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Home Movies
Taste the Fame
 Went
to see Brendon Small speak at NYU's Kimmel Center this evening. For those of
you that do not know, he was the Voice of Brendon on a little show called Home
Movies. It aired on UPN for 5 episodes, then migrated to Adult Swim for the
final 47 other episodes. The second season will be out on DVD this June. For
those of you in the know, my photo is blurry on purpose. The first season of
the show was filmed in Dr. Katz style 'Squiggle-vision.'® So the photo you
can see of Brendon is also squiggly.
He spoke about the cartoon
industry and made some jokes. He showed a clip from his upcoming Adult Swim
Project "Death Clock." It looked pretty funny. He mentioned that it was going
to be about a Death Metal Band. It's a lot crazier than Home Movies, but that
really isn't saying much. Home Movies never really fit in with the rest of
Adult Swim. He also had the actress who voices Melissa show up and give him a
great introduction. That completes every person's goal: to see Jon Benjamin,
Brendon Small, and Melissa Galsky within one week. As you may remember (...
not), I went to see Jon Benjamin last Tuesday at the Midnight Pajama Jam. Life
is good.
Oh, Mr. Small is also working on a project for the Sci-Fi
channel that is "Lord of the Rings" meets "Curb Your Enthusiasm." I think the
plot revolves around barbarian metrosexuals trying to live their everyday lives
in middle earth. I forget if he mentioned anything else.
Posted in at 10:11 PM ( #)
Upcoming
UCB Theater
March 13th, Sunday, 7:30 PM: Assscat3000. Let me know if you want to
come along. The cost is 8.90. It will be worth it.
Posted in at 12:09 PM ( #)
Midnight Panini Jam
I loved you then
I like you now
We could be
friends
But I don't see how
 Went
to see Midnight Pajama Jam at the PSNBC theater. MPJ is a weekly comedy show
hosted by Jon Benjamin (Human), Lumpy (Eagle), and Scott Fellers (Octopus). For
those of you in the know, Jon Benjamin is the voice of several characters on the
hit UPN show "Home Movies" and the voice of the can of vegetables in Wet Hot
American SUmmer. Anyway, the show follows a basic formula. There are videos,
comedians, and everything else you could ever want from a five dollar show. You
can watch some clips on the MPJ
website. The best part of the show is Jon Benjamin's interactions with
the puppets. They have better chemistry than Regis and his puppet. I mean
Kelly. Damn. You think that I'd remember her name, since I have a poster of her
on my wall. This week had some minor differences. It had been
re-imagined as Midnight Panini Jam, since one of the hosts had been given
a sandwich grille over the holidays. So the voice of the puppets, along with
his standard duties of voicing the puppets, spent most of the evening creating
warm turkey or cheese sandwiches for the audience. Who could ask for anything
more?  After
beginning the show with a little bagpipe music, the grilling began in earnest
and Jon Benjamin called his first guest: Eugene Mirman. Eugene had recently
been contracted by a Christian telecommunication company where they informed him
that the other major telecom companies had homosexual friendly policies. He
replied "Are you telling me that my phone company is gay?" For a man who keeps
a tape recorder near his phone, he certainly manages to put it to good use. I
tried to remember the name of the phone company, but alas, I failed in that
regard. After Eugene, two men emerged to tell us about their Tired
Animal Reserve. Message: We could tour their basement apartment and see two
lazy dogs if we wanted to do so. They had a video with pictures of animals.
The girl sitting at the table next to me absolutely LOVED it. She could not
stop laughing as dog after dog popped up on the screen. Also, she didn't eat
the free panini. Why did she even come? She could get the same joy out of a
dog park. There was a video about sending babies into space. There
was more witty banter. Then Ed Helms' band came on stage. They played an
original song called "Appalachian Apologia." Jon Benjamin asked them why they
were playing obsolete music, as if to imply that the bluegrass movement was over
and that anything good in that genre had already been written a long time ago.
It was brilliant. Then some other things happened, then the show
ended with another bagpipe song and some random videos. Mothra is a lot smarter
than you'd think.
Posted in at 10:50 AM ( #)
Todd Barry CD Taping at Pianos
Done
 Went to
see Todd
Barry tape his second CD last night at Pianos with my friend Chris.
We ended up in the front row only because we got in line too late to grab better
seats. It did insure that he stared at us more than most other people. He even
made a joke at my expense, but I believe it may not make the final cut for the
CD. I'll let you know if it turns out differently. I am still pretty
egotistical about being able to hear my applause on an episode of the daily
show, so you know I won't turn down an opportunity to toot my own
horn. Here are a few random tidbits. He asked that people put up
links to his website. (So I did). One woman fell asleep during the taping, or
at least put her head down. This CD will either be longer than average, or he
will be cutting out some of his jokes. He referenced a lot of musical acts for
a comedian. Eh, that's it. Everything else will probably also be on the CD, so
just buy it. And you should, because the majority of the jokes were
great. Otherwise he wouldn't be making a CD, right? I had heard a few before
but I noticed that in many cases he had really refined them. I laughed a little
too much just to be kind. He was taping a CD after all, so what if I don't
think his pickup line was all that great? Someone might think it is funny when
they hear in on the CD, so I was just laughing for them. Or something.
Whatever gets me through the day. Also, part of his act was reading some
reviews he had gotten. I won't try and compete with professional reviewers.
(In reality, this whole post was just so I could put up the
picture). Up next: Buying a ticket to Eugene Mirman's CD release
party.
Posted in at 09:14 AM ( #)
The 'Emerging Comics of New York' Voting Is Now Online
For Reals!!
I realize I am not up for anything, but i wanted to let you know that I
have seen a few of the comedians up for awards! Here is the link to the voting form for ECNY. If you wanted to vote for
Eugene
Mirman, Police Chief Rumble, The Hazzards,
Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With You, Police Chief
Rumble Again, and then flip a coin between the Tank and
Luna
Lounge, you would have my blessing. All the other ones? I dunno, do
you own homework. I am not one to stuff ballots. I know none of you will vote,
so I can just use it as an excuse to point out my life is superior to yours.
(To quote Bender-- Compare your lives to mine and them kill
yourselves.) Anyhoo, I would like to encourage you to check out the
websites up for awards. That way you can independently select what you consider
the best of one actual topic. Inside Joke Improv
Everywhere Improv Resource Center Bar mitzvah
Disco Teleprov Not the greatest (Read:
Not mine) but at least those kids are trying. Oh, I know what you are thinking.
And yes, The Comedian Who Shall Not be Named is sadly missing from the
nominations! I guess he's already emerged! Who knew that winning the Laugh
Across America Award was the be all and end all of comedy. I keed, I keed.
He's a great comedian. His jokes are just so bland that most of his audience
mistakes him for English food! Poorly made English food! Take that!
Posted in at 10:07 PM ( #)
Eugene Mirman CD taping
Exciting times. Eugene Mirman was recording his first Comedy CD
at Pianos tonight. Todd Barry hosted. Brendon Small, some other dude, and
Demetri Martin all showed up to support Eugene. It was funny. I will one day
own the CD.
 Pianos
delivers once again. I ran into Mason Hedgecoth at the bar. Small world!
Posted in at 11:32 PM ( #)
Eating It at the Luna Lounge
I went to see a comedy show. Among the guests were: Joe Matarese,
Eugene
Mirman, Maria Bamford, Ted
Alexandro, Peter Dutton, and Mike Birbiglia. It was hilarious. It was eight
dollars, it started at 8:30, and I'd give it an 8/10 if all I got to see was
those comics. I mean, Eugene is great (he opened for Stella AND Modest Mouse),
and I have always liked Maria Bamford's Comedy Central appearances. So those
two alone would have been a great experience, assuming the other dudes just
stood there like wooden statues during their sets. And since the aforementioned
potential stiffs were actually humorous in their own right, we didn't need to
put my claim to the test. So the comedians were great, so what makes tonight a
perfect 10? Well, I was going to give it a much lower score.... BUT
THEN I SAW TODD
BARRY IN THE AUDIENCE! Oops. Caps Lock got stuck there,
I wasn't that excited. Seriously, seeing him was great but not worthy of that
many capital letters. Yeah, I know what you are saying. "Eh, Great is okay, but
Amazing would be Great." That's not very original of you, but you made your
point. Todd wasn't really what made the night a 10. Combining
his Tinkle connection with the six comics, it probably would have made the
whole experience an 8 point 1. So why a ten? The extra 1.9 points came solely
from the host of this week's comedy show (called Eating It,
located at the Luna Lounge, hence the title). Who was this magical
host, you ask? Hint one: It was the best comedian ever!
