Get more details and RSVP for free here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.
Get more details and RSVP for free here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.
As you can see from the flyer, if you’re up in Canada in Winnipeg, going to The Oddblock Block Party Comedy Festival is what you should be doing this weekend.
Here’s the full schedule, line-up, and, of course, where you can get tickets.
The Tomorrow Show with Ron Lynch takes the idea of The Dating Game and mutates it into this wonderful late night, absurdist version of someone trying to go on a date with a bachelorette. It’s absolutely one of our favorite things to go see.
Get more details and tickets here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.
Drennon Davis not only takes you back to the days of turning the dial of terrestrial radio, but does so with the such cleverness in his Imaginary Radio Program.
This will be a taping for Seeso’s Comedy Show Show featuring comedy formats that really push the comedy envelope.
It’s free to attend so long as you RSVP.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events and open mics along with corresponding maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com
One of LA’s longest running midnight comedy shows hosted by one of LA’s comedy treasures, Ron Lynch, does a delightfully mutated version of The Dating Game in Hook-Up!
Whether you’re into Valentine’s Day or believe that it’s a corporate mandated holiday that constricts us all into the idea of monogamy, it’s great to see a dating game that pits someone looking for love around a bunch of crazy people.
Catch it this Saturday night at midnight, Feb. 13th at Trepany House @ Steve Allen Theater. $8.
For complete LA comedy show listings and corresponding maps, please visit www.thecomedybureau.com
From what we saw, Denver has a good thing going in its comedy scene.
As you might imagine, we don’t get out of LA often or, really at all since there is so much to cover around the scene.
However, last month, we found our way to Denver, Colorado for the 3rd Annual High Plains Comedy Festival and we sure didn’t regret taking a week to explore the ins and outs of comedy in Denver. The Grawlix, which created the upcoming truTV series Those Who Can’t, rose to their current station from Denver and following in their stead is a great bunch of comics operating in what seems to be a well-balanced eco-system of comedy.
With the bureau’s budget, we could only send one person to Denver, so here’s the highlights of what they were physically able to catch at High Plains as well as bit of the local scene on the eve of the festival:
-Everything we’ve heard about Comedy Works in Downtown Denver being one of the best comedy clubs in the entire country, which comes from so many respected people that we and everyone know, is absolutely true. The set up of low ceilings and no tables and stadium seating eliminated any possible distraction from the person on stage. We got to see Ron Funches warm up for his album taping and it was electric.
–The Fine Gentlemen’s Club has established as another solid, rising grouping of stand-ups in Denver. Chris Charpentier, Sam Tallent, Bobby Crane, and Nathan Lund made quite the showing at their own weekly show at The Deer Pile as well as their High Plains show at Three Kings Tavern.
-The storytelling showcase The Narrators, created by The Grawlix’s own Andrew Orvedahl, ran the gamut of emotions from hysterical to sobering to hysterical again. They just branched out to San Diego FYI.
-The three primary venues for High Plains were The Hi-Dive, 3 Kings Tavern, and Mutiny Information Cafe, which were all about two blocks from each other. That’s always a big plus at any comedy festival.
Sean Patton, photo by Carlos Madrid
–Sean Patton got to headline several shows throughout the festival, which is a real treat to see his rich and deeply colorful comedy for both fans and first timers alike.
Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl, and Ben Roy, photos by Emily Coates
-Hometown heroes The Grawlix (Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl, and Ben Roy) got a rousing, rollicking homecoming when they headlined at 3 Kings. At one point, Roy lead almost half the crowd, pied piper like, up on stage and through the green room just for the hell of it.
-Recent LA transplants via Denver, Kristin Rand and Haley Driscoll put on a display of how spirited and charming they are several times at High Plains as well as at a few shows we caught before the festival.
Kristin Rand, photo by Carlos Madrid
–Mara Wiles and The Funky Brunch was one of our favorite shows at High Plains. It pitted stand-ups to do sets that had to finish with a funk/soul-inspired obstacle/restriction like literally being tied up with rope as a silky smooth love song is playing.
-One of the after parties featured German rock “group” Total Ghost where The Nix Brothers, highly regarded directing duo from Denver, pretending to play their instruments during a crazy multimedia light extravaganza. It was a pretty solid way to kick off an after party of a comedy festival.
–Ian Abramson’s 7 Minutes in Purgatory made yet another great festival appearance that took its concept of isolating performers from the audience with sound proof headphones and made them perform on the street with a whole other random crowd watching. The sheer number of levels of which of which you could enjoy the show on were pretty great.
Ian Abramson, photo by Carlos Madrid
-High Plains’ marquee show The Paramount Theater was a real sight to see with a near 2000 people in attendance to see Anthony Jeselnik headline. As Anthony himself noted, it was nice to see that he didn’t get too high like some folks have gotten at past years of High Plains.
-Denver’s own Aaron Urist was also on that big show at The Paramount and killed with his dark observational humor.
Aaron Urist, photo by Emily Coates
-On a live recording of Kevin O’Brien and Taylor Gonda’s These Things Matter podcast, we really enjoyed Jay Larson not having seen a good majority of the favorite movies and TV of the hosts and guests Ron Funches, Jonah Ray, and Karen Kilgariff, which each guest has to defend why it’s their favorite.
-Hailing from Portland, Wisconsin, and NYC respectively, Sean Jordan, Sammy Arechar, and Noah Gardenswartz gave Denver a great taste of their comedy brand with Sean and Sammy on the more silly side of the comedy spectrum and Noah on the sharper, precise side.
–Guy Branum proved why he’s an exquisite comedy force over the course of several shows on the festival as well as why he deserves to be on way more stages doing comedy than the many he is doing currently.
-The edgy competitive Madlibs adjacent game of Uncalled Four, birthed and grown in Denver, showed why it could become a game show for those looking for something a little darker/more blue/more fun than Steve Harvey’s reactions to answers on Family Feud.
Kurt Braunohler, Matt Braunger, Beth Stelling, Byron Graham, and Guy Branum at Uncalled Four, photo by Emily Coates
-The absurdists Ron Lynch and Andrés du Bouchet had a ball at High Plains, making people double over while probably redefining their entire perception of the art form of comedy.
Ron Lynch, photo by Carlos Madrid
-Recently formed comedy music duo Drennon Davis and Karen Kilgariff have been making a case to rethink you possible prejudices against musical comedy so you can enjoy some of the funniest and best crafted songs, often made up almost entirely from Drennon’s loop pedal, to come along in the last several years. Their performances at the festival furthered that notion.
Drennon Davis and Karen Kilgariff, photo by Emily Coates
-We have to give a big hand to Andy Juett for being at the helm of High Plains as well as Sexpot Comedy, which he co-founded, being a big driving force behind the festival and making something that should become an institution in Denver comedy if it already isn’t one.
