Pick of the Day: Reggie Watts: Great Falls Tour (in NYC) 10/17
Before taking on the bandleader gig at The Late Late Show, Reggie Watts galavanted across the globe doing his groundbreaking mixture of uncanny musical verve, stream-of-consciousness improv comedy, and undeniable warmth to mesmerized and delighted audiences. It was then that Watts was mainly based out of NYC and you might seem him pop up in around the five boroughs, but it has been quite some time since New Yorkers have gotten to enjoy a full evening with Reggie.
Well, now that The Late Late Show has come to an end, Watts is going out on the road for his Great Falls Tour and stopping at the hallowed NYC stage at The Bell House on Tues. Oct. 17th. Tickets will absolutely sell out, even at $45 a pop, which is why we’re telling you that they will go on sale this Thurs. Jun. 29th at 12PM ET/9AM PT.
First Ever JFL London Announces First Line-Up
Technically, Just For Laughs has already gone international with having festivals throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico. That said, they have yet to expand outside of North America as one of the biggest live comedy brands in the world, but that’s all about to change in a few months with the arrival of JFL London.
The very first Just For Laughs London will take over London’s signature venue, The O2 Arena for four days from Thurs. Mar. 2nd-Sun. Mar. 5th. To make a splash on that side of the pond, JFL has already amassed a bunch of big names, many of them big to us Yanks, for their inaugural London festival.
So far, they’ve got:
RYAN REYNOLDS “MAXIMUM EFFORT”
GRAHAM NORTON
KATHERINE RYAN AND FRIENDS
REGGIE WATTS
AISLING BEA AND FRIENDS
RICHARD CURTIS
ROB DELANEY
THE HORNE SECTION
ADAM BUXTON
BEST OF BUG
CRAIG ROBINSON AND THE NASTY DELICIOUS
THE RECEIPTS PODCAST LIVE
MAX AND IVAN’s THE WRESTLING
SPRINGLEAF: JAMES ACASTER AND NISH KUMAR
ELIS JAMES AND JOHN ROBINS LIVE
SHAPARAK KHORSANDI: IT WAS THE 90S!
ALL KILLA NO FILLA PODCAST
A GAY AND A NONGAY PODCAST
STAMPTOWN HOSTED BY ZACH ZUCKER
LUISA OMIELAN “TEN’
RANDY FELTFACE
DARREN HARRIOTT
JESSICA FOSTEKEW “WENCH”
FOC IT UP COMEDY CLUB HOSTED BY KEMAH BOB!
A VERY SPECIAL SERIES OF SHOWS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMIC RELIEF
We have no doubt that they’ll add more names in the coming weeks that will might want to make you rethink your holiday budget so you can buy airfare, hotel, and a festival pass.
Tickets will go on sale on Thanksgiving at 2AM PST, 5AM EST, and 10AM GMT. You’ll be putting the turkey in the oven by then, right?
Pick of the Day: Lance Bangs Presents (in LA) 9/2
If you Google “Lance Bangs”, you’ll first read that he’s an American Filmmaker. While that’s very true, Bangs is also a curator of the underground, seeking out those thrilling voices, often in and around comedy that you hope to bare witness to at a live comedy and/or music show. Having worked with the likes of Jackass to Tyler the Creator to Marc Maron to Nirvana to George Harrison to John Hodgman to his latest work on Moses Storm’s acclaimed HBO special, Trash White, Bangs is one of the most respected figures behind the scenes.
So, the fact that he’s curating a very special night of comedy at The Elysian come Fri. Sept. 2nd should be something you mark down on your calendar immediately, right after you immediately get tickets.
The line-up features some of the best folks he’s worked with that happen to be some of the best, most clever, most subversive, funny voices in comedy.
That includes:
- Fred Armisen
- Reggie Watts
- Girl God
- Natalie Palamides
- Caleb Hearon
- Moses Storm
- Brandon Wardell
- Ian Karmel
- David Gborie
It’s such a stellar line-up and you can see all of that for only $20. Go get your tickets for Lance Bangs Presents @ The Elysian on 9/2 right here.