Visual Round. Hint
two:  Tada!
It's Janeane Garofalo! (if you couldn't tell since she has blonde hair and a hat
matching the shade of the curtain) Ms. Garofalo doesn't have a
webpage, so you get no link. It's a little sad, but not that sad. You also get
no other pictures, since I didn't want to be the jerk taking 100 pictures at the
show. I got the one shot I wanted and then sat back with the camera turned off.
Technically that should read "stood back". Jeff and I did not get to the venue
in time to get any of the seats, but we got pretty sweet floor in the
standing-room only section. As you can see from the best picture I've ever
taken, I was close enough to zoom in! Rambling
stream-of-consciousness report of the evening: Eugene was hilarious, both in the
crazy video and in his letter to his bank. Janeane's stories from Iowa were
like reading some of the writings of the left wing pundits I link to on the side
of my online journal. She got to awkwardly dance with Howard Dean to Kashmir!
Beat that Bill O'Reilly! Also, she confirmed Lyle's story about the fakeness of
the microphone scream. The major news Networks were using the live feed from
the microphone, making it seem that he was yelling to a virtually silent room,
when in fact he was barely audible to the crowd of 3000 volunteers. But who
cares at this point? Looking on the bright side of the whole
primary season, she correctly pointed out that if the media was doing it's job,
anyone in the room could beat Bush. (Of course, she probably forgot I am 15
years her younger. You gotta be 35 to make it to the big time. I'm working on
it though. I plan on turning 25. I don't know about you. I like how she talks
politics. I have similar reactions to world events at this point in my life,
but no one is listening to me. Thank goodness we have celebrities to express
our views! Back to the story at hand: Lots of good jokes, I forget
most of them. One guy is having a CD release party on Thursday, so I might go
to see him at that. Unfortuately, two people sort of lifted previous jokes I
had heard. Mitch Hedberg's Alcoholism vs. Lupis and the Kids in the Hall's
T-Shirt story. At least like what James Langley once told me. Not bad. I
worry that when I think of a joke, someone else has already recorded it on a CD.
If I am catching professional comedians who probably see 1000 other acts a year,
who is to say that I will ever have a single original thought? I guess the
audience doesn't care as long as it's funny. I have this great idea for a joke
about these seven words you cannot say on television. I'll share it later I
think. (rimshot!) Okay, now this entry is done, full of plot holes
and spelling errors. And I am going to leave it like this for no raisin. As
the Dali Llama once told me: For best results, try not to type an entry while
you are trying to watch television. I wish I had listened.
Posted in at 02:57 AM ( #)
Eating It
Janeane Garofalo
Posted in at 08:30 PM ( #)
Sara Schaefer Is Obsessed With You
Last night I went to see the first run of a new fake talk show hosted by
the only person doing comedy in NYC for which I have both A) an affinity and B)
a tenuous connection. Sorry Lee, you only have B! As any long time reader
knows, the person who meets that criteria is a girl who went to my high school
named Sara. And yes, that's her name in the talk show title! How famous! More
information about the event is available at the Above
Kleptomania website, so I won't bore you with the nitty-gritty details
about the show. I'll bore you with the details of my personal experience
instead! As I said, it was fake. There were no cameras preparing to
broadcast the show to a national audience at 11 pm, so you will probably only
hear about it here. Oh, unless you talk to Jeff or Joi. (or you are them, in
which case, why are you reading this?) I enjoyed it a lot. To toot my own
horn, I even became part of the show twice. Once when the warmup comedian
noticed I had taken a picture and another time when I was given some rhetorical
question to answer during audience participation. Both times, I failed to craft
a humorous comment. But who did I need to impress with a witty response?
I'm not on trial here. Maybe I shouldn't have brought
it up. Hey, what's that? Pictures? Mmm, pretty
colors...  For
a fake show, it was remarkably real. She had two actual actors as guests,
a legit musical guest, some skits, and even audience participation. Take that
Stupid Human Pet Tricks! The first guest was Aaron
Lohr, plugging his new play called Bare. His credits include Newsies,
D2: The Mighty Ducks, D3, and Trojan War (as Jock #1). He was able to inspire a
fan site, which Sara brought up and then I found
on the web. The other actor was Keong Sim. His credits include a recurring role on Law and
Order: Criminal Intent, the "Korean Guy" on Ed, and an appearance as a POW from
the Korean War in an internal Department of Defense training video. Keep an eye
out, all my DoD readers! The musical guest was Jim
Baron. He played two songs, one of which has actually been on the
radio here, although I forget its name. I'm sure it's on his website somewhere,
or if not, I'm sure you don't care. The skits, if they required extra
people, normally involved her two writers, Kara and Amanda. The first skit
surprised me a little, since the two names used were Edward and Tina, and those
are my parents' names. But that was probably just a coincidence. No irony or
anything, Alanis, so shut up. Still, it made me laugh at a point in the skit
where no one else was laughing, so I tip my hat. One small note
(that will actually be a long note because I am going to need to give you a lot
of background), Jeff and I had seen Amanda do standup before in May (I know, I
checked my content section). I didn't know her name so I had described her as
Texas Girl. Her opening this time set off some alarm bells when she and Joi had
a quick conversation about Houston. Her joke is about how she, while not skinny
for NYC standards, is an unattainable ideal for most people in Houston (One of
the nation's fattest cities). The only reason I was at Joystick that night back
in May was to see Sara, so don't think that I have been going out to comedy
shows willy-nilly. Check the old report about the comedy show if you don't
believe me. She made a Lord of the Rings related joke back them, if you want me
to tempt your inner heek. But anyway, it was still cool to learn that her name
was Amanda Melson, and this might be Amanda Melson's
blog? Its most likely not my sister Amanda, since it doesn't
reference any recent flights to Italy (a perfect entry for a web journal). Who
do you think it is then? To aid your analysis, here is a photograph of her.
This is the picture that got me involved in the show for about five seconds. I
blame the little orange light on my
camera.  So
that's about it. I took a lot of pictures and ended up saving around nine of
them. I'll probably post some higher quality images if I ever do a more
official write up of the event. Since these images will always be in the
archives, I made them incredibly small since no one will ever actually see them
again after they get pushed off the main page. I keep explaining this, as if I
am scared that someone will think I have a .05 megapixel camera or something.
Maybe I should just put something in the FAQ and trust that no one will ever
care that my pictures are kind of blurry and small. Also, I won't
insert strange text at the bottom of the pictures next time, I promise. The
advantage about concert pictures is that there is no need to describe what is
happening. "Dude X plays the guitar and we rock out" would seem kind of like
overkill. It was just such a novel format that I decided to help you out a
little bit while you stare at the images of Sara, et al. When it's a rock band,
I just try and get a picture to prove I was there, nothing more really. Unless
someone awesome does a guest appearance or something. But enough about my
upcoming sunday night trip to see the Old 97's. Back to the story at hand. If
you are interested in going yourself, I believe the next show is in
mid-February. I think that Johnny Carson started off the same way, one show a
month, just until Ed could warm up to a more heavy production schedule.
PS. The theater is nearly impossible to find. Well, that is a true
statement mainly because I am an idiot. But if you are going, take directions
off the website AND keep your eye out for a small white door on 7th Avenue.
Then go UP the stairs. Don't just stand there looking up the stairs. That's
about all the advice I have to give. As you probably picked up, my next entry
may involve pictures of the Old 97's.
Posted in at 12:19 PM ( #)
Obsessed With You
Sara Schaefer
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Location: Above Kleptomania
711 Seventh Avenue
Price: $6 Dollar Student Tickets
SSIOWY Website
Host: Sara Schaefer
Sara Schaefer's Website
Appearing:
Aaron Lohr (Star of BARE and Newsies)
Keong Sim (Law and Order)
Musical Guest
Jim Baron (website)
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Was I satisfied?