Andy Juett, photo by Carlos Madrid
While the upcoming Roast of Justin Bieber is a night of taking on a highly divisive figure with all the insults and verbal barbs that professional insult and verbal barb makers can muster as physical abuse is illegal, there was a time where roasts were for the ones you love.
The Roast of Ron Lynch wonderfully harkens back to that time.
Ron Lynch is, whether you or Ron knows it or not, an American comedy treasure and, as such, a roast in his honor was held a few weeks back at Trepany House @ The Steve Allen Theater. In attendance was a dais of his friends and contemporaries including Emo Philips, Chuck Sklar, Kevin Kataoka, Brendon Small, Joe Wagner, Katie Crown, The Walsh Brothers, Davey Johnson, and more.
They all took their approach of making fun of Ron and each other, saying something heartfelt, Ron expertly responding, and, as you might imagine made it a night to never forget.
Watch and enjoy a classic roast of a great comedian here.
Help Send The Tomorrow Show! with Ron Lynch to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival
For almost 9 years, we’ve enjoyed the magical evening of comedy that is The Tomorrow Show here in LA. It’s about time the rest of the world got to enjoy it as much as we do, so donate what you can to help the incomparable Ron Lynch make his goal to make The Tomorrow Show @ Edinburgh Fringe the most wondrous it can be.
He’s looking to raise $10,000 and has $7.277 raised. He’s ending the campaign by midnight tomorrow.
Whether you’re acquainted with all the dramas surrounding terrorist cells and homeland security or not, Law of the Land at David Cross/French Kiss Records’ FKR.TV is a pretty great, hilarious comedy version of all those shows. Not to mention they have an amazing cast of Ron Lynch, Brendon Small, Matt Kirshen, Chris Walsh, Samm Levine, Baron Vaughn, Matt Besser, Ali MacLean and more.
Give their second episode a watch here.
The Tomorrow Show with Ron Lynch Celebrates 8 Year Anniversary Over Next Month
One of LA’s best comedy shows just happens to be one of its longest running ones, The Tomorrow Show hosted by Ron Lynch. Currently, it’s going on 8 years out of The Steve Allen Theater bringing us all the bizarre hilarity of a true, blue variety comedy show with everything from classic stand up to not so classic stand up to someone making a cheeseburger spin on an umbrella to bad dating shows to wonderful music to old school carnies to some pretty fantastic magic, and, of course, the comedic brilliance of Ron Lynch.
So, you shouldn’t miss the rest of this entire 8 Year Anniversary celebration of The Tomorrow Show over the next 3 Saturdays at Midnight at The Steve Allen Theater with (in order) a Best of Show, Pre-Anniversary Show, and The Big Anniversary Show.
1) The man who found the end of the universe between two Starbucks, will find it again on Twitter; please follow @theLewisBlack. [via Laughspin]
2) You’ve probably already seen this, but Dane Cook, who makes way more money than Louis C.K. ever has, will be on Louie (Thurs. FX 10:30PM) this week, a program that will be infinitely more respected than anything Cook does, which begs the question, “Really, America?”
3) LA Weekly on the Tomorrow Show and its 6th Anniversary.
4) Watch the 1st episode of NTSF:SD:SUV. Now.
5) Paul F. Tompkins introducing Andy Kindler at Just For Laughs Montreal [via the Comic’s Comic]
6) Puddin’-“Chaw” w/guest Andy Daly
7) ON THE HORIZON
Reggie Watts @ Largo at the Coronet Theater Mon. Aug. 15th 9PM $25 (still not sold out for some reason)
8) COMEDY CRAWL
What’s Up Tiger Lily? @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
The 4 & 20 @ All Star Lanes 8PM FREE
Comedy Monsoon @ Monsoon Cafe 8:30PM FREE
The (Surprise) Roast of Dean Gelber @ The Comedy Store 9PM
Keep It Clean @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE
Crash Test @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5
9) OPEN MIC RUN
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM/$4 min./first come, first served
CLUB 705 705 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA/Starts 7PM-ish/no purchase necessary/first come, first served
RED ROCK 8782 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/$5 min./multiple sets allowed/first come, first served
TRIBAL CAFE 1651 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 8PM/no purchase necessary/first come, first served
JAKE’S 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA/Starts 8PM/Sign-up is lottery/no purchase necessary
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 min./multiple sets allowed/bottled water and coffee provided
10) Had one of those “you-should-do-this-for-your-act” moments with my parents the other night to which I could only respond, “describing pizza as lazy calzone is not funny”.
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2) Curtiss Angel-Criss Angel’s Cousin Part 2 (Here’s Part 1 where he still believes in magic) NOTE: Follow anything Andre Hyland does. We’re not kidding.
3) My favorite picture of the week with Ron Lynch and Craig Anton…
4) Everyone is saying that the 30 Minutes or Less Red Band Trailer is giving away too much? Well, at least they’re giving away that it might be worth watching:
EMBED-30 Minutes or Less – Watch more free videos
5) This week’s “Tip of the Hat” goes to Sean Patton. Look for the article/profile coming soon.
6) Favorite Season 1 Recap of Comedy Show of the Week: The Good Luck Show!
Good Luck Show, Season 1 RECAP! from Charlie watkins on Vimeo.
7) Bill Hicks Tribute by Paul Provenza, Colin Hanks, Richard Linklater, Keith Olberman, and more!!!
8) The Ultimate Free & Cheap LA Comedy List 6/19-6/25. Thanks Wisepix.
9) Will Dave Chappelle Ever Really Make a Comeback? [via Punchline Magazine]
10) ON THE HORIZON
Comedy Revolver @ Hollywood Improv Lab Tues. Jun. 21st 10PM $5
This Is Not Happening @ Hollywood Improv Thurs. Jun. 23rd 8PM $5/2 item min.
Kyle Kinane @ Hollywood Improv Fri. July 1st 8PM $18/2 item min.
Jack Follman: Recipe for Disaster Comedy @ Cafe Muse Sat. July 9th 9:30PM FREE
11) COMEDY CRAWL
It’s A Long Way Down 8PM FREE
ASSSSCAT @ UCB Theatre 8PM $10
Brian Posehn @ Hollywood Improv 8PM/10PM $20/2 item min.
Re-Animator @ Steve Allen Theater 8PM $30
Jimmy Dore @ Flappers Burbank 8PM/10PM $17/2 item min.
