups every night in Los Angeles.
Sam is also the head editor and writer/contributor at HahaJK.com, which, in short, is news the way you would want to hear it. Daily, Sam posts news stories that are based on real news, but are funny just the way you would really want.
As of this week, Tony will be performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Chicago this Tuesday and later this month he’ll be having his fantastic Persona! on June 30th at the Hollywood Improv Lab. If that’s not enough for Tony for you, you can follow him on Twitter @toekneesam and check his website tonysam.com. Really, any chance you get to catch Tony Sam and his many “voices” on stage should not be missed.
1) It’s simply not enough to say that Frolic @ Far Bar is just a great show with a fantastic line-up of comics (which it is). With live comedy, running over 90 minutes, in my opinion, one enters extremely tricky territory as the audience tires, settles their check, and checks any pertinent e-mail/texts. Yet producer/comic Josh Rencher
put together such a tightly-run show with a plethora of great comics (who are so funny that it doesn’t matter that they have “credits” even though they all do) comprising what could be four different amazing shows on their own that I was able to sit and watch and laugh with the packed room throughout for the entire duration (approximately 2 hours). As host (and as cliché as this sounds, it’s true) with the most Asterios Kokkinos said, “There’s no fat on this show.” Within one of the parts of LA that actually looks like a city and has the type of nightlife where people actually WALK around, Little Tokyo, the hip, though very retro Far Bar offered Rencher’s Frolic! that very intimate setting that live comedy demands to work. Thus I simply enjoyed a night of some of my absolute favorites comics in LA that are regularly featured here at the Comedy Bureau and more: Host Asterios Kokkinos,
Brent Weinbach,
Zach Sherwin, 
Kyle Kinane, 
Melissa Villaseñor,
and Eddie Pepitone.
None of those people should be missed wherever they’re performing, but certainly not at the Frolic show. Unfortunately, Frolic will be on hiatus until a date and location to be yet determined, but check back at the Comedy Bureau for details on the next one.
2) Forget about the N word being taken out of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and how he must be rolling in his grave LAUGHING and saying, “I told you so!” Go on tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL instead. Persona @ Hollywood Improv 8PM $5/free for comics, The Josh & Josh Show @ Bar Lubitsch 8:30PM FREE, Fifty First Jokes @ Zephyr Theatre 9:30PM $7 (stand-by only), How to Live with Chelsea Peretti @ UCB Theatre 9:30PM $5.
3) OPEN MIC RUN: SANDWICH SPOT 3101 Ocean Park, Santa Monica/Starts 7PM, COMEDY CRATE OPEN MIC 1061 S. La Brea, Ingelwood, CA/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM, HOLLYWOOD HOTEL 1160 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up 7PM/Starts 7:30PM, CAFE ON 2ND 7 S. 2nd St., Alhambra, CA/Sign-up 7PM/Starts 7:30PM, 212 CAFE 212 Pier Ave., Santa Monica, CA/Starts 9PM, MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel, past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed
4) Next Tues. Jan. 11th. Louis CK will be dropping his upcoming album “Hilarious”. You should go buy it. I don’t think I can make this anymore matter-of-fact than the last two sentences except for this next one. Just go and buy it.
5) If you suffer from not having enough Marc Maron in your smartphone like I do, there is now a WTF Podcast w/Marc Maron app available for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad that you can stream multitudes of episodes off of or even be able to call the show when it’s taping. It’s Marc Maron for only $0.99. You can’t really turn that down. Really.
6) My faith in people has just been partially restored (approximately 2%) Conan O’Brien just won a People’s Choice Awards for Best Talk Show Host as you can see here.
7) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” today to DAN DOMINGUEZ-“@dandomingueznow And, Lo a pale rider, on a skeletal horse, and Hell followed with him, and behind Hell: Incredible savings! Over 30% off on all housewares!” Dan not only cheats the edges of absurdity with his comedy, but comprises one third of the force that is the Biggest Mistake Podcast (other 2/3 is Paul Jay and Jen Goldberg) and a major part of the “manly as f” site manosterone.com. Check back at the Comedy Bureau for show dates as you don’t want to miss whatever Dan is going to say next. Website. Twitter.
8) From the “You Should Have Been There” Lagoon: Richard Pryor on Love
9) Donate to the Comedy Bureau. This is day 4 without food, and by food, I mean sanity…. Also, day 4 is really day 78.
10) Only other that is stupider than asking to be heckled on stage is telling a crowd that they don’t deserve you and then stay silent for the rest of your 5 minutes.
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1) Persona @ Hollywood Improv Lab is where you can see the artistry in comedy at work. As an all “character” live comedy show, all the performers commit wholeheartedly to a persona (hence the name of the show), which range anywhere from "Reverend Boone Turde"…
…to “Jason Nash’s Father-in-Law”…
to Johnny Pemberton as a Tea Party Conspiracy Theorist.
