tsr loft – The Comedy Bureau

Morning Debriefing 11/11/10

1) Meltdown @ Meltdown Comics IS simply what people should expect out of a good comedy show. Packed house and a great line-up (free beer also helps). Unfortunately, a large segment of the population, not only in LA, but around the whole country have a different idea of what a live comedy show actually is. Hilarious comedienne Chelsea Peretti pointed it out so poignantly during the evening when she mentioned how she would rather be a fat guy and THEN the audience would understand that “comedy was happening” and shout, “WE GET IT! WE GET IT!” The stereotype of an overweight vulgar man making fun of audience members then hitting on their date when they go to the bathroom has been reinforced by far too many comedy clubs. Meltdown has the potential to prove this stereotype FALSE of live comedy as I sat right in front as part of a crowd of about 100 for the entire show and was not made fun of once AND had a fantastic time. Host Jonah Ray, after thanking people for not watching Gallagher at Club Nokia, let Meltdown rip with awesome performances from Ali Wong, Jerrod Carmichael, Randy Liedtke, Nick Kroll as force of nature Fabrice Fabrice, Seth Morris, Steve Agee, and Chelsea Peretti THEN Kumail Nanjiani apologized for not being there by texting a joke. Again, this is what people should expect from a live comedy show. Meltdown is every Wednesday 8:30PM $8 @ Meltdown Comics, 7522 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA.

2) The Jesse Miller Talk Show @ The Next Stage Theatre is the FUTURE of a live comedy show. Andre Hyland, as his absurdly fast-on-his-feet character Jesse Miller, hosts an off-air late night talk show that because of its brilliance, as sensational guest Joe Wagner commented, should be on TV. With completely dead-pan and completely hilarious musical sidekick Daryl and princess/straight-up girl/Jesse Miller Talk Show dancer Tanya, Jesse Miller takes absurdity in comedy to another level as he might seem like an unassuming yokel from Norwood, OH, but can rattle off quips, comebacks, and obscure Sonic Youth references with the best of them. Formatted with four amazing performers, a video of Jesse Miller (this edition included him in Cincinnati showing his Bengals Superbowl tattoo to people on game day), a heartfelt, bone-crushing song from Daryl, gut-busting interviews of all the guests, and an EATING CONTEST, there is no way you can beat entertainment like that for $5 on a late Tuesday night. “Straight-up hell yeah props” to Nicholas Rutherford, Melinda Hill, Joe Wagner, and Chris Fairbanks as last night’s line-up. The Jesse Miller Talk Show is on one Tuesday a month 11PM $5/one free beer @ The Next Stage Theatre, 1523 N. La Brea, Hollywood, CA (2nd Floor).

3) For all of you in the LA comedy community, the entire Comedy Bureau watched over 5 hours of live comedy yesterday.

4) For tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL, you need to discover instant cloning to not miss anyone of these shows. Seriously, get on it. Start off with Comedy Speakeasy @ TSR Loft 8PM (call 323-568-1616 to be audience member), then send your clone to Wil Anderson w/Brent Weinbach @ Hollywood Improv 8PM $14/2 item minimum, then “original you” go to The Josh & Josh Show @ Bar Lubitsch 8:30PM FREE, then your clone should go to Holy Fuck! @ Downtown Independent 9PM FREE, then you go to Facepush @ Flappers-Burbank 9:30PM $10/2 item min. Make sure to kill your clone at the end of the night, mostly to prevent any bad reality show being made from your lives.

5) Brand spanking new Comedy Bureau feature, as promised, OPEN MIC RUN. For all you comics trying the impossible by getting up more than once in LA try this: Go to SANDWICH SPOT 7PM, 3101 Ocean Park Ave, Santa Monica, CA, TKO SHOW @ 212 Cafe 9PM, 212 Pier Ave., Venice, CA, CAFE ON 2ND 7:30PM 7 S. 2nd St./$3 cover/10 min. at least., MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 5PM-11PM, 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA $5 cover/free coffee & bottled water/go up as many times as you want. Just do it (and maybe get some laughs).

6) The Comedy Bureau will be live tweeting throughout tonight’s comedy odyssey. Follow here.