Yes.
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Random Information
Insert Journal Entry Here
|
Posted in at 10:00 PM ( #)
Return From the Comedy Show
I went to Variety Underground tonight at Park Side
Lounge. The hosts were fine. Here is one of
them.  We
were slightly late (They basically started on time!) So I think we missed "The
Head." Anyway, we arrived in the middle of "Jackie Clarke and Doug Moe."
Neither of these two groups have easy to find websites. What are you going to
do? Plugging in the names Jackie Clarke and Doug Moe both bring up several UCB
related message boards, which makes sense. These are people still waiting to
make a website. Waiting to strike comedy gold. Which brings me to a
sub point. When we arrived, there was still pizza. Free pizza was promised,
but we were strolling in about 30 minutes late. Now, they may have had two
pies, I can't say what transpired before we arrived. But as I sat down and Jeff
took the second piece out of the one visible box, I can say that I did not see
anyone else snacking or with the accouterments of snacking. No plates. No
napkins. So it supports my conclusion. There was only one pie, and prior to
our arrival, there had been only one audience member brave enough to take a
slice. I got up and took the third slice from the pie. Sara Schaefer
was next up! She's the girl from my high school. One of the really loud
audience members (more on this later) really laughed, said that he liked her a
lot. So i leaned over and said that I went to her high school. He nodded, and
we went back to watching. She sang two songs. One was about the lottery. More
specifically, it was about how she plays the lottery with everyone in her LAW
OFFICE. That's right, fellas, she is gainfully employed as an administrative
assistant in a law firm in NYC! So everyone plays because if you didn't play,
and the team (with slightly better odds than if they all played separately) won,
then you would just die! Then, she sand the cubicle song again. It has
improved since May. And I'm not just saying that because this time the event
gave me free pizza. And now, I will try and present the lyrics as
best I can from memory. Oh Cubie, you see right through
me.You promise me privacyBut you're
giving me lunacy.I will love you till the day that I
die.I'll take you with me even when I'm
downsized.Some people call you
cubicle.Some call you workstationSome
call you workspaceI'll call you
home.That's slightly better than the first time I saw it. I had forgotten about the
die and downsized portion of the chorus. Her site promises to have audio
samples. You just keep your microphone turned here, I'll let you
know. Quick question. Can comedians have fanboys? So,
that said. There are about 20 people in the audience. Two of them are hosts.
One of them is a mother of the host. Sara had a guest. The Head must have been
one of them. The two that were on stage were now in the audience. That's 9 of
20. Then another six of them get up. They are all in Filth along with the host. So seven people on
stage. They do standard Harold Night Improv. Which reminds me that i still
need to go see Police Chief Rumble (see how easy it is to find! You need a
better, complex, nonsense name to be found on the web). They had this one bit
where this guy would come 'open and door and enter a room' every time someone
made a pun or cliche. It was great. I laughed every time he went through the
motion of opening a fake door. Here is a picture that appears to be two of the
cast
members.  This
was when I went up for my second piece of the pizza. Jeff had gotten his second
much earlier. Possibly right when I got my first. Jeff asked if I had taken
the last piece. I said no, there was one left. So he took it. He had been
saving his car from the police lot all day, so he hadn't eaten. But let's get
back. Jeff and I had now claimed 5 of the 8 slices. Next was a man
who went by the name Shockwave . He is the house band/beatbox. I wanted to
ask him if he had seen Liquid Sky, but I refrained. He was having equipment
problems, but he can really make a lot of sounds and beats with his mouth. No
one will accuse this white boy of falsely labeling himself a beatbox. So, not
counting the host as a member of the seven person Filth, seven more people are
accounted for at this point. That's 16 of the 20. 16 of the 20 people there
have been on stage. Guess what. The last act? Two people who went by Aaron
& Tony. They did some skits about bad comedy and stuff. Internet dating
was a poor choice for other comics, they said. One of them wore a beard and
heckled. It was darling. Here they
are.  So
before, it was somewhere around the time that Filth got up, that Jeff and I
started to wonder if there was anyone else (besides the mother and Sara's friend
- who had already left) who wasn't a performer. And when the last two dudes got
up, Jeff and I realized that no one else was there randomly. Everyone else was
there to put on their show. It was a show just for us. And they had
gotten us a free pizza. And found a room with lights, sound, and air
conditioning. Admission was free. The pizza was free. We both had a single
drink (which we paid for) and we got to watch 90 minutes of comedy,
improvisation and general tomfoolery. To paraphrase John Linnell's comments
about his funny songs (in a way that destroys the rhyme and meter), "I'm not
gonna say they were great, but I ain't gonna say they
weren't." Overall, everyone else should have been there, they could
have eaten the rest of the pizza.
Posted in at 10:06 PM ( #)
Variety is pizza
Variety Underground
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Location: Parkside Lounge
317 Houston Street
Price: Free (Two Drink Minimum)
Host: Tony Carnevale and Sean Taylor
Variety Underground Website
Appearing:
Sara Schaefer
Shockwave
The Head
Jackie Clarke and Doug Moe
Filth
Aaron and Tony
|
Was I satisfied?
Yes.
|
Random Information
Insert Journal Entry Here
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Posted in at 07:00 PM ( #)
David Cross has very little hair
Tinkle NYC
 |
Location: Pianos on Ludlow
Small theater in the back
Price: $6.00 (Be in line by 7:10, so eat dinner there)
Host: David Cross, Jon Benjamin, Todd Barry -- Website: here
Also Appearing:
Laura Kightlinger,
Jeff Johnson,
Patrick Borelli,
Neal Brennan
plus special musical guest John Flansburgh
Videos Shown:
Murdered Wallets. The rest of the show was more of a live action Murder Mystery that the hosts kept claiming was going very poorly. I guess they expected laughs that did not happen
Went Solo
|
Was I satisfied?
Yes. It was even good solo. Six bucks and no required drinks! All three of the hosts were there this time. They have a good conversation style for jokes. Having the lead singer of Monopuff (John Flansburgh -- also of TMBG fame) there was a bonus.
|
Todd Barry, David Cross, and Jon Benjamin |
Random Information
The big extra support is that you have to get there 90 minutes before the show (no reservations), so they make it tempting to get dinner. They are pretty cheap (8 bucks for a burger and fries) but this time I walked back up a block to Katz's Deli and got a ten dollar sandwich. Good deal there.
This show was during a light rain storm, so I may have gotten lucky. Lower turn out than normal?.
There are only about 30 places to sit, and once again I did not make it in time to get a good seat. Of course, this time I was busy reading my admin state outline, so I just sat down on the actually floor and read until the show started. Laura Kightlinger was sitting behind me. I asked if I was in her way. She told me I was not. Then I stopped talking to her.
Laura's jokes were about dating Jeffrey Dahmer, how she may get an abortion (so you shouldn't congradulate her on being pregnant), and some other stuff. I guess I waited a few too many days to write this down. Actually, perhaps it is for the best. This way I can see her again without yelling out the punchlines. Of course, at the end, I will say "oh, I heard that before"..but at least I won't be a jerk.
Jeff Johnson just had a powerpoint presentation (done on a mac) about how some imaginary couple had opened a stupid restaurant and now it was failing. they had stupid ideas, and now they blamed the loan company
 Patrick Borelli was funny. First joke was about how women get upset because they have expectations based on how much they dress up, where as he dresses like a fat eighth grader. If he had dressed in clown makeup, he might have had expectations about the audience. Second was about how he uses his 'manhood' to make up for the size. Then he pointed out that he hates those dudes who are terrorists and would be willing to kill them if they wanted to work something out.
Neal is a complete blank
John sang "Unsupervised: I Hit My Head" It was pretty good. He also did something a capella. I forget it.
Jon Benjamin's real voice is very close to Coach McGurk from Home Movies.
