• More than anything, I identify as a comedy nerd. You know the type. The guy who corrects you about what year a Monty Python movie came out as if that matters. Will never stop being that guy. Anyway, Anna E. Paone showed me an incredible Twitter account that makes me laugh harder than any I’ve ever seen. It’s called “Trump Comedy Nerd” and is run by Matt Koff and a comic I don’t know named Brendan McLaughlin. Basically, it fuses Trump’s voice but instead of bashing liberals, this account spews out pretentious comedy opinions. They’re brilliant. For example, the latest Tweet is, “Liddle’ Lorne is now negotiating to get even more CELEBRITY GEUSTS to “drop in” during SNL “cold opens”. This is sometimes done, but really not fair to the current cast!” If this is your thing as much as it is mine, the link to the account is in the comments. It’s a very worthy follow and gets a laugh from me every time I read it.
• Last night, Anna and I went to the premiere of Matthew Tenenbaum and Alexander Payne’s webseries “Uninspired” that I did sound on last year (I’ll admit we showed up an hour late last night because I wanted to stay through the credits of the new “Star Wars.” There was nothing after the credits, smdh). This show was in a totally packed out SoHo Playhouse and was a true banger (way more entertaining than “Star Wars” too). From Andrea Allan’s dirty, crowd work heavy jokes that the audience couldn’t get enough of to Michel Francoeur, Natan Badalov and Stephen Sihelnik’s dirty song to Brian Morris’ avant garde-theater like performance as ChairFeet (yes, a guy who uses chairs as his feet which must be seen to be believed) to Andre D Thompson’s brilliant take on how we use Google to Dominic Leonelli’s impassioned storytelling, the whole event felt more like a house party than a typical comedy show. On top of all that, the webseries itself was a masterpiece. I won’t spoil it because Tenenbaum is releasing it this Thursday but if you weren’t there, make sure to check it out. Not a spoiler but his parents both have small roles in it and steal the show.
• Went to not one, not two but three shows at Carolines this week. Them’s the perks of the gig. First show, I went to was the Monday New Talent show run by Ray Gootz and hosted by Sheba Mason Page II. What a show. There were 100 people there! Got to see a nice grab bag of performers I haven’t been exposed to and a few I have flex their muscles. This is a great hang show and there ought to be more familiar faces there on Mondays. On Thursday, I did a doubleheader and went to two shows at the club. The first was the first of Amanda Seales’ headlining weekend at the club. This was hosted by Kenice Mobley and had an opening spot by Reg Thomas. Now, this was a Hell of a headlining show where everyone on the lineup rose to the occasion. Applause breaks, audience going nuts for everyone type stuff. Amanda has a dedicated fanbase and it was very cool to see these fans get exposed to Kenice and Reg who both complemented her act nicely. Last show I went to at the club was the Thursday edition of “The Funniest Show On Broadway.” It’s a great showcase of local talent to tourists and this week was no different. The lineup was fantastic and there were too many quality acts to shout out anyone. The real lesson here is Carolines is the place to hang. There’s so much great stuff happening there, come be a part of it.
• Didn’t get a chance to watch a ton of comedy this week (I don’t count the new “Star Wars” or “Miss Americana” both of which I did see and thought were just OK) but I did see two things.
The first was last night’s JJ Watt hosted-episode of SNL. This is the requisite one episode a year that hardcore panders to the right. Makes me wonder if they booked this back in August and this is what they hired Shane Gillis for? Politics of the episode aside, there were a lot of great sketches. Fun Cold Open about how the impeachment SHOULD HAVE gone (featuring Pete Davidson as Hunter Biden on a Hoverboard), mannequins called “Food Dudes” that make it seem like you aren’t eating a meal by yourself commercial was brilliant, the other commercial for eye black make up from Olay for athletes killed me and the 10 to 1 about a pizza place losing money because the delivery guy has sex with everyone he delivers to brought a hacky concept to its logical conclusion in a smart way. The true highlight though was the EA Sports sketch though where Watt had to record lines that a loser version of himself might say. The episode was all over the place but it wasn’t without its victories. These sketches were all fantastic.
The other major comedy content I caught this week was the eight episode second season of Aidy Bryant's show “Shrill” (full disclosure- Aidy and I went to middle school together. She was the seventh grade president while I was the fifth grade president. True story. We used to go to student council meetings together). Reviews haven’t been kind to it saying it’s a weaker version of Season One that isn’t as focused on empowerment but I think it’s a more than worthy successor. The episode entitled “WAHAM” is a major standout about a women’s empowerment conference that shows that while it has its pros (the attendees get to bond once a year) it also has its cons (the whole thing isn’t about empowerment; it’s about hawking products to the vulnerable attendees). I like that nuance. Also, Julia Sweeney’s Mom character has a fantastic arc throughout about going back to her hometown and reconnecting to her youth. I would RECOMMEND this show for sure. It’s got great performances, is an excellent critique of Generation X trying to stay relevant, what it means to be a good partner in a relationship and one of the funniest sex jokes I’ve ever seen in the first episode. The writing is smart, for adults and doesn’t speak down to its audiences in any way. (streaming on Hulu).
Side Note: I was in Portland this summer when they were filming this show and stayed at the same hotel as some of the cast members. One day, at the hotel gym, I was on the treadmill and Jo Firestone was on the bike next to me. Didn’t say anything.
• Took part in two shows this week hosted by dudes named Gabe. The first was a rare headlining set (this was because I was late but I’ll take it) on Gabe Mollica’s Tuesday show at QED. The show is called “Funniest People I Met This Month” and was a really nice, intimate showcase of comics doing a little more time than usual on showcase shows. This is one I’ll definitely be going back to; I want to see who Gabe meets and thinks is funny- the dude has great taste (he booked me after all). Second Gabe show I went to, I filmed. It was Gabriel Pacheco and Sameer Naseem’s show “Fun House” at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective which most know as Cantina Royale. The lineup was out of control. All people that will be huge in just a few years. I was there to tape Jake Flores who has the best joke about 18-year-olds fighting overseas that I’ve ever heard. Just really well developed and smart. Don’t sleep on this weekly show either. This is going to be the next big thing.
• Hosted my show “FREE FRIES” with Veronica Garza last week and it was the perfect size audience. For once, it didn’t feel like an ambush. The crowd was there to laugh. Especially three audience members near the front. Turns out they were Sherm Jacobs’ high school teachers and they really wanted to see him. The entire show weirdly started revolving around them but they were good sports and made it fun. If anyone wants to send your high school teachers to my bar show, please do. Made for a way better time.
• This week is gonna be a busy one. After chilling all day today for the BIG GAME, I’m gonna be doing a show at the new Brooklyn location of Old Man Hustle tomorrow night at 10:15, then Tuesday, I’ll be hosting Sam Zelitch’s mic at Pete’s Candy Store and doing a spot at Sweet Jane’s for Drew Drevyanko and Stewart Fullerton’s show. Finally, on Friday, I’m on Koshin Egal and Alexander Ryu’s show at Bar 2A. It’s on Second Street and Avenue A. Best bar name in the City.
Brb c u next week