In short, Persona is spectacular in ridding itself of all the conventions of a normal live comedy show that has a very neat structure of a showcase of comics or sketches and making a journey out of the entire experience with performers “interrupting” the show and interacting with the audience. The audience is constantly drawn in with “out-of-the-box” costumes, voices, and are genuinely surprised by the end of any one of the fantastic performances as shown when Host Tony Sam, who also played a plethora of a hilarious characters, choked a puppet of himself. Last night’s audience at the Hollywood Improv Lab got to enjoy the immense talents of Davey Johnson, Johnny Pemberton, Fred Young, Chris Walsh, Jason Nash, and the amazing sounds of Ogre Mage and certainly got more than their $5 worth of entertainment. Persona! will be on every second Thursday of the month at the Hollywood Improv Lab promptly at 8:30PM. Check back at the Comedy Bureau for more details.
2) Just because tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL is manageable doesn’t mean it’s one to ignore. It simply means that you can actually make it to more of the best live comedy shows in LA. Start off with Laughs Without Liquor @ Plummer Park 6PM/8PM $20, then go to Jackie Kashian @ Flappers-Claremont 8PM/10PM $15, then go to Tammy Jo Dearen’s Laughing Stock @ The Palms 9:30PM $10, then end the night on a good note with Stood Up Friday Night @ Moving Arts Theatre 10PM $5.
3) OPEN MIC RUN: SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM/one item min., iCANDY 1708 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA/Sign-up 6PM/Starts 7PM/$3 min. SILVERLAKE LOUNGE 2906 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA (Silverlake)/Sign-up (lottery) 6:30PM/Starts 7PM, MAX BLOOM’S 200 N. Malden Ave., Fullerton, CA/Starts 7PM, GLENDALE DAYS INN 450 N. Pioneer Dr., Glendale, CA/Starts 8PM, SAPPHIRE LOUNGE @ NEWPORT BEACH RADISSON 4545 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach, CA/Starts 9PM/Contact David Marley for sign up, MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed.
4) The Ultimate Free & Cheap LA Comedy List 12/12-12/18. Thanks Wisepix.
5) Punchlist Magazine is currently having their Punchlist 2010 which anyone can vote for via Facebook. However, sifting through the nominees might be a bit difficult, so here’s a CHEAT SHEET (I apologize if I seem indecisive on a few of these). Best Stand Up Comedian on TV: Louis CK, Best Comedy Show on TV: Louie OR Modern Family, Best Musical Comedy Act: Garfunkel and Oates OR Reggie Watts, Best Sketch Group: Birds of Prey, Best New Podcast: The Morning After OR The Biggest Mistake, Best Comedy Website: ——–(just pick one as the Comedy Bureau is not on there), Best Tweeter: Eddie Pepitone OR Cornell Reid OR Jim Hamilton, Best Comedy Festival: Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Best Improv Troupes: (pick at your own discretion as I have not been to enough improv shows this year to make an informed decision)
6) The Hollywood Laugh Factory officially broke the record for longest running live comedy show with their Comicthon with an astounding running time of over 80 hours. Finishing around 10:30PM last night, the achievement was supported by the likes of everyone from Dave Chappelle to a fearless Maronzio Vance going up at 5AM. This tops the previous mark made by the Comic Strip in NYC, which I myself will try to top by having a non-stop live comedy show within my own head without admitting myself to a mental ward.
7) Comedy Death Ray Nativity Pageant’s Auctions are still going for a few more days for the benefit of the LA Regional Food Bank. Go auction here for such exciting items as a private performance from Garfunkel and Oates to Brian Posehn and Steve Agee watching Steven Seagal with you to Sarah Silverman skyping with your family at Christmas to even a private performance from Maria Bamford. Bids right now are ranging anywhere from $120 to over a $1000, which immediately puts me out of the running with my “auction budget” of $5.34.
8) The Comedy Bureau “Tip Its Hat” today to KYLE KINANE-“@kylekinane The Winchester Mystery House is the physical equivalent of my thought process. "Oh, look–another staircase that goes nowhere.” Honored to have him ask me what the name for a labyrinth was and give him another “Tip of the Hat”, Kyle was just featured as one of Comedy Central’s Breakout Comics of 2010. Just don’t ever miss him performing live, especially since you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so in the next week at French Toast @ Taix Sun. Dec. 12th 8:30PM FREE, Melgard Mondays @ Melgard Public House Mon. Dec. 13th 9PM FREE, Sweet and Sour Comedy ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY/BIRTHDAY BASH Tues. Dec. 14th 7PM $5, Blamblamblam @ R-Bar Tues Dec. 14th 9PM, Meltdown @ Meltdown Comics Wed. Dec. 15th 8:30PM $8, and finally Elfin Funny @ The Echo Sat. Dec 18th 7PM $5. Kyle’s Website and Twitter; don’t forget about’em (even though they’re pretty much the same)
9) From the “You Should Have Been There” Lagoon: The Lads-Mike O’Connell and Matt Dwyer, Et Al.
10) If I tweeted more, would I get more donations. It’s a two birds with one stone type of a thing or just a convenient just to say it in one sentence.