I took pictures. They will go up this summer.
|
Posted in at 08:30 PM ( #)
Sara Schaefer Rules
Joystick
The girl from my high school (Sara)
|
Location: Parkside Lounge
Price Free + 2 Drinks
Website: Here
Appearnces by:
Sara Schaefer: Website
Some French girl named Clara
Some Improv Comedian
Some Girl not from Texas
Hosted by:
Two Girls (Cavegirls)
Went with Jeff Zavatsky
|
Was I satisfied?
Yes. It was the most raw comedy i have seen yet. And it was technically free, since we paid normal prices for beer (3 dollars for the cheap stuff). Turns out Joystick is an all-female thing. They do not have a website. Perhaps there is a mailing list, but I am not on it. So basically you just go on Tuesdays to Parkside Lounge and watch for an hour.
 Random Information
Parkside Lounge is a bar with a small stage in a backroom. Jeff was able to bring in Wendy's without anyone caring. They appear to not sell any food.
No pictures were taken. There were only about 15 people there and I did not see a flash go off, so I will probably not get lucky and find any in the future.
Anyways, Sara did a 'old song' I had never heard (new to me) called Ode to Cubicle or something. The chorus was basically (I am sure i got it wrong, but this captures the general idea)
Oh Cubie, you see right through me.
You promise me privacy
but you've given me lunacy.
Some people call you cubicle
some call you workstation
some call you workspace
I call you home
The song was a well done in all respects. Good beat, great transitions between verses and choruses, many references to how awful the cubicle life is. She did not play the instrument, she just had a beat box (ala Liquid Sky, really).
Jokes from other comedians I remember
- Fire hot. Is fire mad? Fire needs to express its feelings. Now fire gone because of rain
- Dying comedian. Lots of starbucks and bad American Idol people. Starbucks coffee tastes like pie. Buying a dildo at a reduced price. Dating up. My sign? Do not enter.
- It was strange standing on a fire (the hosts had pretended to be cavemen)
- Reference to a male comedian who told a story to the audience about an ugly girl that was flirting with him. The male comedian made a comment about how this ugly girl reminded him of a hobbit. When no one laugh, he guessed it was because no one in the audience had seen Lord of the Rings, as if knowledge of that pop culture reference would have made it funny for all. This comedian found his ego-saving assumption very amusing.
- Texas people are fat. That makes me an unattainable ideal down there
- Don't mess with Texas. Is it like antenna on a bad TV?
- They kill retards in texas
- Those anti-pot commercials are retarded. People should be paranoid when they see a gun. Keep that stapler away from my Girls should want to be touched when they hang out with a guy all night?
- What Mom did in the car (makeup, hose, frosting a cake, cutting vegetables)
- Mom was always late to pick them up from ballet even though they lived 3 minutes away
- The life and times of Meredith Baxter Birney
- She keeps likes like other geniuses, although people complain
- She watches Mr Personality - the girl seems to be strange, having a good time with masks on
- Guys on the show were saying that only one of them looked stupid (they ALL do)
- She was selling coded icons to put on your day planner. Joke about mom in tupperware
- Revenge. Doctors appointment. Love. Period. She wants more time.
- Being from the south, men are always gentlemen
- Men think that when you talk to them that you want to sleep with them
- She asks for a guy's sign only when she wants to know what kind of jerk they are? Water?
- Belgium sucks
- No one in France has time to hate America, they all have jobs
- Freedom fries do not really teach anyone a lesson
- America are such a great nation, but everyone is afraid of the snow
- Oh great.
It started about 10 minutes after 7. Which is good because we got there at 7:02.
Sara's old bio (In case you really wanted to know without digging around on the internet)
Sara Schaefer originates from Richmond, Virginia. She studied English and Theatre in college. Thanks to such training, she spends her days entering data into Excel spreadsheets and leafing through stacks of paper. She also publishes the zine Satsuma! Sara is currently performing solo around NYC and writing sketch.
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Posted in at 07:02 PM ( #)
I pick winners every time
FYI. I went to a movie with Janeane Garofalo tonight. I believe SHE
paid 9 dollars to see it, I only had to pay $6.50. And, where as my 6.50
bought me a night with her. Her nine bought her a night with me. Clearly, I
captured all available surplus. (blah blah blah, law school joke about BATNA to
go further than fundamental economics)
Posted in at 01:57 AM ( #)
Stella good. Fire Bad
Stella was good. They did some of the old jokes from December, and they
showed the "woods" video clip.
Here was the one joke we came up with
on the subway right home.
I've started getting back into classic
literature. I figured the time was right, I don't want to be left out during my
friends' intellectual discussions and I probably would just waste the time
anyways. I know what you are saying, good for you! But it's really good for
the economy too. I am going through like a book a week, Dante's Inferno, other
books...and these are all books I buy. Yeah, that's right, I'm pumping money by
reading alot. I know you are like "Adam, how do you find the time to get
through a book a week?" Well, first off I am a pretty good reader. Secondly,
I'm sure you've noticed that the jokes tonight suck. What can I say? I had to
make trade offs, but let me tell you, the ladies can't get enough.
Also, I think I read them because I find the stories fascinating. I
just get pulled in so fast and I want to read. --I'm not the cheap ass who goes
to the library and just checks it out, so I'm not reading so fast just because
I'm trying to be a due date...I am building a serious collection. The really
great thing about all these books is that this one publisher makes them all, so
I can put them on the same shelf...cause they match in height and everything
else. One thing though, I just wish that they were not all yellow with black
stripes. I just don't feel like that color scheme says "intellectual" like a
tasteful deep red or green might do. I am considering taking all the books by
Mr. Notes and getting them rebound down the street. These are books I want to
one day leave my children.
Here's a question, why do all these
authors write questions after each of there section? I mean, I just skip over.
I DID just read it. I look down the list and I KNOW the answers. I'm not about
to go open up a next text document on the computer just to jot something down.
Maybe that is why I am getting through these books faster than most people. Oh,
and I was thinking. If I ever look back at one of the questions and don't
remember the answer, its only going to take me five minutes to read the author's
capsule summary again...so I've got that going for me, which is
nice.
(here are some other ways to go with the story)
-
something about being on the subway, reading the cliff notes in a business suit.
Maybe hiding the cliff notes in the bigger version of the book while you read it
over your lunch break.
- something about how everyone seems to think that
part of the title of the book's is really the author. Like "william
shakespeare" as a name instead of the title. Cliff Notes wrote them, give him
credit
- Talk about how he came up with so many strange themes, and then
lays them out. He is very organized. I remember all the books we were forced
to read in high school used this really old english, and no one really got it.
I guess these books must be modernism or something...which is great. Some of
them have a character Homer. I don't know if he is trying to cash in on the
Simpsons or not, but that would explain the yellow. Maybe he made him Greek in
order to avoid a lawsuit.
- He doesn't give his readers much credit. I
mean, I could have figured out that VladmiIr and Estragon were waiting for God
by the end. give me a little credit, please. But, I suppose some people aren't
as educated, and if everyone misses the point, then you aren't really going to
change the world, are you?
- Here's my complaint. This guy never seems to
go on talk shows to promote his new books. First, I don't want to drive out to
the bookstore every week just to keep checking. Second, I don't want to buy a
book without knowing what it is about. I think the sales people at B&N
would get upset with me if I thumbed through the summaries before buying it.
They might think that I am treating them like a library. Which is exactly the
opposite of what I want, but other bookstore bums have made it impossible to
avoid people assuming the worst about you. I guess I could look online, but I
already watch Oprah...so it would really suit my lifestyle more if he would just
come on and maybe give a monthly update. You'd think that he'd want that kind
of press, since all those other book companies always seem to have their authors
do the rounds. Maybe he is really ugly or something. That might also explain
why the back covers and letter jackets do not have his pictures.
Posted in at 08:35 AM ( #)
Oh My Goodness, This Is Stella
Stella 3 Man Show
The Ticket
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Location: Southpaw
Price $15.00
Website: Here
Starring:
Michael Ian Black
Michael Showalter
David Wain
Special Guest:
Eugene Mirman (webpage)
Went with Jeff Zavatsky
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. Great show. About 60% of it was previous material from the December Show. That means it stood out even more, and I can say that I know some of their bits now. Also the DVD with audio commentary was excellent. And it was only twenty dollars. Buying it alone from the website would have been 27. So it is like the show only cost me eight dollars and one night of studying.
