Your Philadelphia New Year’s Eve Comedy Options
- Helium Comedy Club (2031 Sansom St.) has Tom Rhodes, Chip Chantry and 2008 Philly’s Phunniest Kent Haines (:cough: headlining our next show :cough:) for 8PM and 10:30 shows. The early show ($35) includes appetizers and a ticket to a future show and the late show ($55) gets you party favors, a champagne toast at midnight, dessert buffet afterwards and a ticket to a future show.
- The Laff House (221 South St.) has a big night planned with comedy by Derek Gaines, Richie Redding, Brooklyn Mike, Alex Scott and host TuRae. Early show starts at 8PM ($20) and the late show ($35) includes hors dourves and a champagne toast. There’s also a VIP Package with a bunch of other stuff.
- ComedySportz (2030 Sansom St.) is ringing in the New Year with improv including the rarely seen Oxygen Depravation and Spit Take games. Early show (7:30, $30, $25 students) includes a New Year’s in Brazil toast at 9PM and the late show (10:30, $30, $25 students) includes an actual toast at midnight. Both shows will have pizza and non-alcoholic refreshments included in the price of admission. BYOB!
- And finally, monthly series The Ministry of Secret Jokes is holding a special show at Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th) from 9-11PM with Yo Mama battles, stand-up, Omniana, white guys rapping and other stuff. The show’s $10 and you can stay through the ball drops. BYOB!
Oh and by the way: our show listing on the right is going down with 2008 as we hope to transfer over to a new, awesome design with a much improved calendar system. So goodbye 2008 and hello 2009!
RELATED:
Top 5 of 2008 lists
DEAF COMEDY JAMZ: A Film Adaptation Of Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak by Dave Walk
Being that they are one of my favorite bands, their best album, 1976’s Jailbreak ranks as one of my favorite albums of all-time. I’ve often thought that it would make a great action movie, being that it is actually a concept album. As explained on the back of the original LP:
“DIMENSION 5 was now in the hands of the Overmaster, whose lust for ultimate power had become an obsession. Religion and media were all under his control and computer files were kept on all known living persons within the city zones…”
The following is a song-by-song description of my imaginary Jailbreak movie, based off of the original lyrics. It can never actually be made considering its star, the singer and mastermind of Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott, has been dead since 1986. Nevertheless, it celebrates the rock & roll, justice and women of Thin Lizzy.
The movie fades in on the Maximum Security Detention Center where Thin Lizzy is being held captive as the song “Jailbreak” begins. Everyone is dressed in drab prison garb except for the old, deranged man with a long beard that is only wearing rags. Anyway, desperately trying to escape, lead singer and bassist Phil Lynott finally sneaks out of his cell and during the first chorus attacks a guard, taking his keys to the other cells. By the second chorus the prisoners of the jail are set free and let loose on the building. During the guitar breakdown, lead guitarist Brian Robertson is seen slowly and delicately connecting the wires to detonate a bomb (“easy, easy”, he says with fingers trembling). The band is seen fleeing the guards as all hell breaks loose and sirens wail (“break out!”) and the music temporarily stops as…the bomb finally detonates! Outside, Thin Lizzy aren’t free yet, but Lynott (who takes time out to admire a good-lookin’ female), Gorham, Downey and Robertson defeat all of the guards in the final chorus and escape to the city zones – asthe most dangerous criminals in all of DIMENSION 5! The guitars ring out and the song ends on the burning remains of the prison.
As legend has it (ie., back of the album), all prisoners were eventually captured, “except four, who made it to the Rampic Buildings on the south side of the city. It was in these buildings that they broadcast and recorded selected material, some of which still survives today. Through these recordings they built up a following who eventually took to the streets in what was to become the Final War.”
Listen to “Jailbreak”:
Before the next song, “Angel From The Coast” begins, the words “ONE YEAR LATER” appear on the screen. Now free, we join the band as they continue their guerrilla warfare against the evil, fascist DIMENSION 5 government. In a highly explosive and dangerous battle, the band seems to finally be defeated. But then, out of nowhere appears a mysterious female warrior that takes out the facist overlords left and right, saving Thin Lizzy in the end:
And the cops, they came like lightning
The bullets flew astray
And the noise, it was frightening
But the crook, he got away
Obviously, in case you weren’t paying attention, “the crook” is our hero Phil Lynott and the rest of the band.