Andrew Sleighter Delivers the First Stand Up Set (on TV) for 2022
At the dawn of 2021, the prospect of late night was much different, well, actually, slightly different than it is now. Most shows didn’t have a live audience and there was a good majority reliance on doing interviews via Zoom or some other teleconferencing platform. While Fallon and Seth Meyers both caught COVID-19 in the last few weeks, late night is pushing forward somewhat as it once did, featuring stand-up comedians doing short sets included.
The slickly funny Andrew Sleighter starts off stand-up comedy for 2022 with their first televised set and, unlike in 2021, it’s not on a boat or on a rooftop, but on a big, fancy soundstage with a live audience. Omicron is refueling the pandemic, which we’re very much still in, but Sleighter gives a great take on his quarantine epiphany: millennials’ horrid financial health compared to their actual health.
Give Sleighter’s/2022’s first set a watch on The Late Late Show with James Corden here.
Please Enjoy Jon Dore as Comedy’s HR Rep on “Humour Resources”
There has has to be a lot of ingenuity in making any sort of content throughout the pandemic (that isn’t over yet). Necessity being the mother of invention has led to tons of Zoom comedy, but also given us some genuinely funny shows such as Baited with Ziwe on Instagram Live.
Another such show that attempted to deal with the creative conundrum of COVID-19 and very much succeeded is the new CBC comedy series, Humour Resources starring Jon Dore and created by Adam Brodie, Dave Derewlany, and Dore. With the obstacle of so many things having to rely on the front facing cameras for any sort of human interaction, Dore stars as an alternate universe version of himself that has retired from stand-up comedy and chooses to become an HR representative for all of “Comedy” (if all of comedy was housed under one umbrella corporation).
The show is centered around Dore having HR meetings of all shapes and sizes with beloved Canadian and American comedians including Sarah Silverman, Courtney Gilmour, Dave Merheje, Nikki Glaser, Casey Corbin, The Lucas Brothers, Tom Green, Ronny Chieng, DeAnne Smith, Scott Thompson, Sophie Buddle, Eric Andre, Debra DiGiovanni, Arthur Simeon, Rory Scovel, Kyle Brownrigg, Aisha Brown, and Reggie Watts. Even though it’s technically an HR meeting, this feels like Dore’s über clever version of how he would do a late night panel interview if he were given the slot for a talk show.
Thus, there’s a delightful mix of The Office and Conan throughout, especially since Dore has to deal with a quietly chaotic suburban home life while trying to maintain the appearance of a professional member of a Human Resources department. For awhile, if you were in the U.S., you couldn’t really watch it freely, put Just For Laughs is graciously streaming episodes for free on their YouTube channel, releasing them one by one.
At the accommodation of your very busy schedule, you can (and should) enjoy Humour Resources here.
Pick of the Day: The Comedy Bureau Double Anniversary LA 10/25
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.
SXSW Online 2021 Announces a Comedy Line-Up Featuring the Some of America’s Most Renowned Comedy Clubs
It is not too far from this time last year that the devastating news that SXSW was going to be cancelled was going to be delivered. Along with its cancellation came the nixing of a wide-ranging program of live comedy that had become one of Texas’ biggest annual comedy events.
As we are still in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, SXSW is going entirely virtual for 2021. They did not want to be deterred from not only highlighting the best in comedy wherever the festival could find it, but note how truly special it is and help it survive through its various “homes” and “family members”.
Thusly, SXSW Comedy is opting to have exclusive performances (done with strict COVID-19 safety protocols) from the some of the most hallowed comedy clubs in the country including Acme Comedy Co in Minneapolis, Dynasty Typewriter and the Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles, Gotham Comedy Club in NYC, and Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago with the celebrated comedy stylings of Beth Stelling, Reggie Watts, Erin Jackson, Monroe Martin III, Clayton English, Chris Porter, Emma Willmann, Dan Soder, Joel Kim Booster, and Matty Ryan. Doug Loves Movies, Matt Besser’s improv4humans, selections from The Creek & The Cave’s Bring Back Laughs will also be part of this marvelous cross-country virtual SXSW comedy round-up.
This should be a momentous occasion coming on a year of lockdown in America and how we have all endured and comedy is still going (and will hopefully keep surviving) despite being challenged like it has never been challenged before.