The Anytime Show w/Dominic Dierkes @ Underground Annex Theater 8PM $5
Pod F. Tompkast LIVE! @ Largo at the Coronet Theater 8:30PM $25
Little Dick Sports @ Hop Louie 9PM FREE
Gelmania @ UCB Theatre 10PM $10 (stand by only)
Magic Bag @ Underground Annex Theater 10PM $5
Tournament of Nerds @ UCB Theatre MIDNIGHT $5 (stand by only)
The Tomorrow Show @ Steve Allen Theater MIDNIGHT $8
12) OPEN MIC RUN
SPOT CAFE 4455 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA/Starts 2PM/feedback given at end
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM/$4 min./first come, first served
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/5PM to 11PM/$5 min./multiple sets allowed/coffee & water provided
WESTSIDE COMEDY THEATER 1323-A 3rd St. Promenade, Santa Monica, CA (in alley between 3rd and 4th St.)/Sign-up (lottery) 6PM/Starts 6:30PM/no purchase necessary/4 min.
13) Saw a “comic” point out noises instead of telling jokes or do ANYTHING because apparently we weren’t on board with his weirdness, which he didn’t approve of, and then cut and run right after his set. If he was trying to make sure that people won’t come to his shows where his name is on the bill, he’s doing a damn good job.
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1) TJ Miller is going to be the lead in a movie! [via Hollywood Reporter]
2) Norm MacDonald’s Me Doing Standup is finally out. BUY IT NOW!!!
4) Tonight (if you don’t feel like going out to support live comedy) there’s Jeff Garlin making an appearance on Conan 11PM on TBS and the first night of the premiere of Jon Benjamin Has A Van 10:30PM on Comedy Central.
5) Independently produced Beer in the Shower has a new location starting tomorrow at Dreams Cafe (5625 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA). It’s still free it still has a hell of line-up with Kyle Kinane, James Adomian, Baron Vaughn, and more, AND it’s only a few blocks from the original location. Don’t miss out, tomorrow 9:30PM.
6) I got a chance to catch the Tulsa Skull Swingers composed of hilarious people in their own right: Craig Anton, Ron Lynch, Blaine Capatch, and Amit Itelman at 3 Clubs last night. Simply amazing. Imagine Link Wray retrofitted for a comedy variety show and you’ll start to get an idea… Stay tuned here at the Bureau for details about their next month.
7) Art and Slapstick Comedy: Josh Fadem and his pratfalls.
8) The 2 & 45 @ All Star Lanes on Mon. July 18th at 8PM will feature Brandie Posey and Barbara Gray both doing 45 min. sets. This could very well be one of those “I saw them back when they were performing at a bowling alley in Eagle Rock” type of moments.
10) COMEDY CRAWL
Performance Anxiety @ The Pleasure Chest 8PM $7
Drunk on Stage @ Akbar 8PM $5
Comedy Night @ Hamburger Mary’s West Hollywood (w/Drew Droege, Sharon Houston and more) 8PM FREE
The Mixer @ The Hollywood Improv Lab 8:30PM $6
Comedy Bang Bang @ UCB Theatre 8:30PM $5 (stand by only)
Holy Fuck! @ Downtown Independent Theater 9PM FREE
Public School Show @ M Bar 9PM FREE/$10 min.
Jeff Garlin @ Second City Hollywood 9PM FREE
Blamblamblam!!! @ R-Bar 9:30PM FREE
11) OPEN MIC RUN
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO @ SEÑOR FISH 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM/6 min./first come, first served/no purchase necessary
LIBRARY A COFFEE HOUSE 3418 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA/Sign-up 7:30PM/Starts 8PM/first come, first served/no purchase necessary
IRON GIANT OPEN MIC @ TRIBAL CAFE 1651 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up 7:30PM/Starts 8PM/mixed mic/no purchase neccesary
WESTWOOD BREW CO 1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA/Sign-up 7:30PM/Starts 8PM/lottery/first come, first served/no purchase necessary
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA/Starts 8PM/first come, first served/$4 min.
WESTSIDE COMEDY THEATER 1323-A 3rd St., Santa Monica, CA (in alley between 3rd St. Promenade and 4th St.)/Sign-up 9:45PM/Starts 10PM/lottery/$1 cover
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 min./multiple sets allowed/bottled water and coffee provided
12) So, the funniest things I’ve said in 2011 have been “These are the times when I want a bucket of chicken to throw at people I hate,” and “I write about comedy and I suck at it.” OK everyone, I get the message.
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1) Have you gotten your Scoomie’s ballot yet? Vote on your favorite open mic’ers in the Greater Los Angeles Area at the hyperlink before 6 PM Monday March 28th.
2) Nerdist Theater dates at Meltdown Comics. Uhh, yeah, you shouldn’t miss any of these really…
3) Another way you can see Greg Proops: Odd News on Yahoo.
4) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” to Megan Amram for all her gut-busting excellence on Twitter. Article/Profile to follow soon.
5) ON THE HORIZON
John Oliver New York Stand Up Show on Comedy Central Mar. 24th
TJ Miller @ Hollywood Improv Saturday April 16th 10PM $20/2 drink min.
One Hour of Mayhem with TJ Miller @ Comedy Central Stages Wednesday March 23rd 8PM FREE
6) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
The Anytime Show w/Dominic Dierkes @ Smodcastle 8PM $8
One-Two Punch @ Benton Manor 8PM $2 suggested donation
Magic Bag @ Smodcastle 10PM $8
The Back Room @ UCB Theatre 10PM $10 (stand by only)
The Tomorrow Show w/Ron Lynch @ Steve Allen Theater MIDNIGHT $8
7) OPEN MIC RUN
SPOT CAFE 4455 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA/Starts 2PM/people usually give feedback at end of set
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 6PM/one item min.
WESTSIDE COMEDY THEATRE 1323-A 3rd St., Santa Monica, CA (in alley between 3rd and 4th St.)/Sign-Up 6PM/Starts 6:30PM
SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/one item min.
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed
8) Note to anyone doing Sendai Earthquake/Tsunami jokes on stage: for at least a week or two, most audience members will be against you.
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The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” this week to RON LYNCH:
“Mmmm mmmm mmm MMMMMM MMMM MMMM!?!?” (Yes, you read that right, Ron unintelligibly mumbled during his entire set last Monday at a bar…. and killed)
If you hear about me talking about Ron Lynch in person, I might say something like, “I wish these were my words, but someone beat me to them: Ron Lynch is a National Treasure.” I told that to Ron once and he told me that was enough of the flattery. The sheer humility of one of the most original and jaw-droppingly funny comedic voices of our generation is, in itself, worthy of a “Tip of the Hat”.
“On paper”, Ron’s act might seem almost too simple and hard to figure how exactly he’ll pull it off, but, by the end, it becomes more brilliant than you can imagine. Last Monday, he literally mumbled his entire set where you couldn’t understand a single thing that he was saying. Still, his deft touch and uncanny awareness as a performer not only got a bar full of twenty-something drunkards laughing, but applauding him victoriously. As is the case with Ron Lynch, there are only so many ways that I could describe what happened, but you really just have to witness him responding to audience suggestions of doing impressions while still mumbling and get uproarious laughs yourself.