As “Running Back” begins, we learn that Phil Lynott and the mysterious female warrior have become lovers. Accompanied by a sweet keyboard lick, we realize that this is a little more light-hearted portion of the film. Hey, even a revolutionary needs love, right? But soon enough we see the couple fighting and the mysterious warrior eventually throws Phil out of her apartment, slamming the door in his face. With nowhere else to go, Phil takes to the cold streets of DIMENSION 5. As he walks, he sings the song to the camera (there is a street performer playing saxophone for the saxophone riff, man this is an awesome song):
If I said I was sorry
Would you still leave me?
I never thought you’d go till you did
Believe me
Listen to “Running Back” :
Interspersed are shots of Phil trying to find enjoyment in other activities, like playing with the band (awesome shots of the guitar solo) and hanging out in pubs, but nothing satisfies him like the female warrior did. Meanwhile, she is going through the same problem, meeting stupid blokes in bars and rolling her eyes as they give her no satisfaction. During the last chorus, Phil finally breaks down and runs back to the girl’s flat (Thin Lizzy were Irish), but she isn’t there.
The next song, “Romeo and the Lonely Girl” is a continuation of this theme, but with flashbacks of Phil and the female warrior together. Near the end, Phil runs back to her place as before (Oh poor Romeo / Sitting out on his own-ee-o- actual lyrics) – this time she is home and they embrace. Turns out she was lonely the whole time as well! Oh by the way, there’s another amazing guitar solo in this song. Seriously, why aren’t you listening to this album right now?
Listen to “Romeo and the Lonely Girl”:
With the crucial relationship between Lynott and his lady intact, the battle goes on between the rebels and the Overmaster’s band of thugs in “Warriors”. Through a series of action montages, we see the comrades fight the fascist regime:
I am a messenger
The message here, you must know
I am the warrior
I deliver the fatal blow
So fate will have to wait
Till time can heal the scar
My heart is ruled by Venus
And my head by Mars
Honestly, I’m not really sure what he’s talking about at the end, but the rest makes sense.
In “The Boys Are Back In Town” we finally see the rock and roll side of Thin Lizzy. This song shows the band out on tour, playing the towns of DIMENSION 5, spreading their virtues of justice and rock & roll. There are, of course, long shots of packed arenas going crazy and close-ups on the classic double guitar solo in the middle of the song. Yep, the boys are back in town and they’re spreading their message of freedom from the tyranny of the overlords of DIMENSION 5. Rally up the troops, The Overmaster must fall!
Brothers fight or fall / It’s man for man and one for all / No more can we crawl / Brothers, brothers hear the call sings Phil in “Fight Or Fall” as he rallies the troops Braveheart-style for the big final battle against the Overmaster.
“Cowboy Song” takes place in a dreary, dark, lonesome rural part of DIMENSION 5 the night before the big, final battle between Thin Lizzy’s rebels and the Overmaster in his fortress. The “Cowboy” is Phil looking back on his struggles and everything else that got him to this point. It is an introspective side to the film, but there are also shots of the band playing alone in the desert, amps and all (not plugged in), especially during the guitar parts. Even great leaders have self-doubt, and here, Lynott questions if he is really ready for the Final War. Even in this moment of clarity, he can’t stop thinking of his woman (Lord, Im just thinking about a certain female), who has unfortunately died of a fever just days before.
Later in this song, Lynott sings about working on the rodeo in Mexico. Just forget this part.
Listen to “Cowboy Song”:
“Emerald” is the last song and the climax of the entire film. The battle between the rebels and the evil regime rages on throughout the song:
Down from the glen came the marching men
With their shields and their swords
To fight the fight they believed to be right
Overthrow the overlords
Listen to “Emerald”:
The battle intensifies during the extended instrumental freakout portion. As it nears the end, Phil Lynott breaks into the Overmaster’s secret bunker, kills the evil master and disengages the emerald that has taken hold of the city zones for so long (They had come to claim the emerald / Without it they could not leave).
