As promised, Elizabeth got her Don't Spit the Water photo set up on Flickr for your visual pleasure! Check out the full set here. The reprised show, specially staged for the Just for Laughs Chicago festival, featured former ex-pat cast members TJ Miller, Jared Logan, Robert Buscemi, and Nick Vatterott, and brought back regular players Fuzzy Gerdes, Erica Reid, Paul Luikart, Steve Gadlin, Tyler Lansdown, and Bryan Bowden. It looks like a super good time was missed by this guy right here, who opted to hang out on a beach for eight hours with a cute boy that day instead. OH WELL. *It should be noted that I am actually super upset with one of those ex-pat cast members in particular, for NOT EVEN MENTIONING HE WAS GOING TO BE IN TOWN AND DOING COMEDY. I actually might have forgone the beach, had I known. Whatever.
As if you asked, this is my favorite MJ song (bonus: this is one of the 'short film' music videos. Totally awesome.)
She's threatening to pull it down, but I don't think Cameron was wrong with the blog she wrote last evening. I watched all the zingers and one-liners roll over my Feedbook friends' feed, too; the examples she cites barely even scratch the surface of how comics were responding in real time to the news of Michael Jackson's passing. For better or worse, we are now living in a society where we can react and interact almost immediately with one another -- for me, this is comforting. I'm okay with that level of communication. I like knowing that I'm not alone, especially when I'm drinking whisky and hanging out w/ a cat while housesitting in an apt on the 14th floor and watching an MJ video marathon for hours. And, like someone mentioned (on Facebook? Twitter? can't remember), maybe the fact that comics are able to get all of these short quips off of their chests immediately means they won't be trying to develop them into jokes and will not then take them out to the open mic circuit. Maybe. Are there any reports from any open mics last night? How did we all do as humans?
JFL Week came and went, and I don't think there were any casualties... I know that I myself took it really easy, considering the 1,392 things I *could* have done. I'm not going to pretend I did any kind of "coverage" or anything like that -- I saw a bunch of good friends, got and gave a bunch of hugs, and drank a lot of liquor. For some excellent national act coverage, check in on the Time Out Comedy Blog, and the Comic's Comic (aka Sean McCarthy from NYC, who was in town for the fest). As for local show coverage, I know Cameron Esposito dropped some stuff in her new Tribune-affiliated blog, Chilarious, and Elizabeth McQuern, as always, took at least one million photos and five dozen short films over the weekend. Stay tuned to her blog for a full visual report soon!
Photo of Angel holding a JFL logo-emblazoned napkin, and Mary, the Greatest Bartender Alive, hustling behind the counter, as the entire drinking crew of 2006 descends upon her for the Thursday night Homecoming Show at the Lodge. John Mulaney was a very-last-minute addition to an already insane line-up.
Ohhh, hey guys. So, it's JFL Week here in CHI!! The energy is palpable. Last night I giggled madly for 3+ hours, at the Your Sunday Best open mic. People who have been estranged for far too long kept appearing -- Brido, Kyle, Emily... I kept trying to will the universe to bring me more and more wayward friends, but I think the universe wants to test my patience for a few more days. I am hoping that it delivers to me more folks tomorrow night, for the first ex-pat showcase this week. I wasn't going to go out to ChUC, as I have my tix all set and ready for the Thursday night Homecoming Show at the Lodge, but screw that. If I can't be here over the weekend, I will make the most of this week w/ my old school soul crew.
As a super awesome added bonus: my girl Blanda came out w/ me last night, as she was visiting CHI while on sabbatical this summer in OH, and you know everything's always better w/ a partner-in-crime, and on Thursday Angel will be in CHI, so she and I get to kick 2006-style that afternoon/evening. We are taking bets now on if survival is in the cards for us...
As an aside: I am sorry if my live tweeting last night was bothersome for anyone, and I'm also sorry I took a phone call from Angel and then proceeded to hold the phone up so she could listen in on the show. We are getting really weird this week.
How did I not give shouts to the kids going to the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival this week!? Cameron Esposito put some her thoughts about it down in Chilarious, a relatively new blog from Chicago Now. Cameron -- this week will be incredible, and we WILL laugh the next time we see you at a local open mic!!
I do! But only when it is ACTUALLY MARCH. Here is CHI, we are submerged in about 47 ft. of rain. No exaggeration! I haven't left my house too much the last couple weeks (but this is mostly due to lack of $$$ flow and palling around w/ a new friend). I still wanted to update the ol' blog and send out some linky love, so here it be:
TONIGHT! Catch little Joselyn Hughes on Tosh.0, Daniel Tosh's new Comedy Central/multimedia program. Joselyn is also a regular blogger on the multimedia portion of the program, and now will be showing her beautiful face on the tee-vee!
Big ups to Dan Telfer, who was recently on the syndicated Bob & Tom radio show, which was then aired on WGN this past Tuesday, and on top of that, he got big comedy nerd street cred by showing up on A Special Thing!
Those wacky kids at Blewt! super-nerded out and created a "competitor" to TinyURL: FartURL. I think next time the boss needs a URL shortened, I'm going to be playing a little prank...