Simply put, Ron shows us what comedy can be and the true artistry behind just entertaining a bunch of strangers in a darkened room, which is why he really is a more of a “wonder of the world of comedy” rather than a “national treasure”.
One of my favorite shows in Los Angeles, the Tomorrow Show, is produced and hosted by Ron Lynch every Saturday at the Steve Allen Theater starting appropriately at midnight and is something that really is “bucket list” worthy every time that you go. If you can’t stay up for that, then check back here at the Comedy Bureau for any other dates he performs because, rest assured, they’ll be here.
1) In an ongoing confusion about the upcoming Comedy Awards, what exactly is “breakthrough” about any of the nominees for Breakthrough Performer of the Year? Most of these people have been around comedy for quite some time and are somewhat established, but the only thing that I can figure in regards to being breakthrough is that they have something, a TV show mostly, that’s really popular this year, as opposed to someone just having a whole round of debuts on the late night circuit as a comic whose name is just started to get known around entertainment and comedy circles alike. To be accurate, the award should be called Biggest Jump by a Comedic Performer in IMDB Starmeter This Year.
2) A big change is coming to the Big Trouble in Little Tokyo Open Mic as we’re now only featuring one special guest and this Tuesday, it’s going to be a great one as we’re having Brendon Walsh come down right before he goes on the Spring Value Tour with Neil Hamburger and Todd Barry.
3) ON THE HORIZON: Jimmy Dore’s Pop and Politics @ Meltdown Comics Sat. Apr. 2nd $10
4) Tip of the Hat Profile/Article of Ron Lynch to come later today…
5) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
Jeff Garlin’s Combo Platter @ UCB Theatre 6PM $2
Armenian National Committee Fundraiser Starring Jackie Kashian @ Flappers Burbank $49.50/2 drink min.
ASSSSCAT @ UCB Theatre 7:30PM FREE
Comedy Barre @ Barre Vermont 8PM FREE/2 drink min.
Powerviolence @ The Complex 8:30PM FREE
French Toast @ Taix 8:30PM FREE
Another Gentle Evening with Josh & Dan @ Fake Gallery 8:30PM FREE
Top Story Weekly @ iO West 9PM $5
Gravid Water @ UCB Theatre 9:30PM $5 (stand by only)
5) OPEN MIC RUN
PALMS 8572 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM
SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/one item min.
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 6PM/$5 min.
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
6) I think have come to a point where I can only “nerd out” about comedy because all that I know. Unfortunately, that’s what I do for “work”, so I think I’ve become that guy who just can’t stop talking about work no matter where he is. Details on this development to follow.
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1) Tig Notaro has friends. She also has a pilot taping. This taping is taking place at ACME Comedy Theatre Mon. Mar. 7th. She would really like it if you would come. Here are some more details about the taping of Tig and her friends. [via AST News]
2) It’s the last day for Scoomie Awards suggestions. That’s right, it’s the last chance to make a category for how much disdain you have for certain people at open mics in LA. Don’t miss out.
3) The Ultimate Free & Cheap LA Comedy List 3/6-3/12. Thanks Wisepix.
4) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” this week to RON LYNCH!!! Article/Profile to follow soon.
5) I know it’s incredibly late, but my article about comedy competitions “Three Minutes to Nothing” IS on its way today, or at least I think so…
6) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
Dead Authors @ UCB Theatre 6:30PM $5 (stand by only)
Two-Headed Beast @ Stories Books & Cafe 8PM FREE
Stood Up Friday Night: Wingman @ Moving Arts Theatre 10PM $5
First Fridays Variety Show @ Theatre Asylum 10:30PM $10
Red Velvet Comedy @ Hollywood Improv Lab 10:30PM $5
7) OPEN MIC RUN
SET LIST @ FLAPPERS BAR 102 E. Magnolia, Burbank, CA/Sign-up 5PM/given set list to improv off of
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
TRINITY CHURCH 1015 California Ave., Santa Monica, CA/Starts 8PM/Must work clean
GLENDALE DAYS INN 450 N. Pioneer Dr., Glendale, CA/Starts 8PM
8) Anyone how actually thinks this is written in an actual office by a group of contributors, please keep thinking that. It makes me feel better about writing this on top of a mess of blankets on my couch.
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To both consumers and producers of live entertainment alike, Saturday is THE prime night. As far as live comedy is concerned, many venues want to put their best foot forward as most of the workforce wants a “good ol’ time” filled with laughter and will pay HANDSOMELY to be entertained.
On Jan. 29th 2011, The Comedy Bureau was indeed out in force to see what a night in LA comedy for those regular 9-5ers that have no idea what “alternative comedy” is or that it even exists or that comedy shows happen outside of comedy clubs. With this mission, the Comedy Bureau went to the three big names that many “normal” people in LA and around the world associate with stand up comedy: The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory, and the Hollywood Improv. Also, as a contrast, we went to the incredibly underground, cult comedy show The Tomorrow Show w/Ron Lynch at the Steve Allen Theater.
We paid full price. We saw. We shed our attitude as comics and tried to be actual audience members. We took notes.
And with all of that in mind, this, comedy community, is what to expect if you went to see these shows because you wanted to laugh on a typical Los Angeles Saturday night:
Lit with bright names and big faces along Sunset Blvd., the Laugh Factory in Hollywood stands on at the end of a row of beyond hip and trendy AND certainly beyond affordable night clubs and, as such, follows suit with a general admission charge of $25 and a “VIP” charge of $35 with that traditional 2 drink minimum. According to their menu, a single order of Coca-Cola (soft drinks tend to be the cheapest things on comedy club menus) runs $8.
This means: If you were going alone and chose to park for free several blocks away from the Laugh Factory, you would be paying at least $40. If you’re like most people, you’re probably out on a date and will probably pay for valet parking, which will put you in the realm of the night costing $100+.
For that much money one would logically think that you would get to see the biggest names in stand up comedy. At the 10PM show, which is billed as “All Star Comedy”, the line-up included: Chris D’Elia, who just had a Comedy Central Special, but is largely still “on the rise” in regards to being a “name” in stand up comedy, Tony Rock, who is Chris Rock’s brother, Al Del Bene, who been on Comics Unleashed (broadcast network show featuring stand up comics that’s on at the same time as Last Call w/Carson Daly), Dov Davidoff, who also has his own Comedy Central Special, but is largely known for his performance in the Mark Wahlberg vehicle “Invincible” as the childhood friend of Vince Papale that reminds him of his roots, Johnny Sanchez who I also found has his own Comedy Central Special as well as being part of the “Payaso Comedy Slam”, and a secret special guest. Such a line-up isn’t exactly along the lines of the type of comedy that the Comedy Bureau regularly features as this is a very “mainstream comedy” line-up that talks about racial stereotypes, sex, and curses a lot, but then again, everyone has their own personal taste in comedy and I’ve seen such a line-up “kill” a club crowd before.