As the final chords of the song rings out, there is a huge explosion, killing our hero but bringing freedom to all of DIMENSION 5 at last. And with his last breath, Lynott shouts out for his long-lost love.
Retro Retro by Chip Chantry
Mixes for any Occasion #1 by Rob Baniewicz
Teen Punks in Heat by Dave Walk
Don’t Take Our Songs So Seriously by Dave Walk
A Shitty Taste: Tiny Tim & Brave Girl Combo’s “Girl” by Rob Baniewicz
THE BEST COMEDY ALBUM OF 2008: Andy Daly’s "Nine Sweaters"
Born in New Jersey, Daly started doing improv comedy in New York City in the 90s. In a recent interview with Tom Scharpling on The Best Show on WFMU, the scene before the Upright Citizens Brigade came to town was like the Wild West: “except a little nerdier and with shinier shirts.” Once the UCB did open up shop in New York, Daly was one of the first people to take a workshop. After some work on Late Night with Conan O’ Brien, Daly made the move out to Los Angeles. There, he spent two seasons as a cast member of MadTV, a sketch show that Daly soon enough found was not exactly for him. His sketch ideas were getting shot down and he was relegated most of the time to the part of the straight man in scenes (which isn’t necessarily bad in of itself, but it didn’t really give him a chance to do anything).
Near the end of his time there, he started doing live comedy shows and basically turned all of his sketch ideas into a character monologue. “It was incredibly liberating to say I don’t have to rely on anybody. I’m not even putting together a sketch show with three of my best friends with rehearsal and lighting cues and props and all of that stuff. It’s just me and I can write and improvise it as much as I want and it’s all on me.”
The result of these characters done live is this two-disc set. Recorded over a ten-week residency at the UCB-L.A. show COMEDY DEATH RAY earlier this year, Nine Sweaters finds Daly exploring these different characters. Oh, and about the sweaters, as he explains with a wink in the liner notes: “When creating a character, Laurence Olivier always started by selecting a false nose, Alec Guinness began by figuring out how the character’s walk, and Jean-Claude Pépée decides how the character dances. I always start by choosing a sweater.”
The characters are unique in that instead of just explaining themselves, something usually happens to them and we learn who they really are, like what would happen in a sketch. Most of the time it is revealed that while the character seemed like a likable person at first, they aren’t quite that clean. Like Skip McCabe of Skip McCabe and The Skip-Around Gang, who has traveled around the country for years with his family singing sing along songs for crowds. As he finally makes to the theater, he’s without the rest of gang and recounts the tale. Full of acute details and the Skip’s reactions to the events, it’s too funny to give away.
Elsewhere, Midwesterner Hap Arden talks about moving out to Hollywood to pursue his movie star dream before it all takes an unexpected and ghastly turn, an elderly Ben Alterman takes the stage for the first time to tell perverted jokes about living in a retirement home (his family is in the audience), and “The Greatest Actor In All of France”, Jean-Claude Pépée experiences working on a Hollywood set for the first time. It’s the art of storytelling told by different people with hopes, dreams and maybe too much self-confidence for their own good.
And it really is an album every should listen to.
TOP 5 LISTS of 2008 cntd.
2008 is quickly coming to a close and we are sharing some Philadelphia comedians Top 5 lists.
Doogie Horner, stand-up comic, host of The Ministry of Secret Jokes
5. Steve Gerben’s Yo Mama meltdown at the Ministry of Secret Jokes. He called the crowd a bunch of douche bags after they booed him during the battle, then grabbed the Omniana championship belt and yelled “I’m the fucking champion!”
4. John Kensil’s opener for Philly’s Funniest: John walked on stage holding a puppet. When he got to the mic he looked down at the puppet, paused, and discarded it without comment.
3. The 24 hour standup marathon at the Walking Fish, especially Amir Golan’s set, where he and Steve Odabashian led the crowd in a sing along version of “Don’t Stop Believing”.
2. Meg and Rob’s video “The Fog of Love”.
1. Nolan Gilbride’s joke: “I hate how rappers act like they invented treating women like shit.”
Rob B., Meg & Rob
I chose primarily local events. I’m really amazing at what my peers do regularly.
1. Kent interviews Aaron at “Why Am I Not Famous?!?”
Just so sharp yet off-the-cuff. I embarrassed myself by snorting and not being able to control my laughter.