7) Announcing another new feature in the works: The Comedy Bureau will tip its proverbial hat, because we can’t afford a real one, to a single tweet a day from all the amazing LA based comedians it tracks on Twitter. Not only will they be retweeted, but they will be mentioned here and if its popular enough, maybe will have contest with a TBD prize.

8) The Comedy Bureau needs your support both in the way of hugs AND donations. Please donate here.

8) With Veteran’s Day here, please honor all the men and women serving our country and keeping us safe so we can stay out until 3AM talking about how we hate dick jokes/dick jokes.

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THE COMEDY BUREAU

Post Brunch Update 11/4/10

1) It’s a theory that the further you drive outside of Los Angeles proper, the more stage time you can get as a comedian. Cafe on 2nd in Alhambra gives more support to that argument as you are guaranteed at least 10 min. after $3 cover. Being a mixed mic, musicians and poets actually want to listen to your set as opposed to bitter comics trying to going over their set or figuring out a riff off of you. Though I had to pay $3 and had to drive to Alhambra, all the way in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, I ended up getting 15 min., which is indispensable to building an act/developing stage presence/making sure you don’t bomb for 5 min. when it counts. Another “Bureau Approved Open Mic” Cafe on 2nd runs every Wed. and Thurs. Sign-up at 7PM. Starts at 7:30PM. $3 cover. 7 S. 2nd St., Alhambra, CA.

2) I don’t know why I’ve never been to Ed Galvez’s Punk House before, especially knowing that he puts up some of LA’s funniest on a stage in an alley behind the 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica. With Sean Green at the reins, Eli Olsberg, Mike Holmes, Josh Androsky, Matt Manser, Erin Crapser, Ed Galvez himself, and a surprise appearance by Geoff Brousseau made for a night way more entertaining that watching people argue with the Christian evangelist on the actual 3rd St. Promenade. Running for over 4 years, Punk House is a testament to legitimately hilarious comedy shows outside of the Hollywood trifecta of the Laugh Factory, Comedy Store, and the Hollywood Improv. Ed Galvez’s Punk House @ The Westside Comedy Theatre. 9PM Every Wednesday. $8. 1323-A 3rd St., Santa Monica, CA (in the alley).

3) The comedy crawl has too much comedy tonight for a clever metaphor. There’s just not enough space in this post to tell you literally how much amazing, astounding, fantastic, phenomenal, stupefying live comedy there is tonight. That’s why I’ll get to it now, right after I finish typing this very sentence that you’re reading. Go to MB Stand Up @ Flappers Yoo Hoo Room 7:30PM $5/2 drink min., then Literally Funny @ The Last Bookstore 8PM FREE, then Piñata @ Bang Comedy Theatre 8PM. $14, then Comedy Speakeasy w/Eric Andre and Amy Dresner @ TSR Loft (call 323-568-1616 for details), then Laugh for Haiti @ The Comedy Store 8PM $25/2 item min., then Full Throttle Comedy @ The Hollywood Improv 8PM $14/2 item min., then As Seen on Chelsea Lately w/Ryan Stout & Christina Pazsitsky @ Brea Improv 8PM $15/2 item min., then The Josh & Josh Show @ Bar Lubitsch 8:30PM FREE, then “That’s My Baby” @ Barre Vermont 9:30PM FREE., then Jeff Garlin’s Combo Platter @ The UCB Theatre 9:30PM $5.

4) LA Comedian/a quarter of the Southern Comedy Quartet Jarrod Harris has a new webseries, Action Figure Therapy, which amazingly manages to be more therapeutic for anyone watching than the actual “action figure” supposedly getting therapy. Check it out here.

5) Donate. Please. Donate to support the Comedy Bureau. Please. Unfortunately, I don’t think Pavlovian response applies here, but please donate.

6) The Comedy Bureau Calendars freshly updated w/ Jon Lovitz Comedy Club, Bang Theatre, and Sal’s Comedy Hole. Doubt it? See for yourself.

7) Breaking news for the Big Trouble in Little Tokyo Open Mic. There will be a 50 ft. cable to walk around almost like it’s a wireless mic. Also, to kick off with a bang and a mic toss, there will be inaugural performances to the incomparable Joe Braza and Lauren Rochelle. Nov. 9th. 6:30PM. Señor Fish. 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA

8) I think there’s a PG way to go about suicide jokes. There better be… BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING ELSE!!!

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THE COMEDY BUREAU