With that being said, we didn’t know find out who the special guest was because we didn’t see the show. We wouldn’t pay $40 to see Louis CK much less a line-up of comics on the rise that aren’t really aren’t our “cup of tea”.
Several blocks away from the Sunset Strip, the Hollywood Improv rests in a neighborhood of trendy boutiques along what’s arguably the more famous part of Melrose Ave as a clear stand out with it’s old fashioned neon sign and marquee. In that spirit, the Hollywood Improv actually runs several shows that are closer to what most traditional stand up shows around the rest of the country with openers, features, and headliners. This is unique to the Improv as, currently, no single comic headlines the Comedy Store or the Laugh Factory, though there are several features there as opposed to the standard 1 or 2 in their line-ups and the headliner only gets to do half an hour as opposed to a full hour. Still, this is the closest you’ll get to what most stand up shows are like everywhere that isn’t LA or NYC in LA.
We also looked forward to the sight of slightly friendlier prices. Unlike the Laugh Factory, the cover was only $18 plus the 2 drink minimum, of which a beer, not a glass of Coca-Cola, costs $7. Free street parking was slightly more available at the Improv and much closer to the venue than at the Laugh Factory or the Comedy Store.
Getting into the Improv, we attended the 7:30PM show w/Elon Gold, who has been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno several times, half-packed with what appeared to be friends of host Ben Morrison, a regular at most of the clubs in the LA area. Morrison opened the show strong, but ran the light/went over his time by about 4 minutes with typical club comic material about masturbation and going to gay bar, which was trying.
Despite that, we were glad to see that other comics on the line-up included a few that have been mentioned, featured, or retweeted on Twitter by The Comedy Bureau: Josh Comers, who currently and deservedly writes for Conan, Jarrod Harris, who has only been on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, but is certainly funny enough for a half-hour special, Michelle Buteau, who has been on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and has toured regularly throughout the world as far as Amsterdam. All of them, another feature Nigel Lawrence, and headliner Elon Gold, even though he relies heavily on a vast array of voices and characters in a way that isn’t much to our liking, showed the “intimate” crowd a legitimate good time that ran around 2 hours.
Once more, with no regard to my opinion of who was on stage and what material they were doing, people genuinely had a good Saturday night at the Hollywood Improv.
The World Famous Comedy Store. Just process that self-proclaimed moniker for a moment and think as to what type of stand up comedy show you would see there. With so much history literally written on the walls of the Comedy Store, many people have come to the assumption that this is the epitome of stand up comedy.
In fact, I’d wager that most people would equate a Saturday night at the Main Room of the Comedy Store, the biggest of the three rooms located there, to be the stand up comedy “end all be all”. Along this notion, we went to the 9PM Main Room show costing us $20 for admission and a 2 drink min billed as 14 National Touring Headliners.
Looking at the posted line-up, we discovered that all the comics were scheduled to do 15 minutes, which already makes the show at least run over 3 hours. Now many show producers have the attitude of “you may come and go as you like” to a show like this, but I argue that a show where the audience WANTS to stay the whole time is infinitely better and will be more likely to have people come back and see the show again.
However, this show ran 4 hours. 4 HOURS. With a line-up (in order) of Kevin Christy, Argus Hamilton, Jeff Altman, Iliza Schlesinger, Dom Irerra, Ahmed Ahmed, Chris D’Elia, Ian Edwards, Rick Ingraham, Sam Tripoli, Mike Young, and Barry Diamond, the show went 4 hours and having fulfilled my 2 drink minimum obligation within the first hour, I was plenty sober and annoyed by the end of the show around 1:30AM.
Now, the aforementioned line-up at this particular show isn’t one that I’d normally go and see (though I did enjoy Argus Hamilton and Ian Edwards), but, in attempting to be objective about this whole report, the crowd of approximately 200 people were legitimately having a good time even when Chris D’Elia, who was getting plenty of laughs, told the audience, “Fuck you!! That’s funny!!!” all the way up until Rick Ingraham.
Ian Edwards had a great set and consequently the show was around 2.5 hour mark, then Ingraham went up and did a very rigid style of crowd work asking anyone within his line of sight “What do you for a living?” An audience member was so annoyed that they shouted, “Tell a fucking joke!”, which was the point where people started walking out on the show. Sam Tripoli continued to walk people as he complained that no one made a connection with him and blamed the audience for not liking punchlines. With only himself and one more comic to go, Mike Young got up and then complained about his spot being nearly a half hour later than the posted time (since most comics went over their time) as well as there being a minute fraction of the original crowd present for his set. With the 20 or so people left in the cavernous Main Room that can actually seat 300, Barry Diamond injected some energy by singing a song and then weaving in and out interesting characters and sheer absurdities that I started to enjoy.
At that point when the show was over the 3 hour mark, Barry Diamond decided to work on his “hour” and simply just kept going and going and going and going some more, and then say he should have gotten off stage long ago, and then kept going. I went from enjoying his act to resenting his refusal to get off stage, both as a comic and an audience member. This isn’t an open mic. This is the Comedy Store Main Room on a Saturday night and people have paid a considerable amount of change to be entertained rather than watch someone work on their hour.
Like I said, I perhaps didn’t enjoy the line-up for the most part, but, objectively, the crowd was having a good rollicking time up until the show was passing the three hour mark and the comics starting blaming the audience, which is when people started leaving and the people they stayed had sort of a feeling of being taken hostage (i.e. couple in front was insulted by comic on stage and was visibly shocked and confused). Going out on a Saturday to the Comedy Store Main Room, this ordeal might be what to expect if you go. Sure, you could just pop in and pop out to see part of the 14 National Touring Headliners that people only marginally know (audience member clearly had no idea who Iliza Shlesinger, arguably the most recognizable name on the line-up, as he mispronounced her name), but do you really want to pay $20 cover, 2 drink minimum, and $15 parking because you don’t want to walk a mile for free parking to do that?
The Tomorrow Show w/Ron Lynch @ The Steve Allen Theater
Appropriately located just outside of Hollywood in Los Feliz, the Tomorrow Show represents the comedy that most people don’t know and subsequently SHOULD KNOW. It’s alternative, indie, underground, unpredictable, and most importantly: funny.