Random Information
Southpaw was a bar, but NYC has outlawed smoking in bars. So it was a great environment to say the least.
Here are the skits I recall. Possibly in the correct order
- Hello Dance
- Stella Volunteering - Ice Cream Cone Debate
- Stella Cheer
- Rear debate
- Mike Show Singing along - bah bah bah.
- Easter Turkey Drum Stick Debate
- Naked Man Humor without Robe, with Robe
- Weird Al Grammy Story
- Audience Story - Rooster, Donkey story
- Perfect Spring Day - cutting lots of farts in a pool
- Mikey B's inability to tell David that he hates him
- Goth Characters
- Showing "The Woods"
- Real Deal Real - Breakfast Club Quote
- If someone else goes to another show, they can remind me what else was done
- Ending with Rain and Fire
It was standing room only. We did not get there in time to get great seats, but I could see almost everything that happened.
Finally. I found someone who put up online pictures from the show i went to. As usual, stolen without permission.
 They were doing a skit involving seeing a big tree in the park. It was about them holding hands.
1. Hey guys, remember that big tree? It was like this
2 .I think it was bigger, it was like this.
3. No, you guys are both wrong, it was like this big
4.Hey, you guys remember that little tree? It was like this.'
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 Life on the Farm
Something about a rooster
Something about a donkey
Rubbing the Rooster against the donkey
Conclusion
Donkey was called ass, Rooster was called cock.
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 Magic reflects. Thinks about how much he wants to tell Mike that he likes him, but can't do it because it would force him to tell David how much he hates him.
Thanks to the person who took these. I wish I had been this close to the action.
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When we got there, the line was still out the door. It was taking a long time because they had to card everyone and then also treat the WillCalls. We were not the last people in, but we did have no chance of getting the great spots on the floor. I bought the DVD before the show started. There was this stupid band on stage that played some stupid music, and they went well over the 9:00 start time for the comedy.
Eugine was funny. Pretty standard observations. Some drunk people heckled him. He felt as though they were crazies, and what were the chances of running into them here?
 Here is the card for the band that opened for them. They were passing them out after they got off stage. I managed to get one home before anyone got hurt.
They played too long. The End.
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Posted in at 09:00 PM ( #)
Daily Show Globe
A successful trip to the Daily Show. I caught one of the little globes
that Jon Stewart throws out at the beginning. I would probably need to go
another 20 times if I wanted to get a second. Seats were just as good as last
time, but somewhat removed from the behind the scenes picture we got last time.
I enjoyed being the expect. I had a theory or answer to all questions about the
nature of the show. My instruction about where to stand also allowed us to get
the same quality seats as some of the VIPs from this week. Poor fools this time
(although last time, I was a genius).
Both UVa and NYU came up
during our discussion with Jon. Which was nicer than listening to "Trick Ass
Bitch" talk about their band. He stated that he felt like W&M was the bad
school to attend in VA. No doubt. Also, he used one of the exact same jokes
that he used last time, but now I have forgotten. I meant to point it out to
someone, but I failed. I realize I should have asked him about whether Richard
Lewis only has one bit, the one about the Zebra. That would have been an inside
joke.
Luckily, the guest was both a comedian and actually at the
show. Chris Rock was a very good guest. I'll probably try and find some
pictures from the clip about Celebrities in about a week. Also, there may be a
scan of my ticket. For my own amusement, of course.
On a less
funny note, I have lots of work. So, expect any future mention of this even to
appear in the Content section.
Posted in at 09:32 PM ( #)
Daily Show Take Two
John Stewart
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Price: Free (Plan ahead)
Website: Here
Video Report:
Should Celebrities Shut Up?
Ed Helms
News: Rummy is about to invade Iran and Syria
Also Appearing:
CHRIS ROCK - New Movie (Link)
Went with Praveen Kathpal and his lab buddies from UVA. Praveen had gotten the extra ticket, I could not not exploit that. Anyways, based on my prior experience, they got there at 4:00, I arrived 4:10. We waited, and got basically the same seats I got last time when I was VIP.
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Was I satisfied?
Yes. I caught a globe yo-yo ball this time. So no .5 seconds of fame, but I have an item that I did not possess yesterday.
Random Information
Unlike last time, when the same opening warm up guy made jokes about accounting, this one made jokes about restaurant management not being the best way to get where you want to go in life.
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 The show opened without headlines. The first joke was a focus on how we might just be going to war with Syria and Iran after this war. Very true.
The interview with Chris Rock was great.
The video clip was about how celebrities should shut up. I am hoping that they post both of these clips on the website. I will then be able to steal pictures. The clip had Ed Helms asking a media watchdog if he thought he could get people to stop listening to celebrities by having celebrities sing a theme song telling people not to listen to them.
This show was much funnier than the previous show. I was laughing all the time.
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The Chris Rock Interview
Someone asked JS to ask CR if he smoked the ganja? and Jon properly said he wasn't going to ask that on the air. Of course, Jon and Chris are talking during the break, and Chris comes back opening with "we were talking about weed" So the guy who asked the question was very pleased with life
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This picture is from the angle that we could see. Just imagine pulling back about 25 feet and you would be standing where we were sitting.
Chris Rock's goal is to keep his daughter off the pole and son off the pipe. This is the one time I really clapped hard and long. This is actually where Chris Rock first mentions the goal he has for the daughter.
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And here is where he mentions his goal for his son. He just made reference to keeping his daughter away from monkey bars as well. |
Posted in at 05:45 PM ( #)
David Cross: He Has Hair
Tinkle NYC
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Location: Pianos on Ludlow
There is a small theater in the back
Price: $6.00 (Get in line by 6:30, so eat dinner there)
Also Appearing:
Heather Lawless
Todd Barry
Demetri Martin
Fourwarned (A Barbershop Quartet)
Host: David Cross -- Website: here
Videos Shown:
David Dumped on Valentine's Day, Tinkle at the Anti-War Protest, Todd Leaving for Michigan
Went with Lisa Brennan
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Was I satisfied?
Yes. It blew me away. Six bucks and no required drinks! Usually David Cross, Todd Barry and some guy named Benjamin host, but obviously Todd was too busy in Michigan to do much, and maybe the other dude was at something more imporant.
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Todd Barry, David Cross, and then Benjamin? |
Random Information
The big extra support is that you have to get there 90 minutes before the show (no reservations), so they make it tempting to get dinner. They are pretty cheap (8 bucks for a burger and fries).
Our show was right before the big snow, so we may have gotten lucky. Lower turn out than normal? Monday was a holiday, so that may have otherwise produced a lot more people willing to see a show.
There are only about 30 places to sit, the other 30-40 people must stand, so you can get your hand stamped whenever, the important thing is to be close to the door at 7:45. They also have a TV upstairs, if you get there way too late. You can watch it.
Heather Lawless was not funny. Southern girl humor?
Todd Barry only did a little set with David by phone. He was pretending to opening a Tinkle Ann Arbor in some bar called Keyboards or something. They were playing off the first video they made about him going to Michigan. He then appeared on stage at the very end.
David Cross bashed the war and the protestors. He was wearing some crazy Valentine's Day type "i love you" shirt that had some dude on it. The vidoes were all well done. A little bit simpler than the Stella videos, but he may not have been as involved in editing Mr Show as David Wain was in editing the State. I assume that Stella uses Final Cut Pro (since they produce quicktime movies on the site), so I am pleased with them.
Demetri Martin was excellent. I then saw him on Conan two weeks later, so I had the same feeling as when I saw Janeane at the first stella. A trial run! He kept having people bring him items to make him seem more cultured (ie a rose, cheese, wine, music). His two big jokes (in my opinion) were:
- PJ's with pockets. Before that, he was always just holding stuff while he slept.
- Overlapping English Phrases. I'm Sorry and I apologize usually mean the same thing, except when he is at a funeral.
There was also a girl giving away items after reading from her book. She was not mentioned on the website, and I do not remember her name now. I wanted to win something, but I did not.