This year’s online edition of SXSW is set for Mar. 16th-20th and you can get more info on their comedy offerings as well as buy/register for a pass here.
Pick of the Day: NYE Comedy Mega Show 2021
Though it has to be virtual, NYE’s comedy shows are still very much happening and they’re streaming from all around the globe (which should make it so much easier to tune into whatever your favorite(s) might be).
We’d like to start off by highlighting one of this particular NYE’s Comedy Mega Show that’ll ring in the New Year for the East Coast and the Midwest as well as feature a grand line-up of Reggie Watts, Natasha Leggero, Moshe Kasher, Fred Armisen, Brent Weinbach, and Andrew Michaan. Whether that would be in person or not, that’s pretty stellar for a New Year’s Eve comedy line-up.
Luckily, you can stream it safely from home and remember that time kind of still functions.
NYE’s Comedy Mega Show starts on Dec. 31st 8:30PM PT/11:30PM ET and tickets are $15-$25. Go get them here.
Pick of the Day: Ally Coalition 7th Annual Talent Show 12/21
It’s almost as if there is an advent calendar for holiday charity live-streams that feature some of the biggest and brightest and best in comedy and music every day this week (and maybe next). There have been plenty of Georgia Runoff benefits, but they’re also big time festival-gala-ish line-ups that are supporting issues that are a little broader.
In the case of the Ally Coalition’s 7th Annual Talent Show, it’s supporting unhoused LGBTQ youth, some of the most vulnerable members of our population. For their very special evening, they’ve got the likes of Mike Birbiglia, Aidy Bryant, Reggie Watts, Jacqueline Novak, Chris Laker, Roy Wood Jr., The Lucas Brothers, and Kalen Allen on the bill. That’s in addition to musical performances from the likes of St. Vincent, Sleater-Kinney, Brittany Howard, Bleachers, Hayley Williams, and more.
It will all be streaming this Sun. Dec. 21st at 6PM PT from Jack Antonoff’s Twitch.
Get more info, full line-up, and details on specific orgs (Ruth Ellis Center, New Alternatives, Youth Breakout, Oakland LGBT Center, Bu Wellness Center, Lost-n-Found Youth) at theallycoalition.org.
SF Sketchfest Announces Virtual “Festpocalypse” Fundraiser This Coming January
How will they fit that much show into one night? We’re not really sure, but you best clear out Sat. Jan. 30th so you can watch, enjoy, and support SF Sketchfest via Festpocalypse starting at 5PM PT/8PM ET so you can pack in all of what’s listed above (i.e. all the live comedy you could possibly want from SF Sketchfest from the comfort of your own quarantine).
Tickets start at $20, which is pretty swell price. If you can’t make it on Jan. 30th, you’ll be able to watch it through Feb. 1st. Go get your tickets at sfsketchfest.com right now.
Pick of the Day: Get Salty 10/16
Not only are there so many causes that need your help and support, but there are so many accompanying comedy shows, even if they have to be done virtually, to support them.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (FYI, Cystic Fibrosis is a hereditary disease that affects the lungs and digestive system) is having a big time benefit live-stream comedy show, Get Salty, to support their efforts against Cystic Fibrosis this Fri. Oct. 16th at 6:30PM PT/9:30PM ET.
On the bill, just as of right now, are:
Sarah Silverman
Reggie Watts
Beth Stelling
Joel Kim Booster
Hosted by Richelle Meiss
Tickets are $35, but you can get VIP tickets featuring face-to-face with the comedians after.
Go snag your tickets right here, right now.
Pick of the Day: Vintage Basement with Max & Nicky 7/21
Vintage Basement with Max and Nicky had kept their semi-retro, semi-absurdist comedy/music variety show going pretty regularly as a live-stream at the start of quarantine, but have taken a bit of a break lately.
However, they’re back for July and they’ve got a powerhouse line-up of Fred Armisen, Aparna Nancherla, and Reggie Watts (and more are TBA!). No matter who Max and Nicky Weinbach have on their show, it’s always a charming, refreshing, stylish and silly collection of bits and song.
This edition of Vintage Basement with Max & Nicky will also be presented by the beloved LA venue, Dynasty Typewriter & Y’All Got a Radio and 10% of ticket sales will be going to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
All you have to spend for one hell of a show and giving a little to the NAACP LDF is $5-$10. So, go get your tickets ASAP here.