Independently booked, produced, and hosted by the amazing and hilarious Ron Lynch, the Tomorrow Show is a live variety comedy show that includes stand-up, sketch, music, and, on this particular night, a sword swallower. For only $8 with no minimum of any kind (show is B.Y.O.B.), you can get to be a part of this late night madness as the Tomorrow Show appropriately starts at midnight.
Due to the incredibly late, at least by unfortunate Los Angeles standards, start time, the Tomorrow Show remains part of the vast indie/underground/alt comedy scene that many of the “normal” people we met at the Improv and the Comedy Store have no idea exists and consequently has a much smaller turnout than that of a major comedy club. Still, going on its sixth year, the Tomorrow Show has an incredibly loyal fan base that keeps coming back because of the bona fide good time that they have (that was made better as it was under 2 hours).
This night, or early morning, the line-up consisted of Greg Barris, Karl Hess, Robert Selander, Chuck Sklar, Barry Rothbart, Matt Kirshen, sketch group the Doorknockers, and sword swallower Brett Loudermilk. Most of these names are just as unrecognizable to the average person as any of the other names mentioned in this article, but just like at the Improv and the first 2 hours of the Main Room at the Comedy Store, the crowd, small as it was, had a wonderful night/early morning.
With seemingly random interruptions, jokes about zombie conspiracy theories, and absurd, off-the-wall stories, the Tomorrow Show can be categorized as chaotic, especially in the early hours of the morning, but it represents a style of comedy that is different where it isn’t just typical types of jokes about race and/or dicks. Though, it isn’t for everyone, the Tomorrow Show is proof that there’s an alternative where comedy can be something else and even something more.
So Next Saturday Night…
The Comedy Bureau urges you all to simply check here and elsewhere before you go out on a Saturday night to see some live comedy because it does happen outside of Hollywood and outside of a comedy club and it can be something besides overweight balding men shouting obscenities and exploit racial stereotypes AND it can be fantastic.
Special Thanks to Chris Adams, Joe Braza, Russell Corona, Courtney Howerton, and Jeremy Paul in helping making this article possible.
1) In regards to Huffington Post’s “50 Funniest People of the Decade”, do those in charge of “informing” the public on “what is comedy” even know what comedy is anymore? Within their end-all, be all list for 2001-2010, they, first off, include Anderson Cooper, a strict journalist. Out of entire 10 years of comedy, the Huffington Post Comedy Staff actually decided to put the names Anderson Cooper amongst names like Mitch Hedberg, George Carlin, Conan O’Brien, and Paul F. Tompkins, which can only leave me to draw the conclusion that, like so many other “Best/Most Ever” lists, this is more of a popularity contest. Just like winning the Grammy for “Best Hip Hop Artist” has no actual bearing on talent so much as it does Soundscan’s numbers on someone’s shitty, air-horn laden, drenched-in-autotune single, being put on this particular list of who were the funniest people in the last ten years doesn’t necessarily indicate that the person “defined comedy” in that time (which is what the name of the list leads readers to believe). I understand that compiling such lists are incredibly stressful and time-consuming as I spent nearly three solid hours composing #Follow2011LAfunniest, a list of who you should follow on Twitter in 2011 (which is way better than Huffington Post version, if I may say so myself). There is a constant debate, even with only one person calling the shots, in trying to decide who makes the cut, but, you have to be objective as possible with what you’re compiling the list for. Thus, Huffington Post should have made “The 50 Funniest People that I Happen To Know About and/or Are Really Popular” to be more accurate. That’s why #Follow2011LAfunniest has people that may not have as many followers as @azizansari, but are consistently funnier than him along their entire log of Tweets. Several people are surprised with omissions of this Huffington Post list considering they are comedians/writers that are much funnier than the one’s featured. However, in deciphering what that list is really based on, I’m surprised that names omitted include Larry King and Russell Peters.
2) Oh, look, all kidding aside, you could physically make all of these shows, for once, on tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL (as well as afford them): The Not So Inappropriate Show @ UCB Theatre 4PM $12 (stand-by only), ASSSSCAT @ UCB Theatre 7PM FREE, French Toast @ Taix 8:30PM FREE.
3) OPEN MIC RUN: PALMS (call 310 652 6188 before going) 8572 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM, SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM/one item min., SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/one item min., 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) STARTING JAN. 3RD (that’s tomorrow) Scott Aukerman of Comedy Death Ray will host IFC’s own “Comedy Death Ray” featuring a 90 minute block of now-comedy classics like “Arrested Development”, “Freaks and Geeks”, “Undeclared”, “The Larry Sanders Show”, and “The Ben Stiller Show”. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, tune in on IFC at 10PM to not only catch some of the best comedy series ever created, but Scott Aukerman and several other figures within the comedy world weighing in on them.
5) Big Trouble in Little Tokyo. Jokes. Destruction of public property. Fish Tacos. Jackie Kashian & Andy Peters. Don’t miss it. Señor Fish 422 E. 1st St. Sign up 6:30PM. Starts 7PM.
6) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” today to LIZZY COOPERMAN: “AFFIRMATIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR [HQ]” Lizzy is almost beyond words, but here I am, yet again, writing about her comedic genius. Three Time Tip of the Hat winner Lizzy Cooperman is of such a rare ilk of skilled comedic performer that she still makes me laugh with the same jokes even though I’ve heard them 20 times. You can “witness” her this Tues. Jan 4th at Shooting Gallery @ Club 8572/Palms 8:30PM $10 or Thurs. Jan. 6th at Persona @ The Hollywood Improv Lab 8PM $5. Website. Twitter. Birds of Prey.
7) From the “You Should Have Been There” Lagoon: Ron Lynch-Comedian of the Future
8) Donate to the Comedy Bureau. In 2011, there are no other problems, except the Comedy Bureau having $nothing.
9) 2011 Comedy Predictions: Getting a Favstar 100 on Twitter will become more important than doing certain rooms/shows.
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1) “Hook-Up w/Ron Lynch” @ The Steve Allen Theater in all its chaotic hilarity actually spreads an air of actually wanting to “hook-up” as I saw several people, not on the show, exchanging numbers after the show. Host Ron Lynch takes the format of the classic “Dating Game” and nostalgically puts it through a blender to come out with an uproarious live comedy show. There’s an on-call bartender, Davey Johnson as a stressed out stage manager, Brady Novak as a warm-up guy who doesn’t think his career is going to work out, Cornell Reid as the warm-up to the warm-up guy, Randy Liedtke as a psychic/stage hand, “speed rounds” of questioning that no one has ever gotten right, and then the actual questioning of bachelors and bachelorettes for a REAL date. The packed Steve Allen Theater was rolling in laughter the entire time and definitely felt the love. "Hook-Up w/Ron Lynch“ takes the place of the Tomorrow Show at the Steve Allen Theater (4773 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA [Los Feliz]) once a month. Midnight $8. Check back at the Comedy Bureau for the next one.