I missed the CD Release Party this past Saturday, but that don't mean I love Lola Balatro any less. The CD is now avail for purchase, and its release coincides with their new video, "Questionable Beef":
Speaking of ex-pats, do be sure to get your tix for next Thursday's Homecoming Show at the Lincoln Lodge. You can get tix for Wednesday instead, if you'd like. And then there's the Chicago Stand-Up Run-Down shows Friday and Saturday, also at the Lodge. And lots of other shows that week, too. I'll be at the Lodge Thursday, reunited with our Angel, returned home to us.
I'm back online, Internet buddies. Almost totally unpacked and settled in. Have officially balanced the checkbook, and let's just say, my Birthday Week next week is probably going to be a lot of me sitting in front of my computer watching downloaded eps of the Wire over one tall boy. BROKE. I am broke. As evidence: I just finished lunch, made from things I have in the apt. Specifically, plain pasta "tossed" w/ a can of black olives and some salt, pepper, cumin, and red pepper (yes, it was as weird as it sounds). I don't want to spend any money on groceries, but it's inevitable.
That being said, I am unopposed to having $6 pitchers of Old Style down at the Two Way Lounge this afternoon. You should come by. You being that one reader in the Netherlands.
Today was an up and through the roof day here during Manic Week. I'm moving tomorrow a.m., and have been kinda living outta boxes and getting ready, Ready, READY to go. Lots of changes going on, and a lot of revisiting the past. A lot of moving forward. But ANYWAY, the thing that's helping me get re-grounded, and helping to keep my spirits positive, is my soul crew. I have a couple friend, and their new baby (almost 10 years in the making, those friends); I have my roomie "K-Roll", who I shared most of 2006 with and obviously the years afterward; I have my Angel, who I chat with daily via email and/or phone, and with whom I am making Big Tentative Plans... and I have the Old Comedy Crew. Most of them are in LA or NYC right now, but we keep track of each other via the Interwebs and their visits back to CHI (sadly enough, I don't get out to either of those cities w/ the frequency I would like). Tonight I packed up the last of my things, watched my roomie make a pie from scratch, put the rest of the veggies in the fridge into my tummy, and drank some Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout (not my usual, but my downstairs neighbors' homemade stout I sipped last night was so good I wanted a little more).
And now, I feel myself crashing a little bit, and being a little bit sad about leaving in the a.m. I mean for chrissake, my roomie just left the apt. to get ice cream so we could have a little to go w/ our homemade pie. And there are two fluffy orange kitties here! And, and... I could go on. But, I am excited and ready for the next chapter. And that means a sweet little studio apt. that is ALL MINE, and one of my best comedy friends is in shouting distance away, across the parking lot (MR RICKY CARMONA, THAT'S MY BOY!), and I will be in a new neighborhood w/ new adventures and a renewed sense of purpose in this life and for this CHI stand-up scene and the people within it who make up my heart and soul entirely.
My point for all of this rambling, is this: way back when, someone called Jordan Vogt-Roberts started to make some films with stand-ups. I remember going to the launch party in 2006 for the (now-defunct) Web site, and seeing the 10 minute intro reel, and being in utter and total awe. Jaw-dropped awe. It's been 3 years, and I know that boy has been doing the work and doing it well. Tonight, I'm looking back on some of his stuff, as I chill out from Manic Week and reflect on the future of everything. The below "trailer" is one of my favorite pieces, because it was created at the exact moment in time I needed to see those kids, and because it, as a premise and as a film piece, is just incredible, IMO.
TBS will use its inaugural partnership with Just For Laughs Chicago to launch a 10-episode late-night TV series devoted to showcasing up-and-coming stand-up comedians. Tim Meadows (SNL) will host The Very Funny Show, which will tape 30 comedians (or three per episode) at Zanies June 19-20 during JFL Chicago, broadcasting them weekly come November (paired somehow with the George Lopez offering? or maybe on the weekends against SNL and Wanda Sykes???).
Many of the stand-ups getting exposure in the initial run on TBS already have a TV credit or two. The lineups will include: Bob Marley, Dwight Slade, Steve Byrne, Andrew Kennedy, Al Madrigal, Joe Matarese, Dwayne Perkins, Jeff Dye, John Caparulo, Nick Thune, Erin Jackson and Louis Ramey. And representing the Chicago area: Patti Vasquez, Rocky LaPorte, Hannibal Buress, Matt Braunger, John Roy, Sebastian Mansicalco, John Mulaney, TJ Miller, and Dale Jones.
Sounds a lot like something in between what Comedy Central has been doing with its Live at Gotham and half-hour Comedy Central Presents series. Here's what Dennis Adamovich, senior VP and g.m. of the TBS comedy festivals, had to say about it: "This series demonstrates how our comedy festivals are more than just first-rate showcases through which we can extend the TBS brand. They are also an outstanding opportunity to mine fresh talent for the network's comedy lineup."
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HOW COOL IS THIS YOU GUYS???
I am going to Baltimore the weekend these tape, though. :( I will be at the Homecoming shows Weds and Thurs, however!
Blatherings about stand-up comedy in Chicago, mostly. I used to sort of write for and sort of edit the Bastion. Mostly I go to too many shows and hang out in bars w/ comedians. I am 31 years old.
I broke Flickr a little while ago, so most of the photos that were once part of this blog have been removed. However, some choice sets from the past are available directly from my Flickr account. 2005-2008.
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