“Super Serious” Offers an Oral History of LA Indie Stand-Up Scene in a Gorgeous Coffee Table Book
It’s unclear as to exactly what was going on in 2010 in LA comedy, but it was the starting point of almost everything that makes it special now (well, right before COVID-19 struck anyway). The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail started around then, WTF with Marc Maron was picking up steam and kickstarted LA’s comedy podcast explosion, and even we had our humble beginnings around then. Also, so many indie comedy shows popped in and around LA giving the LA comedy scene the sort of connective tissue that it was missing years prior.
One such show is The Super Serious Show and, as they’ve kept their high flying variety show going for a decade between a handful of unique, wondrous venues around LA, they’ve seen the ebbs and flows, the new, the old, the highs, the shifts, the rumblings, the lows, and everything in between that has been going in the venerable indie LA comedy scene, especially when it comes to stand-up. Thus, Super Serious Show co-creator and portrait photographer Mandee Johnson assembled a lovely and exhaustive oral history of the comedy scene here in LA, accented by her signature polaroid portraiture of the hundreds and hundreds of performers that have stepped on The Super Serious Show stage. Contributors to this special oral history entitled Super Serious: An Oral History of Los Angeles Independent Stand-Up Comedy include Hasan Minhaj, Rory Scovel, Anthony Jeselnik, Karen Kilgariff, Baron Vaughn, Dave Anthony, Andy Kindler, Natalie Palamides, Kristen Schaal, Ron Funches, Reggie Watts, Rachel Bloom, Dana Gould, Eddie Pepitone, Cameron Esposito and dozens more.
If you’re as obsessive about comedy as we are, it’s definitely a must have for your coffee table (or whatever table you have). Super Serious: An Oral History of Los Angeles Independent Stand-Up Comedy is available for pre-order now and will be released on Aug. 18th from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Given how there are plenty of shipping delays for non-essential items these days in the U.S., best to put your order in now. Get more details and get your copy here.
Fun news alert: We have a BOOK!
Super Serious: An Oral History of Los Angeles Independent Stand-Up Comedy is available for pre-sale NOW!
Learn more: https://t.co/XRUUsXZ7Xq @mandeephoto @AndrewsMcMeel @_triangle_house #SuperSeriousShow #SuperSeriousBOOK pic.twitter.com/F9GZunTsYZ
— Super Serious Show (@seriousshow) July 14, 2020
Pick of the Day: Glow Show with Joey Z
It’s unfortunate that SXSW got cancelled (amidst a bunch of big time events getting cancelled because of COVID-19). However, if you were looking forward to seeing some very special comedy in Austin, TX during SXSW this month, perhaps you can get kind of close (without leaving town) with the Austin-born Glow Show with Joey Z.
As the name suggests, it’s a comedy show with glow-in-the-dark running rampant from start to finish and this line-up certainly is worthy of SXSW with the likes of Reggie Watts, Kyle Kinane, and fresh off her TV debut and fantastic debut album Vanessa Gonzalez. We have no doubt that this ought to be something special.
The Glow Show with Joey Z is set for Mon. Mar. 30th at Lyric Hyperion at 9PM. Tickets are $8 now and $12 day of. Save a few bucks and go get your tickets here right now.
It’s quite simple. One of the best shows in town, Hot Tub with Kurt & Kristen, is celebrating that it has been one of the best shows in town (in NYC in the past and LA now actually) for 15 years and is having such the massive, gala worthy line-up.
Also, the always marvelous duo of Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal will there hosting (and, well, maybe they could do Kristen Schaal Is a Horse for even longer?)
Tickets are sold out right now, but a few door tickets will be available. Line-up plenty early for your chance to snag them. Stay up to date with the ticket situation @hottub_show.
For years now, Eric Andre’s birthday party has been the sort of a legend that you’d hear whispers about and see glimpses of on Instagram.
Now, Andre is upping the ante, potentially throwing his biggest birthday shindig ever, complete with the insanity that comedy’s premier enfant terrible is beloved for as well as a pretty damn great line-up of comedy/music at the Hollywood Palladium (Kweli, Reggie Watts, and Jack Black on the same line-up? Come on now.)