2. Bush or Batman: The Phenomenon
A necessary break-out for this year. The premise and execution is amazing.
3. Bedtime Stories: History.
First one I’ve seen in it’s entirety. Gregg was a great host, Pennslyvania historical class slide-show was amazing, 6th B’s Oregon Trail sketch was clever, and it was just a beautiful beer soaked night.
4. Roasting of Brendan Kennedy’s Friend at Ministry of Secret Jokes
“He had sex with Gwen once.” ‘Nuff said.
5. Kevin Allison’s Sketch Class
Notice – Philly comedy outranks anything else I saw. There’s a reason for that. Because there are some great shows happening with really talented folks. Something that really helped me focus as a performer and writer was taking Kevin Allison’s class in New York. He’s a really great listener and helpful sharpening your pieces. Plus, met some really great folks up there.
Alexis Simpson, The Rare Bird Show, Illegal Refill, Artistic Director of the Philly Improv Theater
5) Rowan & Hastings built a raft. Then they took it to the Schuykill. THEN they rapped about it. Lucky for you, they made a video about the whoooooole thing. )
4) Anton Shuford. My favorite Philadelphia stand-up. Saw him at the CvsA Comedy Show a couple of months ago, and damn if he didn’t make both unemployment and DUI arrests seem so adorable.
3) The Action Section’s Halloween Spectacular – Hands down the best sketch show I saw this year. Where did these guys come from? The show was well-written – not a single wasted line – and the acting was just terrific. Higlights include a terrific riff on famed scary poem The Raven and a bit on Michael McDonald singing the hits of John Williams. You might say to yourself “Didn’t Family Guy already cover the Michael Mcdonald comedy ground?” But then you will recall that Family Guy is a haphazard and lazy Frakenstein’s monster of hastily assembled fart jokes, and you will wish you had seen the show. Do yourself a favor and check out the Action Section’s videos – “7 of Clubs” and “M Night” are both pretty rad.
2) TIE, Wonkette & Comics Curmudgeon. Do you like politics? Do you like swearing? Do you like it when you put your mouse over a photo and an awesome caption pops up? Then Wonkette is the blog for you, my friends. Three or four hilarious writers post cynical, curse-laden updates 8-10 times a day. Higlights include cute nicknames for political celebrities and the annual War on Xmas gift guide. Say you want the benefit of giggling to yourself like an asshole while all your coworkers wonder if you ever do any damn work, but you don’t want to wade into the self-important world of Political Snarkiness. Well, my friend, the Comics Curmudgeon might be more up your alley. In short, Josh reads every single one of the daily newspaper comics – including Mary Worth! – so you don’t have to. Great writing and witty commenters abound in a politics-free atmosphere.
1) BassProv. The show’s premise is fairly simple: it’s a longform improv piece in which Donny Weaver and Earl Hinkle (played by improv legends Mark Sutton and Joe Bill) go fishin’, drink beer, and solve the world’s problems. The ingenious twist? Typical longform improv results in characters and relationships that disappear into the ether after about 25 minutes. In Bassprov, every single performance produces in-the-moment discoveries that are then weaved into the permanent reality of the character. Example: over the decade or so that BASSprov has existed, Earl has married and divorced no less than 4 times. See them once and you’ll laugh your face off – because Joe and Mark are fucking hysterical (and particularly skilled at backing each other into corners for comic effect). See them more than once to truly appreciate that they are doing more than just making ha-has.
Brendan Kennedy, stand-up comic
5. Me falling off the stage upstairs at The Troc.
4. Fastball Pitcher Bob Gutierrez explaining to myself, Chip, and Don the ups and downs of being a fastball pitcher, and how bad it is when the batters know that you will only be throwing fastballs.
3. Chris Harrje’s hilarious personal tragedies, such as his collapsed lung (2007), broken wrist (early 2008) and most recently, finding blood on his cue tips after he cleans his ears.
2. Jon Goff’s halloween costume Powerpoint at the October edition of Die Actor Die!
1. A young man by the name of Josh who was of diminutive stature, at the Helium open mic, saying, “I know what you’re thinking, so let me get this out of the way.” Then proceeding to sing the lollipop guild song from The Wizard Of Oz, with awkward little kicks and arm swinging and everything. If anyone has video of this, I will pay you for it. His performance made my soul happy.
