• Side Ponytail is one of the most fun, if not the MOST fun weekly show in NYC. The producers, Emily Winter, Carolyn Busa, Ben Wasserman and Julia Shiplett create an atmosphere that makes every show feel like a great concert. There’s always a lively turnout and they really book great lineups. What I mean is, they have one of those shows where you see people that make you turn your head and say, “Who was that? They rule and I’ve never seen them before.” This week was no exception. I went to tape my pal Kevin O'Brien who had his requisite monster set (his opener about dog walking hit so incredibly hard) but also got to see Cynthia Marie from Milwaukee, Aida Goitom from Nebraska and Frank Nelson who I had just never run into before. They were all very, very funny and a testament to the bookers for booking a really interesting lineup. Also, major props to Ben Wasserman for opening with the best YMCA parody song I’ve ever seen that was pure joy.
• Even with three barkers, sometimes, you just can’t get anyone to come to a show. I get it. No one wants to be barked at. People less fortunate ask for money; comics ask for TWO HOURS of your time. You just have to hope that people on the street will become people in the seats. At the start of the V-Spot show last week, we just had two audience members, a nice couple from North Carolina that found the show on EventBrite somehow. Weirdly though, the show formulated. Barak Ziv and Eric Miller showed face. A group from Israel came. A few couples made their way to the show from the restaurant to the showroom. Alex Carabaño brought friends. Tristan Smith’s buddy from college came. By the end of it, the show was rocking. I love comedy and I love when things get better and better throughout. It was so cool to see something so small and intimate turn into a legitimate show by the end. As always, props to the barkers Eliot Thompson and Harrison Tweed for going hard for a long time to make this a reality.
• I don’t consume content. I inhale it. On the treadmill, on the train, I’m always trying to keep up with everything comedy being released. This past week, I saw “Us” in theaters which doesn’t need to be reviewed here cause everyone is talking about it (I loved it for the record) and isn’t your “traditional comedy” but really is a masterpiece that you should see in theaters twice. Trust me if you haven’t seen it. Other things I saw this week, if you’re looking for interesting off the beaten path comedy-adjacent movies, include the highly recommend (by me) “Canadian Bacon,” Michael Moore’s only narrative film that was released in 1995. It’s on Amazon Prime and has an INSANE cast including John Candy, Rhea Perlman and Stephen Wright to name just a few. Amazing satire that was way ahead of its time and I think “South Park” liberally ripped off. “Love, Gilda,” the Gilda Radner documentary is available on Hulu and is a sad but informative and breezy watch if you’re looking to know more about her life and features MANY great celebrity talking heads. Netflix has the movie “All About Nina” starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an aspiring comic in LA with Common as her boyfriend. This movie is not good (at least for me) but it does fit in the genre of “about stand up comedy” which always piques my interest. Finally, there’s “The Comedian” starring Robert DeNiro. This is such a novelty movie (not at all like “King of Comedy” but equally bizarre) and must be seen to be believed. Very tone-deaf about comedy but at least interesting even if the critics didn’t think so.
• Last year, I did the Turnpike Comedy Festival in WAY OUT New Jersey with Leo Volf, Neil Rubenstein among others. It wasn’t exactly a festival. I paid a $25.00 fee and then did a show in the basement of a nice restaurant. However, they did have a three-camera set up and filmed the thing. We all signed releases too. Anyway, for the second time in two weeks, I am featured on Amazon for something I did a year ago. If you look up “The Turnpike Comedy Festival” I am in Episode One performing what I would describe as a mediocre set. I think they peppered in a laugh track. That’s how you know it was mediocre and it’s how you know you’ve made it in the biz, baby.
• Got to perform on the very fun Lauren Hope Krass and Kristin Manna show Casual Sets at QED on Friday night. Anna E. Paone and I were really, really late (my Fantasy Baseball draft was auction style and went THREE AND A HALF HOURS) but they graciously put me up second to last and I had a really great time at the show. Tried out new material and saw both hosts casually bring the house down. Lauren and Kristin rule and this should be one of the great hangout shows in the City. Christian Finnegan closed the show and doesn’t get enough credit either. We are all among a true pro and he deserves more recognition too.
• Finally, I want to shout out one comic a week that I see consistently killing it all over the place. This week, I’m highlighting Talib Babb. He had a bit about Trump I saw at a mic at the Creek on Saturday that was one of the best takes I’ve heard. Simple and different. Seek him out if you can; the guy is getting better every time I see him go up.
• Got a nice week of comedy stuff planned. I am super honored to be performing for the second year at One-Liner Madness at The Bell House tomorrow night (Thursday). While I’m there, Max Fine will be hosting a very good lineup at V-Spot on our weekly show. Friday night, I’ll be on Teresa Sheffield’s Late Night Romp. After that, it’s all mics for me. That’s what I love.
If you’d like to read this with some nice background music, I recommend Nicholas Britell’s score for “If Beale Street Could Talk.” You’re welcome for that.