 Lisa found the stamp on the floor on the way out. She then gave it to me. I wonder what stamp they used next week. I will try and get a picture of it and put it up here. (As you can see, I have done what I promised. I do not think this is the best picture, so I am going to go and scan the other side of the stamp. That way you can get the three-dimensional feeling. so look at the end for another picture of the appropriated stamp. If I ever run into David, I will try and ask him a hypothetical about what I should do about owning this piece of property.)
Videos. The Dumping Video was David being dumped by an eight year old girl. He asked how the Fractions test went. She thought he wasn't doing enough with his life. then another eight year old came up and took her away "who is this?" both the men asked her.
The Protest was the hosts at the Feb 15th protests, just shouting about tinkle while people fought with police.
The Todd leaving for Michigan involved David and Benjamin treating Todd's news lightly, and then once he was gone and they confirmed he was in Michigan they cried a lot. Over acting and someone ended up in a tub weeping.
 The other side of the stamp, with a little bit of extra space so that you can see the shadow. Ooooooh. Also, if you enjoy psychology, you can try and tell yourself that the two stamps are exactly the same size. Perhaps you think they are different size scans.
So, this is the stamp that some person used to stamp my hand before entering the show, and now I own it.
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Posted in at 08:00 PM ( #)
Jon again. But this time on TV
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Price: Free (Plan ahead)
Website: Here
Video Report: Stacey Grenrock-Woods "where the Buffalo Groan (link?)
News: Georgia Court ruled about sexual issues
Also Appearing:
Joe Lieberman via Satelite
Went with Joi Lakes and Jeff Z. Meant to go with Lisa and Jon a week prior, but we were turned away cause we got there about 10 minutes too late (The line was forming over 90 minutes before the show!).
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. We got VIP passes because I was turned away the last time, so we got treated like royalty
Random Information
I do not want to do reviews of comedy shows. So instead I will just try and throw down some of the interesting things that happened at the show
Joe wasn't actually there. He did a satellite transmission thing our time. But I found this picture online, so you get to see it now.
I wore my Wigu shirt, and the warm up comedian asked me why I was wearing a cow shirt. I pointed out that it also had a monkey, and someone else in the audience clapped. People love monkeys.
Okay. So here is the deal. During the portion of the show where he is talking about news (duh...) he starts talking about how the GA Supreme Court has recently released a ruling. I made up my mind to clap, since I am a lawyer. Turns out the ruling ends sodomy laws. You don't have to be married, be in bed, etc. Anyways, I clap loud. No one else claps (tough crowd). Jon then kind of laughs, and says to the camera something like "sounds like someone is going to georgia." I do not have a tape, so I cannot remember exactly. But that, I consider to be another milisecond of fame. I changed the world in a very small way by delaying him from telling the next joke for people.
So, if you ever see a rerun from Jan 16th, listen for the lone clap. That is me.
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Connection to our class work! I found the video online, so you get some pictures. This was just shown, the news reporter was not there to give us more imformation. |
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Funny old timey picture when snowmobiles roamed the woods unimpeded by man. |
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You can almost hear them. She says as they loudly ride by her. |
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Is it injured? She asks. He responds "I do not know what you are getting at." |
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If they can't go into yellowstone, where will they go? Other than the miles of snowmobile tracks around the country? |
Posted in at 05:45 PM ( #)
Brilliance
Stella 3 Man Group
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Location: Cherrylane Theatre
Price: $5.00
Guest Appearnce
Mather Zickel
Went with Joi Lakes
This is a departure from the old Stella. Instead of having a bunch of other comedians, they just presented their own material.
Stella's website.
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. There was more naked man than I expected, but I was able to roll with the punches.
Random Information
Good long jokes.
Will you be able to have ice cream while volunteering? There will be ice cream, but everyone may not be able to have two cones. While it is about helping, they don't want people to think that means there will not be enough. Therejust won't be tons.
Rear as pronounced by New Englanders. Involving a character that turns out to be a flawed vegan and a waiter who thinks you are not in the section. This all led to the man who would be naked.
Good opening dance number where they just did these little steps.
They all gave each other gifts. Actually, they ended up not giving a gift to Mike. He tried to establish that they were mistaken in forgetting to give him a gift. Everything was based on the secret santa mistake over having two Mikes in the hat. Haha.
If I had written this back in December, there would be more. Anything below this was reconstructed after I spoke to Joi about the show.
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Posted in at 08:46 PM ( #)
Bad Man or Astro Man?
The Bad Astronauts
 Location: The Red Room
Price: $8.00
Starring
Hannah Cabell
Greg Pierce
Simone Perrin
Went with Joi Lakes and Chris M
"The Bad Astronauts are a sketch comedy trio from New York City." They were specifically doing a set they called "The Adventures of Lover-Tron" They are on to different skits now. Check below for the website if you are so inclined.
Bad Astronauts' website.
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. First off, it was my birthday, so my ticket was free. I am a king among men.
Random Information
Great little robot seduction voice overs for when they were changing the set.
Very small venue, which was cool. Somehow, a law school student is related to one of these actors.
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Posted in at 10:30 PM ( #)
Triumph Again
Triumph the Insult Comic CD Recording
 Location:Bowery Ballroom
Price: $12.00
Also Appearing:
Maya Rudolph
Doug from TV Funhouse
Conan O'Brien
Adam Sandler
Haratio Sanz
Kury Loder and Ian the VJ
Jack Black
Blackwolf the Dragonmaster
Went with Peter and Jeff
Triumph's Website
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Was I satisfied?
Yes. I went without any expectations. I figured Conan would be there to support R.S., but this thing blew me away. Having Sandler and Jack Black come out were both huge surprises. It always feels good to do something that sold out even though most people did not even know it was happening right under their noses.
Random Information
So, this CD will be mostly songs combined with prank phone calls and a few conversation type jokes. The cigar is not designed to stay in Triumph's mouth.
They were also filming a DVD. I think my plan is going to be to buy the DVD and just download the CD from the internet if I really grow attached to the songs. I am hoping that I will be able to see myself on the DVD. Wouldn't that be awesome? I am trying to get my 15 minutes of fame in .5 second intervals. No reason to blow it all at once.
Jack Black came out behind a picture of Bob Barker (the one who tells people to do horrible things to their pets) and burst through the picture to introduce himself to the audience. That was the first time that I jumped to my feet. They had actually set up about 75 chairs for some of the audience. We were not able to get front row, but we were in like the fourth row, which was nice. Part of the DVD should be Triumph making fun of the fat annoying dude up front.
The songs were very offensive. Amazingly so. Kurt Loder looked uncomfortable. Haratio Sanz actually did an impression of FDR that just involved him eating fake poop. The picture up on this page was taken during one of the last songs "Needs a Little Poopin." A person almost directly in front of me was taking pictures with their phone attachment. They then later posted their pictures on the message board at the Triumph Site. And now you are seeing what I found. The wonders of the internet.
Blackwolf is some crazy NYC dude who has a cable show about dragons and wizards. He danced crazy, Triumph made fun of him, and it turns out that he and Triumph has a history.
There was also some conversation that indicated that TV Funhouse was coming back or at least the old episodes were coming to DVD. Doug said something, and now I cannot remember.
A beer was $5.00. Pretty standard.
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Posted in at 08:00 PM ( #)
Mmm, 38? More like perfect.
Janeane Garofalo
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Location: Town Hall
Price: $25.00
Also Appearing:
Zach Galifianakis
Went Solo
Ticket was purchased at the last minute. I sat in the back. In fact, there was only one row behind me. I did not mind, but I could have scored a much better seat if I had not waited so long to just give up and buy a single ticket.
Websites about her.
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 Was I satisfied?
Um, it was JANEANE GAROFALO. My first solo comedy trip, I will say that if I had refused to see her even when I could find no one else to go, I would have never have been able to talk myself into going solo in the future. Yes, solo also means sad and pathetic, but no janeane equals sad and remorseful?
Random Information
Zach was great. He played piano. More later, it took me a while to find any internet picture of Janeane actually performing. I considered sending away for a signed photo, but I am lazy. Also, would she get along with the joke photo I have of Ricky Martin? Could I really explain the R.M. photo away if I had a serious one of J.G.? I do already have the fake framed photo, so maybe that is enough.
Here are some of the topics I recall her talking about in the act. If I get bored, I will try and go into them more.