Mark Dames, improviser, PHIT ticket guy
5. Walking Fish Theatre’s 24 hour stand-up marathon – On Labor Day, as part of the Philly Fringe Festival, the Walking Fish Theatre, in my hometown of Fishtown USA, hosted their 1st annual (hopefully) day-long stand-up event. Co-hosted by Chip Chantry and Doogie Horner, it was an interesting mix of Philly’s best and brightest comedians performing for some of Fishtown’s finest. And by finest, I mean some burnt-out 42-year olds you swear were at least in their early 70’s.
I watched around 15-16 hours of the 24 hour fest. And my favorite moment happened around 9 AM, when a nice family of five strolled in. Mom, Dad and their three teenagers, who definitely were not from Fishtown, and walked into an ambush. The comedienne onstage, whose act consisted mainly of an explicit discourse on her sex life, asked Dad if he, like many men, had a nickname for his penis. She harangued both Father and Mother, in front of their own kids for at least five minutes. Next Labor Day, they’ll probably just go to a nice brunch instead. I, however, will be at the Walking Fish.
Plus, I got to tell stories onstage, about selling Porn, at 5:30 AM!
4. Matt Holmes: One-Man show. – During a week of benefit shows for Project H.O.M.E. hosted by Philly Improv Theater in March, Rare Bird Show’s Matt Holmes took on a cadre of Matt Holmes impersonators all by himself, in an improv battle to the death! Well not quite. First no one died, and secondly, he had some help, from the audience. Now, most improvisers get assistance from the audience in the form of verbal suggestions, but Mr. Holmes, brought up people in the audience, one of whom had never even seen an improv show to perform with him. The genius part was not Matt himself being hilarious, that’s a given, but he actually made the first-timers shine too.
3. On two consecutive Sunday mornings in October, while on my way to work at 10 AM, I saw the same gentleman, drop trou and take a shit on the corner of 20th and Market Sts. It was comforting to see that even older insane folks have their daily routines. I’ve been a little late to work every Sunday since.
2. Boston improv group CODE DUELLO came and did two shows at the Shubin Theater back in May. They do an improvised re-imaging of the famous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, and what led up to it. Their second show was one of the two best improv sets I’ve ever seen. It involved Hamilton losing his fortune betting on cockfights, with one of the contestants being a man dressed as a chicken. Please come back to Philly soon.
1. Kent Haines’ show has been awesome since show number one, back in July. But the December 3rd edition was amazing. One of his guests was comedian Brendan Kennedy. Brendan who’s always hilarious with his angry and acerbic take on life, showed us his softer side that night. He read a painfully hilarious letter written to a girlfriend, pouring out his heart to a girl who had already moved on. It was one of the ballsiest performances I’ve seen by any comedian in Philly. He really put himself out there, and it paid off in spades, mostly for those of us lucky to be in the Shubin Theatre that night. I hope more people in Philly realize that the best comedy comes from your personal experiences, the more painful they are, the more the audience will connect on an emotional level, and the bigger the laughs. Brendan then, improbably topped himself, with having a staged reading of a scene from a colleague’s crime drama script. Fucking-A man! That was the hardest and longest I’ve laughed all year long.
TOP FIVE MOST IMPROVED COMICS OF THE YEAR 2008 by Pat Barker
Our Top 5 of 2008 lists continue…
TOP FIVE MOST IMPROVED COMICS OF THE YEAR, 2008 by Pat Barker
1) Kent Haines. Perhaps this wasn’t an improvement as much as it was Kent shining when given an opportunity, but there’s no way anyone else could head this list. I don’t know the exact time line of when Kent got here from Alabama, but he might not have even been in Philly one year ago. Now he’s one of my favorite local guys. Smart, funny material. It’s just a shame that the University of Alabama are choke artists and blew the National Championship. Can’t win ‘em all, Kent.
2) Aaron Hertzog. Aaron’s always been a good joke writer, but I feel like he’s turned a corner recently and gotten even better. His joke about the Hide-and-Go-Seek Killer is brilliantly crafted and anyone who quotes Dr. Dre in their act is good in my book. Check out his set on his MySpace from Doogie Horner’s Ministry of Secret Jokes show.