Tickets for Eric Andre’s Bad Trip Birthday Bu’kkake are on sale now, going for $59.50-$160, and don’t be surprised if they sell out real quick (i.e. go get them now)
Opportunities to see Reggie Watts and his handpicked Late Late Show band “Karen” jam out in between Reggie riffing wherever his wondrous imagination takes him don’t come around too often.
Honestly, even if it did, you shouldn’t waste an opportunity to see Watts and Karen bring the best vibes, oscillating between music and comedy, the whole night.
So, snag tickets now for $20 (they’re $25 day of) to see Reggie Watts and Karen at Teragram Ballroom near DTLA at the end of this month, Thurs. Jan. 30th at 9PM.
Reggie Watts and his handpicked Late Late Show band Karen are sneaking out of CBS Television City once again to take you on a musical odyssey, wonderfully accented by Reggie’s flights of fancy (in various voices) and waxing comedically. It’s a one of a kind experience and should not be missed.
This latest session from Reggie Watts & Karen will be happening at the Teragram Ballroom (it’s just west of DTLA) next Thurs. Aug. 15th at 9PM. Tickets are still available at $22 a pop. Go get ‘em here.
Truly, it only seems like a little while ago that a super cool variety show called The Super Serious Show started up in a super cool photo studio and provided a stellar variety showcase of stand-up, short film, characters, music, and more.
Yet, almost 9 years later, The Super Serious Show, now at the also super cool Virgil, continues to stand as that same stellar, very diverse, carefully handpicked comedy variety showcase we really love.
For their 9 year mark, they’re really bringing the goods as you can see in the 9 year anniversary line-up above. Don’t miss out on helping them celebrating 9 years and seeing a great, great comedy show.
You’re going to want to get your tickets ASAP ($7 in adv., $10 at door-cash only). Do so here.
When going out to one of LA’s many stellar comedy shows, you might often wonder what, where, and when you should eat (especially some great indie shows take place in weird parts of town and there just so happens to be no food truck present).
Well, Amuse Bouche will be an evening next month that gracefully fixes that issue by offering up an exclusive, delicious dinner from Otoño, Hail Mary, and Melody as well as a very, very, very delectable line-up of comedy (just look at the flyer and you’ll know). You can thank CleftClips and the podcast Yelling About Pâté for such presenting such a night for epicures/comedy aficionados.
Tickets are $35 (includes show + dinner, drinks sold separately). Go get ‘em here before they sell out.
Reggie Watts, Kate Berlant, and Rory Scovel Will Be Improvising Their Sitcom Crowe’s Nest via Livestream This Thursday
If you remember from Reggie Watts last special Spatial, there was a portion of it that included an abstract parody of a sitcom.
If you haven’t seen Spatial, stop reading and go watch it as it is an hour of pure Reggie in the best way possible.
So, this Thursday, thanks to Butcher Bird Studios, Reggie, Rory Scovel, and Kate Berlant will get to an extended version of them going around in the form of a traditional sitcom.
We have no idea what’s going to happen (as it will be fully improvised), but we’re sure that it will be tomfoolery of the highest degree and shouldn’t be missed.
You can catch it at https://www.youtube.com/reggiewatts at 9PM (with a “pre-show” at 8PM)
Get more details here.
The line-up, the hosts, and the poster (done by Joe Karg) are all so gorgeous. It’s almost like you shouldn’t miss out on the latest edition of Repentance at the Lyric Hyperion Theatre & Cafe in Silverlake.
Get your tickets here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
Not only are you going to get see a comedy equivalent of the phenomenon known as “cuckolding” from the fun bunch that is Jason Saenz, Grant Gordon, and Eddie Della Siepe, but this is your chance to see Reggie Watts, Rory Scovel, and Garfunkel & Oates on the same bill.
We have no doubt that this will sell out. Get tickets here quick.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
Get Your First Look at the Crazy Game Show Hosted by Reggie Watts, “Taskmaster”
If you were to imagine what sort of games/obstacles/labors that one Reggie Watts were to put contestants through on a game show, it might involve the sort of thing that’d have you paint a picture of a horse whilst riding a horse.
See what other shenanigans abide in this preview here.