2) I should really go with Comedy Triathlon, but COMEDY CRAWL is catchier and less intimidating. See how much laughter you can handle starting off with LIAR @ Flappers YooHoo Room 7PM $10/2 drink min., then Chatterbox Comedy Night @ Chatterbox 8PM FREE, then French Toast @ Taix 8:30PM FREE, then Comedy Revival @ Comedy Store Belly Room 8:30PM $5/2 drink min., then Top Story Weekly @ iO West 9PM $5/21 and over only, and cross the finish line at Sunday Sunday Sunday @ The Improv Space 9:30PM FREE.
3) OPEN MIC RUN: LIBRARY CAFE 800 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 5PM (going to check this one out today), SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 7PM/one item min., MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA 5PM-11PM/$5 cover.
4) The Comedy Bureau is calling an audible by switching it’s Twitter Tip of the Hat to a Tip of the Hat of anything twitter/facebook/video/etc./etc. that’s worthy of mention. Today’s tip of the hat goes to the hilarious and incredibly bold Asterios Kokkinos. Perhaps "bold” isn’t the right word, but judge for yourself by watching him pitch horrible script ideas at a pitch convention here.
6) REVIEWS relinked. Just like I promised, though I broke probably 10 other promises in the promise, but when they’re promises to yourself that you would finish this post by 11PM, it’s OK, right? Again, updated reviews here.
7) Big Trouble in Little Tokyo 2nd Edition, this Tues. Nov. 16th @ Señor Fish. Shameless promotion tactic #13: Raffling off random Japanese Food Item. Sign Up 6:30PM, Starts 7PM. 422 E. 1st St. Do not miss.
8) The Comedy Bureau has “mission objectives”. See if it completes them via his twitter account right here.
9) Be the 2nd Person ever to donate to the Comedy Bureau and go down in history. Seriously. Doubt it? Only one way to find out… DONATE.
10) I’m just going to say being a nice guy both won and was funny last night. Usually, it’s just funny and then nobody wants to hear how sad it is several months later.
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1) The Garfunkel and Oates Hour @ UCB Theatre took me by surprise, in the best way possible, even when I expected the “unexpected”. Having already seen the lovely and talented duo of Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome separately, I suspected farcical/risqué songs from the unassuming, almost incongruous pair (Lindhome is a foot taller and plays guitar next to the petit Micucci who plays a ukelele). Yet, their abundant charm coupled with their cleverly worded and obscure reference-filled (John Donne and Spiro Agnew, just to name a few) songs about douchebags ruining the party, sex with animals, and the learning curve of hand jobs, was far past anything I had in mind for the evening. AND THEN… Justin Long, who, according to Lindhome, has only been in Herbie: Fully Loaded, read published poems by Michael Madsen that could be described as transcendent… via a certain, horrible, undeserving self-importance. One of the poems is merely about watching out for “the shit” because it’s “everywhere”. It was another thing in the Garfunkel and Oates Hour that completely blindsided me as I usually don’t expect much out of big-shot actors performing live comedy. The Garfunkel and Oates Hour is every 2nd Friday of the month at the UCB Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave. 8PM/$10. They also perform at several other venues/dates around LA. Check back at the Comedy Bureau for details.
2) Yeah, I know it’s Saturday and Manny Pacquiao is going to beat whatever daylights that Antonio Margarito has left in him, which is EXACTLY the point. I KNOW THAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. There’s no suspense left, which is why you should go see some great live comedy instead. Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL starts off with Jimmy Dore @ Flappers Claremont 8PM/10PM $15/2 drink min., then B.O.R.E.D. Tour starring Mike Phirman @ Flappers Burbank-YooHoo Room 9:30PM $10/2 drink min., then Nick Kroll Does Comedy @ UCB Theatre 10PM $10 (stand by only), then The Twelve Shiny Nickels Show @ The Fake Gallery 11PM $5, then Showbizzle.com’s Last Call Comedy @ Hollywood Improv 11:30PM $14/2 item min., then Midnight Madness @ The Hollywood Laugh Factory 11:59PM $20/2 drink min., and then finish strong with a knockout at Ron Lynch’s Tomorrow! presents HOOK-UP! @ The Steve Allen Theater MIDNIGHT $8.
3) OPEN MIC RUN: MARTY’S 5PM to 11PM/$5 cover/7351 W. Sunset Blvd. (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s), SUNSET GRILL 7PM/one item min./7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA, BURBANK MOOSE LODGE 7:30PM/1901 W. Burbank Blvd. Call (818)-843-0284 before going as I’ve never tried this mic before.
4) Today’s Comedy Bureau’s Twitter Tip of the Hat goes to JIM HAMILTON. “@Jim_Hamilton I don’t know what to wear this time of year, because the only clothes I own are Hypercolor shirts and Christmas sweaters.” Follow him and some of the best one-liners in LA here.
5) The Greater LA Open Mic Map has been updated, specifically put in order by day and time so it’s EVEN EASIER for any and all of you aspiring/working/making-it comics wanting to find an open mic. Any listings without details are as such because I have yet to actually go there and see how horrible/tolerable it is. More info on each individual room to be added soon. Check all of the above here.
6) That REVIEWS archive I promised, right here. Everything will be re-linked tomorrow, mostly so I have something else to write about.
7) Follow the Comedy Bureau on its not-all-that-secret mission to bring great comedy out to the deserving public on twitter as it live tweets every night. Do so right here.
8) I wonder what a Comedy Bureau jingle would sound like… support/donate and find out here.
9) I convinced someone to try stand-up last night and I can’t help but wonder if I did a bad thing… He might have been President, but now he’ll try to be one of us wondering what angle about the President hasn’t been explored at an open mic. Luckily, I don’t believe in karma.
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1) Holy Fuck! @ The Downtown Independent Theatre deservedly earned it’s name last night. Despite it being on a night that it isn’t usually scheduled on, the presence of the Downtown LA Artwalk, another live stand up comedy show also in Downtown LA, Holy Fuck! told the odds to go seriously FUCK themselves as an entire movie theatre (over 100 people) showed up to see some of LA’s heaviest hitters in comedy. In fact, show producer/awesome comedian/all around great guy Dave Ross proves that, if done correctly, you can make a great comedy show in a completely non-traditional comedy venue at the ultra-hip Downtown Independent Theatre. When Louis CK dropped in a few months ago, he pointed out the high ceilings, the deep stadium seating, and several other obstacles comedians would have to fight while perform and got HUGE LAUGHS will doing it. On this edition of Holy Fuck!, the huge crowd that told the artwalk to fuck off were almost spoiled with performances from cross-dressing/straight-man (you read that right)/host for the evening Rye Silverman, Zach Ames, Ed Salazar, Susan Burke, Howard Kremer, musical duo Limo Driver, Dave Ross, Laura Kightlinger, and the one and only (and the Comedy Bureau uses that phrase sparingly) Eddie Pepitone. OH, DID I MENTION IT’S FREE?!? It’s a completely free show that you should never miss on pain of kicking yourself in the face. Holy Fuck! is usually on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. 9PM. HOLY FUCKING FREE! @ Downtown Independent Theatre 251 S. Main St. Stay tuned here for details.