Justin T and C.A. both talk black.
Charlie's Angels as a great/bad movie. Drew Barrymore dances like a midget. She has irritable bowel syndrome.
She eats until she feels sick. She will order an extra pizza because she can't eat just one slice when 8 people are spitting one. She will try and play it off as a joke.
She used to be an alcoholic. Now she is sober. She got tired of wondering what she did the night before? Eating is her new additction?
She uses a piece of note paper with all her possible jokes.
She doesn't like the way the right is running things these days.
She has dogs. She has a boyfriend. - I don't recall if there were jokes about these things.
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Picture of Zach from some other show.
Website of Zach
So there you go.
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Posted in at 09:00 PM ( #)
UCB Swarm all up in you!
The Swarm
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Location: UCB Theater
Sat 20 Oct 2002 9:00 PM
Price: $7.00
Starring:
Dave Blumenfeld, Sean Conroy,
Andrew Daly, Michael Delaney,
Billy Merrit, Katie Roberts
and Andrew Secunda.
Directed by Kevin Mullaney
Went with my mother and father
The Swarm's Website
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. I would go again if someone else asked about it, but the seven dollars prevents me from waiting to recruit a group to go. I will be passive but willing.
Random Information
They describe themselves as "The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's longest running and most dangerous improv cadre tackle two brand new long form improvisations. "
Each show is the combination of two 30-40 minute sets. Nothing too amazing, but they were very clean (which is key when you are with parents. Nothing stands out as I write this five months after it happened. But I do recommend it.
It seems pretty easy to get tickets. You call a few days in advance (I hear it is 10 days + for the Sunday night show), then you show up and pay them. Not too tough. My parents were not impressed with the size of the theater, but I think it was okay for them in regards to the show. We got there very early, so we shopped around in B&N for a while. Nothing purchased there.
Here again, too much time has passed for me to recall what they joked about here. It was much less offensive than Richard Lewis, which was a nice recovery. Also, A guy named Arron from Law School was there. I see all sorts of people when I go out. I am very popular.
Oh, and getting there early and standing in line for this show will get you inside with better seats. Making a reservation but showing up at the show time will mean that you have to stand for the show. Sitting is key, because you have less worry about getting tired. Also, sitting closer is better since you have less of a chance of being 'hair blocked'
Bathroom is available. I would advise trying to avoid the secont type. The first type is acceptable.
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Posted in at 09:00 PM ( #)
Jon, Lewis, and Gaffigan
Comedy Show
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Locaiton: Beacon Theater
Price: $25.00
Also Appearing:
Jim Gaffigan
Richard Lewis
Host:
Someone Famous
(forgotten)
Went with my parents
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Was I satisfied?
Yes. I discovered that Jim Gaffigan is funny. Jon Stewart delivered, but there was some dated "Christian v Jew" material. Richard Lewis was horrible in comparison. R.L. probably should play to smaller audiences who come for him exclusively. My parents paid, so cost was not a factor.
 Random Information
The whole thing was heavily sponsorted by this Diet Coke with Lemon drink. I picked out the picture to remind myself and let you see. Basically, there were little lemon lights on the stage and big yellow bean bags. There were two big screen TVs that actually showed a commercial before the whole thing got underway! Basically, every comedian and the host tried to make light of the situation that they were obviously sell outs. My parents were paying, so I guess I did not respect the fact that Coke was probably keeping the cost from being too high by subsidizing the show.
Jim Gaffigan was great. I was sad to find that none of his CDs were on the internet. I am nervous about purchasing one without hearing a track. The Gilda Radner and 2000 Year Old Man CDs are making me wary, but we shall see. He is the only one of the three comedians with his own website (where the CDs are for sale), so I figured I would let you see him for yourself. He is, like Micheal Ian Black, a bit character on Ed. He plays one of the teachers at the school in the town. (M.I.B. plays a bowling alley employee).
So, Jon probably doesn't have much time to do new material, since he has to write so much for the Daily Show. Richard probably has a bunch of health problems, and Jim is still waiting for a big, big break (His own sit-com, most likely).
Jon also doesn't have an official website. There is the Daily Show site, but that isn't him.
We ended up standing for this show. We waited until the last minute to get tickets. I told my father that the website indicate that while there were tickets available, they were standing room only (which was unacceptable). He said he would call. He called, asked a sort of vague question, and bought three tickets. They were standing room only. I think the failure on my father's part was to assume that the person from Ticketmaster was concerned with our welfare. She saw that she could take his money and give him a ticket that would gain him admission to the show.. Sadly, you can see where it says STAND. I am sure the computer said stand, just like it had told me on the website. Lesson - you need to ask people easy questions and express what you would not want. Otherwise, you are going to suffer the burn when they simply assume you would take anything.
This was a big week of seeing shows. Lucky that it was during a lull in work. I imagine that you will see a similar burst of activity the next Sept/Oct...since living in richmond may not produce much fun opportunities.
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Posted in at 09:00 PM ( #)
Living the Dream - Stella
Stella at the Fez
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Location: Fez at Time Cafe
Price: $10.00 (2 drink min)
Also Appearing:
Janeane Garofalo
Dov Davidson
Jordan Rubin
Joe Lo Truglio (as Joey Adams)
Shelagh Ratner
Sam Seder
Host:
Mike Showalter and David Wain
Others:
Zak Orth, Craig Wedren, Meggan Lennon, Rashida Jones
Short: Cat
Went with my roommate Peter
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Was I satisfied?
Yes. We had to sit on the floor in front of the projector, but it also meant that we did not have to purchase the two drinks. I was less than three feet from the comedians on the stage, and Wain basically squatted right behind us while he played Cat (which is, in my opinion, one of the worst of their videos available at http://www.stellacomedy.com). Having never seen Janeane in person, the reports about her being short are true.
Random Information
I do not want to do reviews of comedy shows. So instead I will just try and throw down some of the interesting things that happened at the show.
The line obviously formed about ninety minutes before the show was to start. We got in the reserved line and barely made the cut, I think. There were no more tables available, so our options were to cram next to the stage or stand back at the bar. We chose to sit at the stage. There were actually a few booths empty, but marked "reserved", so I assume that they were for close personal friends, which is fair. The booths would have great views and lots of room, but then what are the chances that you could hoot and be heard?
Along with Joe LT, there was a former state member in the audience. I will not say who, but he was Tim in the God please Kill Tim (me and God are like this) skit for all of you in the know. I saw him talking with the three hosts while I purchased the 5 dollar tshirt and 5 dollar computer-only DVD. It contains their first 18 clips. I understand now that their new DVD works in normal players AND has commentary.
Peter actually knew one of the comedians, so while I was purchasing my fanboy material, he was actually talking with famous people. I think he got to see Janeane say something to his comedian pal. I believe that his connection was his father, but I will change this sentence if I learn I am wrong about how Peter had met the dude in the past.
Craig Wedren of course wrote the great song "Higher and Higher"on Wet Hot American Summer. He also appeared with CeX who was one of my friend's favorite artists for a while. I believe Zak Orth is also the guy who was forced to dance during the awkward video. I could be wrong.
The picture is from the Stella website, I did not take my camera.
Janeane told a bunch of the same jokes she told later at her Town Hall show. So I got to be a test audience, I think. One of her long stories was about how D. Barrymore's character in Charlie's Angels dances like a dwarf would dance as a court jester in King Arthur's Court. When I attempted to deliver it to Lisa a few weeks after seeing it for the second time at Town Hall, Lisa was not really impressed. I assume that this stems from not having seen the movie, not really liking little people, and not having a framed picture of Janeane on her desk. Maybe I am also a bad comedian.
One of the comedians read us his exchange in the Nigerian Banking Scam. I think this is the one Peter knew. Anyways, I had been aware of this exciting opportunity for a while, so I was less impressed. One of the female comedians was sort of funny, but disappointing. Obviously not Janeane material.
Finally, Mikey B was not there. I guess he may have been filming a scene for Ed or possibly returning the sock puppet to the bank that now owns all of pets.com's assets. Luckily he was at the 3 man show in December.
Notes Written: 3:23 PM, Friday March 21, 2003.