3) Conrad Roth. It’s tough for me to get into the one-liner stuff too much, because so many people do it horribly. Conrad is not one of those people. I did a show with him back in May, and there were definite bright spots, but it was still very hit-or-miss. Over the next six months, he wrote a bunch of great new stuff, ditched a bunch of mediocre old stuff, and now his act is solid. Conrad consistently impresses me by pulling off a style I never could.
4) Pat House. While this list is mostly relegated to relative newcomers, I feel like I have to make mention of the strides House has made recently. A lot of his newer jokes are really good and he’s been tweaking older jokes and making them better too. I did a show with him a few months ago and was very impressed. Pat and I have probably done over 100 shows together, and this was the best I’ve ever seen him.
5) Derek Gaines. Quite possibly the most underrated comedian in Philly. Every time I see him, he’s funnier than the time before and has developed some new killer bit. It’s impressive. He’d definitely be higher up on the list if I got to see him perform more. Derek will “make it” in comedy in some way, guaranteed. Ridiculously good stage presence, great material, and an overwhelming likeability. He’s even cut down on his use of ridiculous acronyms, and that is admirable.
For the record, picking five people for this was insanely difficult. There are lots of people who made strides over the course of ‘08, and recognizing them all in this limited of a forum is impossible. Special “shout out” to a whole bunch of others that make me laugh very consistently – the Doogies and Joe Docs and Brendan Kennedys and Chip Chantrys of the world. Overall, I feel like Philly has a very very good scene and I’m excited about 2009.
Merry Christmas!
To those of you celebrating Christmas: Merry Christmas (we won’t be posting tomorrow)!
But for everyone else, the holiday is just another day. And what better way to spend that day but with some Chinese food and comedy?
That’s the idea behind the Moo Shu Jew Show at the Ocean City Restaurant (234-236 N. 9th) tonight at 6PM. A ticket gets you a 5 course dinner and the stand-up comedy of four comics: Jim David, Cory Kahaney, Lenny Marcus, and Brad Trackman.
[Thanks Doolittle]
Aaron Hertzog’s Top 5 Sketches
Our Top 5 of 2008 lists continue…
Aaron Hertzog’s Top 5 Sketches
5) The Sixth Borough at Die Actor Die Dirtiest Sketch
An excellently written and performed sketch by The Sixth Borough. Theuncomfortable factor was turned up high and the creepy strange awfulwrongness of the whole situation was played to perfection. Two words:gun fellatio!
4) The Ministry of Secret Jokes – Instructional Video Number 1: How toDress Mysteriously
The first instructional video from Doogie and gang let us know thatthe Ministry’s mysterious garb is far more useful than just disguisingone’s identity. Dressing well will get you places in life, anddressing poorly will get you labeled an asshole. The sketch absolutelykilled at the show and also made me feel a little less foolish everytime Doogie paraded me out in a god damned cloak.
3) Boy Meets Tractor at Helium’s College Comedy Competition
This is the first time I saw this group and the sketch they performedwas awesome. The premise of sentient toys who are forced to live outthe fantasies of their owner was great on its own but the performancewas on point with great choreography and synchronization.
2) Meg and Rob – Love Over the Phone
“The cure for the painful gentleman’s buildup.” What an eloquent wayto look at whacking off, and an incredibly creative origin story tothe beginning of the rise of an incredibly important man. (I don’twant to ruin the awesome reveal in the sketch for those who haven’tsee it, so watch it for yourself, and enjoy!)
1) Secret Pants at Bedtime Stories: Rich People
I saw this sketch at December’s edition of Bedtime Stories and itinstantly became my favorite sketch of the year. It did a great jobmixing sketch with live performance and also combining two of myfavorite things: ransom notes and infomercials. The production work onthe video was superb (which always seems to be the case with SecretPants.) God is always found in the details, and the attention todetail in the ransomercial (my own word) made it so truthful andrealistic.