2) Hopefully the COMEDY CRAWL will put the Artwalk to shame. We can start off to that goal tonight by going to Ron Lynch @ Flappers Yoo Hoo Room 7:30PM $10/2 drink min., then go to Jimmy Dore @ Flappers Claremont 8PM/10PM $15/2 drink min., then go to Race Riot @ The Hollywood Improv Lab 8PM $5, then go to Garfunkel & Oates Hour @ UCB Theatre $10 (stand by only), then go to 10 Comics in the Lounge @ Comedy and Magic Club 8:15PM $10, then go to Tremendosaur and Friends @ Tommy’s Place/USC 9PM FREE, then Stood Up Friday Night @ Moving Arts Theatre 10PM $5, then finish off with Hot Toddy @ iO West 10:30PM $5. Once again, you’re welcome.
3) OPEN MIC RUN: SILVERLAKE LOUNGE-sign up (lottery) at 6:30PM/starts at 7PM/2906 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA (Silverlake), iCANDY-sign up at 6PM/starts at 7PM/1708 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA, GLENDALE DAYS INN-8PM/450 Pioneer Dr., Glendale, CA, NEWPORT BEACH RADISSON -9PM/4545 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach, CA/message host David Marley for sign-up, MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC-5PM to 11PM/$5 cover/7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel, past Big Mama’s & Big Papa’s)
4) The Ultimate Free & Cheap LA Comedy List strikes again for 11/14-11/20… in a for-the-good-of-mankind way. Thanks Wisepix.
5) The Comedy Bureau tips it’s non-existent/metaphorical Twitter hat today to Lizzy Cooperman. RT @lizzycoooperman You call him a bad dancer. I call him a handicapped centipede. #twoleftfeet. Follow her here.
6) It has been brought to the Comedy Bureau’s attention that actual people read and appreciate the reviews featured here. As this is the case, there will be a REVIEWS archive in case you were ever wondering which are the hot shows to check out in the vast decentralized amazing place that LA is AND you didn’t want to scroll and search through all these posts looking for it.
7) Whatever the Comedy Bureau is doing tonight in comedy, with comedy, or any other preposition related to comedy will be live tweeted here. Please follow.
8) If you like Morning Debriefings more than Daily Reports, donate to the Comedy Bureau as it needs to make money doing this in its spare time AKA pretty much every waking minute. Again, donate.
9) Doing comedy every night literally stretches time as two weeks ago seems like two months to me, which makes me feel better as it seems I’ve been doing this blog a lot longer than I actually have. Though, it also makes it seem like I’ve been alone a lot longer (i.e. years seem like epochs)
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1) Last night at “The Tomorrow Show w/Ron Lynch” @ The Steve Allen Theater, I felt so honored to perform on Ron’s “5 Minutes or Less” version of the show where a simply delightful line-up does 5 minutes before all the power to the stage is cut off. For those not in the “know”, “The Tomorrow Show w/Ron Lynch” has been a stand out even amongst an extremely rare breed of comedy shows in LA that start at midnight and take place outside of a comedy club AND are so funny that those hesistant about going to a comedy show in general WILL have a good time. With one of the best hosts “in the biz” Ron Lynch and his “magic without magic act”, last night lucky crowd witnessed daylight savings time as it happened and nicely packaged 5 minutes from Alex Mesrobian, Sean Green, Jake Kroeger (Comedy Bureau Director/the person writing this blog/me), Rob O’Reilly, Matt Champagne, John Vargas, SAX Carr, Shawn Carlow, Brandie Posey, Carlos Ramos, and Will Weldon, not to mention a fantastic musical performance from spy music extraordinaires Double Naught Spy Car. The Tomorrow Show!!! w/Ron Lynch @ The Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA (Los Feliz). Every Saturday/Midnight. $8/Free Parking.
2) The extra hour in the day means, you guessed it, a superb comedy show on tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL (football’s not worth that hour). Start off with The Breakfast Show w/Adam Shenkman @ The Strange 4PM & 8PM/e-mail AdamOCerealClub@gmail.com for details, then go to Jeff Garlin’s Combo Platter @ UCB Theatre 6PM $2, then go to Christopher Titus @ Brea Improv 7PM $25/2 drink min., then go to French Toast @ Taix 8:30PM FREE, then Top Story Weekly @ iO West 9PM $5, “Tales of the Black Freighter” @ R-Bar 9PM FREE. OK, that’s more than an hour, but you want to go to more than one comedy show tonight. You know that you do…
3) Tonight, the Comedy Bureau will be delving into another edition of OPEN MIC LIVE TWEETING at the Sushi King, which seems like an urban legend among LA open mic as it starts at midnight on Sundays. Stay tuned for what it sure to be either a great time or one of the harder mental endurance/patience tests I’ve ever subjected myself to right HERE.
4) In addition to the Greater LA Open Mic Map, there already exists a Greater LA Comedy Landscape for all the “booked” rooms. The Comedy Bureau brings you yet another amazing innovation by putting conveniently located links at the top of the page that to both maps. When we can afford an R&D department, we’ll look into the next step of intaking your inner thoughts and desires and letting that navigate through the site, but, for now, primitive as it may be, you’ll have to scroll up and click.
5) Newly minted LA Comedy Competition “The Rickie’s” is now taking submissions. Available categories for submission include Impressions/Characters, One-liners, and Musical Comedy. E-mail therickiesINFO@gmail.com with the category you’re submitting for, a 3 min. online clip, and any other questions. Find more details here.
6) News for the Big Trouble in Little Tokyo Open Mic: Regular tacos cost $1.50, Señor Fish closes at 1AM, and I might punch co-host Russell Corona in the face, just maybe. Go to Señor Fish, 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA on Nov. 9th/6:30PM to find out.
7) The Comedy Bureau actually received its first donation from fantastic human being/great comic Jerry Brandt and extends an extra special thank you from all of us (meaning me, the one person who writes and is responsible for everything that goes into this entire agency/blog). Please be the next exemplary citizen by donating to The Comedy Bureau and all my efforts here.
8) “Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…” I wonder if there is any language where that actually translates to laughter. Wherever that is, that’s where my comedy will obliterate.
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