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Posted in at 09:00 PM ( #)
Long Wait For Some SNL Kids
Upright Citizens Brigade: AsssCat 3000
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Location: UCB Theater
Cost: Free, 120 minute wait
Also Appearing:
Horatio Sanz
Amy Poehler
Maya Rudolph
Matt Walsh
Various Others (Writers for Conan, etc)
Went with Praveen and his pals
Webstie: UCB Theater
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. It was a long wait, which was not worth the seven dollar savings but since we did not plan ahead, it went as well as could be expected. My advise to anyone, call ahead by 10 days and make a reservation for the early show. Pay the seven dollars and be happy. They are skilled performers and, even though it does not have many "yell something funny out" opportunities, you laugh a lot. Basically, start up improv groups cash in on the "actor in pain" not knowing how to deal with a strange audience suggestion. These people cash in on quality! (what does that mean???)
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Random Information
We got there around 6:25, stood in line until 8 when we were told that we were going to have to be on standby. So we stood there from 8 until 9, and then were in the standing room section. Four hours of standing was tough, but the big names made it worth it for me.
The pictures are again pulled from the website, but that is how the line looks at 5:45. By 6:25 it extends around the block. One of the problems is that the one line represents both the people who have reservations for the 7:30 show AND the people already waiting for the free late show. That means it is hard to judge how far back you really are until around 7:20.
There were like 15 UVA people in this line. It was Fall Break (which is why Praveen was up in town) and it seems that everyone wanted to see this show. Barry Hyte was there, having not yet left for Chicago. One of the UPC chairs was there, but I do not know which one. They told us about how they had camped out for SNL the previous night. That is a 24 hour wait, so they suffered longer for that. I do not think I will be doing that next year.
I would do this again without question.
I do not remember any of the specific jokes at this point. Sad that I decided to wait so long to type this up. I'll try and do better next time. The nature of IMPROV is that you do not really get longform jokes. Like, I remember a Janeane joke because she tells a 10 minute story, and remembering the vague topic, I can reconstruct the basic theme for a paragraph like this. Improv faded because the humor is so random and jumpy. Very MTV.
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Posted in at 09:00 PM ( #)
Gotham City Improv
I saw Improv
 Location:
158 23rd Street, above Monster Sushi
Cost: $5.00
Went with Lyle Elder and Lisa Scavo because Lyle was vitisitng NYC and we could not think of anything else to do.
Website
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. .
Random Information
Not much to report. It is a 45 person theater, if you could call it a theater. Very simple. We may have seen Pembo. I forgot most of what happened. It was raining, this was one of my first times using the subway. Lyle seemed to enjoy it. This was our last option since UCB was sold out, other problems, and a desire to not spend tons of money.
They did the Matrix because Lyle yelled out the phrase "there is no spoon" Funny thing is this, the picture above is from a show that happened in October. Yet there is something that looks a lot like the Matrix. We had a guy playing Neo. This one is a girl. Hard to say why that is happening. Maybe they only have so many jokes.
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Posted in at 09:00 PM ( #)
Oprah, Umma. Got any gum?
David Letterman and Weezer
 Location: Ed Sullivan Theater
Price: Free (Plan ahead)
Guests:
Amy Sedaris - Sex in the City, Strangers with Candy
Chazz Palminteri - Italian Actor
It was Thursday, so they did "Know Your Current Events.
Top Ten Things Dumb Guys Think We Should Do About The Asteroid
Musical Guest: Weezer
Went with my father on our NYU visit.
Letterman Site
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Was I satisfied?
Yes. I got to see Letterman (which was a big goal) on a night when someone I knew was appearing. Weezer only played one song and they did not get interviewed, but it was okay by me.
Random Information
It is very cold there. No doubt about it, seeing the show in the early spring or late fall will assure that you are wearing the appropriate clothing for the studio. You will note that we went in July.
I got the ticket thanks to Google. I sent in an email a week before our trip asking if I could get on the waitlist for tickets. Basically, they then move down the waitlist, calling people and asking them a trivia question to see if you watched the show enough to deserve the ticket.. I haven't seen enough Letterman to know trivia, so they called and left a message that they would try back. I called them, left a message saying that I was home and they could call me. It was during my return call that I opened up Google typed in Letterman Late Show and then left the cursor in the box. They called back, I took the portable phone to the computer and they asked who "rupert" was. I blanked, so I typed in the name and started scanning the results as I hemmed and hawed, I assume they thought I was waiting for a friend to give me the answer, but I was really scanning text. Anyways, the first return told me he worked at the Hello Deli, so my fate was sealed. I got the tickets.
The interviews were not memorable. i found a guy on alt.fan.letterman or something who had written up his review. I took out the subjective stuff and put the rest at the bottom. It is probably still somewhat subjective.
I did not take these pictures. Karl from weezer.com did, but the one at the top was basically from my perspective, just 50 feet farther back.
Weezer was not asked to talk, but I had already bought the album, so they were not trying to sell it to me anyways.
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 Top Ten Things Dumb Guys Think We Should Do About The Asteroid
10. Have NASA tow the Earth a mile to the left
9. Special helmets
8. Doesn't the pharmacy sell creams for that sort of thing?
7. Has anyone phoned Superman?
6. Stay calm -- it's just as scared of us as we are of it
5. Bubble wrap
4. We should start testing them baseball players for asteroids
3. Stop, drop and roll
2. Can we talk about this after wrestling?
1. Use my full power as President to mobilize the nation
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 Played 'Know Your Current Events,' with Paul participating. Dave's interactions with the husbands/boyfriends of girl contestants were funny
Amy Sedaris - Girl from Sex in the City guestsports. She was asked to sing and she did. This was probably planned. She used to play Jerry on Strangers with Candy. She has a famous brother.
Audience sweep gag allowed everyone to see Mikemack and hear Alan rave ('I'm Alan F'ing Kalter')
Chazz Palminteri - talked about something. He was in Usual Suspects, Mulholland Drive. He may have been pitching "Down to Earth."
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Posted in at 04:30 PM ( #)
The Second City Revue
Embryos on Ice (or Fetus Don't Fail Me Now)
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Embryos on Ice
Location: Second City Main Stage
Price: $8.50 (2 for 1 deal)
Cast Members:
Craig Cackowski
Debra Downing
Nyima Funk
Ed Furman
Martin Garcia
Sue Gillan
David Pompeii
This was during the great Midwestern exploration.
I went with Lyle Elder, David Tyndall, and a few of Lyle's Law friends.
Second City: Chicago Website
Was I satisfied?
Yes. I was advised by Barry Hyte that as long as I was going up to the Windy City, I should take in the show. Lots of famous comedians have sharpened their craft here. I believe Barry was planning on moving out there and doing his thing post-Whetherman.
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 Random Information
We took a long taxi ride up after dinner. Getting a taxi in Lyle's part of town is very hard. He had to make a call to order one, rather than just go to a street corner.
One of Lyle's friends had become an NPR supporter, and this gave her a card that allowed her to make 2 for 1 purchases at Second City. So we all won.
The show was divided into two parts, a long form skit where there was no audience participation, and then a second section where they took suggestions and really engaged in Improv. From what I remember, it was allo pretty funny.
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Posted in at 08:30 PM ( #)
Smashing Fruit Before It Was Cool
Gallagher
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During high school (as of June 2003)
Carpenter Center, Richmond, VA
Price: Free (Father Paid)
Gallagher's Website
Went with my father and sister
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 Was I satisfied?
Yes. As you can see, I did not pay anything, I took some pictures, and I saw him smash some things
Random Information
I recall him being very accessable. He was out in the lobby, signing autographs and posing for pictures. I'll write more later if I can remember anything else. I imagine something will come back to me if I ask my father to try and remember the year that we went to the show. Unfortunately, the photographs do not have a date on them. I may have dated the negatives, but that requires me to find the negatives. And even then, they may be months off from when I actually went to the show. I'll let you know.
All these pictures were taken by me.
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 He had wings for some reason. |
 The Carpenter Center went out of its way to protect its walls from the fruit and juices that were soon going to fly out in all directions. |
Posted in at 08:00 PM ( #)
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Published On: Aug 23, 2005 11:50 AM
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