Marc Maron’s Internal Monologue at the Comic Strip
On stand-up comic Marc Maron’s live internet talk show Maron V. Seder with Sam Seder, Maron occasionally gives us a glimpse into his psyche. A particularly revealing video aired last week of Marc’s return to the Comic Strip, a NYC club where he started out.
(NOTE: Marc corrected him later regarding Vinnie Brand. He doesn’t run Rascals, rather the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, New Jersey).
Besides the excellent Maron V. Seder, what else is Marc up to?
On Saturday, January 3rd, he’ll be debuting his new show Scorching The Earth at The Green Room at 45 Bleecker in the East Village of New York City. Tickets are on-sale now. The show “explores the concepts of love, need, hate, sex, anger, as well as the choice between humility and bitterness. And cats…lots of cats.” Marc continue:
When you’re an asshole and your wife leaves you, there’s a part of you that thinks, ‘Good for her. That took a lot of guts to leave me. I’m a little jealous. I’ve been trying to leave me for years. I had her convinced that this intense mixture of neediness, hostility and fear of abandonment was passion. Now, the jig is up.
COMING SOON: The Comic Vs. Audience Comedy Show!
So, make sure you and your friends come out to:
The Comic Vs. Audience Comedy Show
Monday, January 5th, 2009
8PM
at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge St.) [Directions]
Five American Dollars [Tickets can be purchased on the PHIT website]
Oh did we mention that it’s BYOB!?!
Featuring:
Mary Radzinski
Joey Dougherty
Sidney Gantt
2008 Philly’s Phunniest Person
Kent Haines
TOP 5 LISTS of 2008
Not sure if you’ve noticed, but 2008 is coming to a close. And to celebrate and look back, we asked a bunch of Philadelphia comedians what were there favorite/funniest/most awesome moments of the year. We’ll be posting their responses over the next few weeks.
Meg Favreau, Meg & Rob
1. Hulu. From allowing me to watch every new episode of 30 Rock andThe Office to sparking the love of Joss Whedon I should’ve had sincehigh school to providing the brilliant “Day Man” clip for me to viewover and over, Hulu has been instrumental in my entertainment andcomedy awareness in the last year.
2. “Why Am I Not Famous?!” Every month, it’s a smart, hilarious, andwell-put-together show.
3. Improv ultra-tie: Dr. Fantastic’s show where the kid came from awaffle house / Harold house team night at the Improv Olympic inChicago where the entire team created one mythical beast and walkedaround stage as it / Cohones doing the road trip format / Rare BirdShow, hey
4. Pat Kelly’s costume in the Sixth Borough’s “sex rays” sketch. Incase you haven’t seen it, it features a long, shiny blue-and-silverrobe, and more importantly, a necklace pendant with a giant picture ofPat’s face in what appears to be heat-sensitive coloring. When I firstsaw the costume, I didn’t just laugh, I held my hands out, palms up,as a gesture of thanks to the universe. Really: does anybody have apicture of this?
5. The last Die Actor Die. Am I being brash, including a show thathappened earlier this week? Maybe. But it was a funny, bittersweet,and wonderful end to a fantastic monthly show. Plus I gave what I feltwas one of my best (and most fun) performances in the last couple ofmonths.
Chip Chantry, stand-up comic
5. AARON HERTZOG AT THE MINISTRY OF SECRET JOKES
I can’t remember what month it was, exactly, but I remember I was there to play one of Doogie’s gruelingly hilarious games. The show had been going OK so far. The crowd was hit or miss, and it was hot in there. After an intermission, Aaron went up and blew the roof off the place. He came out of nowhere and made the crowd his bitch. Aaron is a tiny man with big talent.
4. WALKING FISH LABOR DAY 24-HOUR COMEDY MARATHON
This was a terrible, terrible idea. The concept looks great on paper, but is a logistical nightmare. That was my attitude going into hosting the first 11 hours of this epic trainwreck. And it turned out to be one of the best shows I have ever been a part of. The scene showed up to support, from Secret Pants for the first four hours, to Andy Nolan, Ed McGonigal, Danny Ozark, and Kent Haines in the early morning. Watching the sunrise in Kennsington never felt so good.