11) For those of you waiting for me to be more negative, I have one word for you: March.
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THE COMEDY BUREAU
1) For the sake of LA Comedy, I did 23 minutes at an open mic in Alhambra where I was only supposed to do 10, but was not given the light by anyone including the host, then checked out two shows of the 6 SIMULTANEOUSLY RUNNING shows at the Eagle Rock Comedy Festival, one of which was so rowdy that prompted the tweet, “@thecomedybureau Why can’t Lakers beat down the Clippers like their beating comedy right now?”. I could have ended the night there, but from Long Beach to Alhambra to Eagle Rock, I felt the need to go to the depths of the shadiest parts of Hollywood for one of the best shows in town to end the night properly, “The Jesse Miller Talk Show”. With Ron Babcock, April Richardson, Jason Nash (who brought a REAL homeless man on stage with him), Johnny Pemberton (check him out as the badass host of Megadrive tonight MTV 11PM), and the Jesse Miller Mogul Management crew (Andre Hyland as Jesse Miller, Anna Lee Lawson as Tanya Starlet, Paul Oyen as Daryl, and Matthew Cardapole as the for-hire Elf), the night was emphatically ended with a howl and “straight-up” huge laughs when, as depicted above, there was a contest to throw a real Christmas wreath in attempt to land it on top of Daryl’s head. This comedy sojourn was all for the sake of LA Comedy, which is why at one point in the night, I yelled, “I AM THE COMEDY BUREAU!”
2) Be part of LA Comedy history with the groundbreaking comedy spectacles on tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL with Day 4 of Comicthon @ Hollywood Laugh Factory HAPPENING RIGHT NOW (going for world record for longest running continuous live comedy show) one unwrapped toy, Eagle Rock Comedy Festival @ Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock & More 8PM FREE, The Comedy Speakeasy @ The TSR Lounge 8PM FREE (call 323-568-1616 to be part of live audience), Persona @ The Hollywood Improv Lab 8:30PM $5, The Josh and Josh Show @ Bar Lubitsch 8:30PM FREE, The Produce Section Show @ 761 Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 8:30PM FREE (say “produce section” to doorman to get in), and The Last Akaaba Presents @ The Seafood Shack (that isn’t the name of the show; it’s really their last show) 8:30PM FREE, Smug Shift @ UCB Theatre 9:30PM $5
3) OPEN MIC RUN: HOLLYWOOD HOTEL 1160 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 7PM, THE SANDWICH SPOT 3101 Ocean Park Ave., Santa Monica, CA/Starts 7PM, CAFE ON 2ND 7 S. 2nd St., Alhambra, CA/Sign-up 7PM/Starts 7:30PM/$3 cover/10 min. guaranteed, SIPOLOGY 448 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA/Sign-up 7PM/Starts 8PM/must work clean and no material on religion and politics, TKO SHOW @ 212 CAFE 212 Pier Ave., Santa Monica, CA/Starts 9PM, MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed.
4) As suggested above, you should never miss Andre Hyland’s Jesse Miller’s Talk Show and now the opportunity to do so is now available. STRAIGHT UP! The Jesse Miller “Straight Up” DVD is now available from Andre Hyland himself featuring over 20 different videos of Jesse Miller and his clients at Mogul Management including clips from their Comedy Central Pilot, Jesse walking around Cincinnati shouting that the Bengals are going to the Super Bowl with the tattoos to prove it, and other ‘Hard as Hell’ videos. Go to source for the “Straight Up” DVD here.
5) Comedic force of nature Mike O’Connell has made a book of his thoughts in poetry form available to the public TO WITNESS HIS MAD GENIUS!!! Please pick up ’Impractical Pocket Poesy’ here.
6) Rooftop Comedy National College Comedy Competition is BACK!!! Coming in spring, the competition will scour 32 different schools to find the best in comedy (categories include Stand Up and Films) all across the U.S. Also, submission is completely FREE! Check back at the Comedy Bureau for more details.
7) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” today to EDDIE PEPITONE: “@eddiepepitone Twitter is God’s way of saying fuck you to the novel.” Eddie is not only a prolific “tweeter”, but to see him live is to experience comedic brilliance like you’ve never seen before. You can actually have the privilege of doing so tonight at Persona @ The Hollywood Improv Lab 8:30PM $5 (mentioned above) and this Saturday Dec. 11th “Tomorrow w/Ron Lynch” @ Steve Allen Theater (4773 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Feliz) MIDNIGHT $8 or vote for him as the Best Tweeter for Punchline Magazine’s Punchlist 2010 via Facebook here. Oh yeah, don’t miss his website and, just in case I haven’t made it quite clear, FOLLOW EDDIE PEPITONE ON TWITTER right here.
8) From the “You Should Have Been There” Lagoon: Andy Kaufman “I Trusted You”
9) The Comedy Bureau Donation Box is still waiting for a 2nd donation.
10) “Be offensive. Say some racist shit. Be fucking offensive. Fuck it. If someone gets pissed, fuck it.”-Real person that I met two days ago
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THE COMEDY BUREAU