3. DIE ACTOR DIE
With 2008, so ends DIE ACTOR DIE. Without this show, the scene in Philly would be extremely different. The city owes Don Montrey a great deal. Before DAD, standup and sketch did not interact. Because it was believed that all sketch artists were “fags”, and all standup comedians were “assholes”. And what we learned, in fact, was that Don Montrey is a little bit of both.
2. FAT KID FALLS OFF BIKE
This youtube clip has been around more than a year, but it is still a touchstone for me. No matter what I do, or how I perform, I will never, EVER be as funny as this clip. I don’t know if anything ever will be.
1. FASTBALL PITCHER BOB GUTIERREZ
Brian Craig, of Secret Pants shame, has a special friend named Fastball Pitcher Bob Gutierrez. Bob graced Bedtime Stories (another highlight show of 2008, thanks to Gregg Gethard) with his presence one night. I did not even seen him perform, because I was in the basement. However, I had the pleasure of speaking with him downstairs for about 30 minutes before the show. Brendan Kennedy and I sat there and cried for the entire time. It wasn’t even a performance- it was just a few guys backstage before a show. But it was the funniest thing I saw all year (sorry, fat kid on a bike).
Bryce Remsburg, Secret Pants
1. 30 Rock, Season 3 – An already excellent show is rapidly approaching perfection. The character development and one-line pop culture minutia have made it pass The Office. in my heart. It also made me not hate Jennifer Aniston for 30 minutes.
2. Rob B’s flagrant use of the word pussy – He was once clocked at 10 infractions in as many minutes. Never gets old. At least not yet.
3. Self-appointed nicknames – I purposely call one of my clients at work when I know it will go to voicemail so I can hear him refer to himself as the “big dog”.
4. Pat Kelly’s Quiz Show – His reactions and timing are priceless. I think about stuff he said off the cuff and laugh every single time.
5. Kent Haines’ “Why am I Not Famous?!?” – How this slice of brilliance isn’t sold out every month defies logic. Drop what you’re doing and go to it every month. Forever.
Honorable Mention: Frank Caliendo – He talks in funny voices.
Greg Maughan, founder of the Philly Improv Theater
5. Barack Obama Rumors.
Seriously, did anyone get these emails? Some of them were so poposterous that all I could do was double over laughing until my sides hurt. My mom has some distant relation, a 90 year old former WWII pilot who somehow got his hands on an email account and he sent these out regularly (still is). All of them are insane, but some of the best were the repeated assertions that he was not born in the United States, the secret plan he had to step aside and make Hillary Clinton President, and someone’s confusion of Obama with Denzel Washington’s character in The Manchurian Candidate. Then there was the “Secret Muslim” stuff. Who on earth are the people getting scared by this stuff? I mean, what has a muslim ever done to you or… oh, right.
4. The Hopper Brothers.
Brandon Libby and Mike Connor’s clueless, yet inappropriate, home-school folk duo were a brilliant idea on their own, but when they convinced me to sign away my life for 9 months to produce a musical comedy for the Philly Fringe I totally foolishly accepted. The result was personally crazy making, financially similar to the stock market crash, and humouously devastating. I hope to see the Hoppers around town a lot in 2009, and maybe back on stage hitting the road in future as well.
3. Bush or Batman.
Secret Pants hilarious game that combines several of my favorite activities: trivia games, making fun of the Bush Administration, and Batman. It is awesome. Did I mention something like a QUARTER OF A MILLION people agree with me? Philly’s first big YouTube viral video is deserving of the praise it got. Secret Pants can sometimes be too dark or too inappropriate, and they still need to find a way to write better roles for women, but when they put their minds it and write really smart stuff that hits – this is what happens.
2.Philly Improv Theater.
I have no shame. Honestly though, look at how diverse the stage has become, and the quality of the shows, acts, etc. that have been promoted during 2008. It’s mind boggling. Someone who hit The Shubin stage this year is going to be famous and everyone will be able to say “I knew them when…” That’s change you can believe in for the alternate comedy scene in Philly.
1. Tina Fey.
Between a movie, another round of Emmy’s for 30 Rock (my vote for the funniest show on TV), a reported $6 million book deal, a Vanity Fair cover, and an impression of Sarah Palin that got SNL it’s best ratings in 14 years… it’s fair to say she is the comedian of the year. Now if only she’d visit her hometown and hop on stage!
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