photos by Alyssa Tanchajja

As mentioned before, Reggie Watts really loves to perform and will do so just about anywhere if he's got the time. He's headlined Webster Hall and yet still plays shows like the one he did at Glasslands over the weekend (1/13), a night that also featured bands Baby Alpaca and Shining Mirrors. Pictures from that show are in this post as is a video of Reggie performing.

Brooklyn has another chance to catch Watts do his thing tonight (1/15) at Union Pool as part of the monthly variety show The Moon that he has performed at before. Tonight's show is The Moon's fifth season premiere and also features Marina Franklin, Rob Cantrell, Chris Rozzi and musical guest The People vs. Larsen. $5 at the door and the show starts at 8 PM.

More pictures and that video from Glasslands below...

Continue reading "Reggie Watts played Glasslands with Baby Alpaca and Shining Mirror (pics, video); playing Union Pool tonight"

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins is taking his "Thrilling Adventure Hour" on tour this year and will bring it to NYC on May 11 at The Bell House for two shows (early and late) with Paget Brewster, John Hodgman (who named Paul's "Laboring Under Delusions Live in Brooklyn" one of his favorite things of 2012), James Urbaniak, and Marc Evan Jackson. Tickets for both shows are on sale now.

A list of all dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Paul F Tompkins touring his 'Thrilling Adventure Hour,' playing two shows at The Bell House (dates)"

by Klaus Kinski

The great Colin Quinn entered my life in 1987 when I was a 10 year old MTV-addicted mouth-breather; for in 1987 MTV's first original non-musical program Remote Control premiered. Colin played co-host to the late Ken Ober. Since then I've remained interested in Colin's career; from his stint as host of A&E stand-up showcase Caroline's Comedy Hour in 1989, to his evolution as SNL writer-turned-full-time-cast-member from 1995 - 2000, to his tenure with Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central, to the zillions of times I've seen him do stand-up over my past 13 years as a New York City resident, to his one-man show Colin Quinn Long Story Short on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre which was directed by Jerry Seinfeld. I am not going to say that Colin's comedic output has been 100% great and consistent. Quite the contrary; Colin is a fearless performer with acres of material at his disposal and I've never seen him deterred when a bit falls completely flat. He just keeps moving right along to the next bit, unfazed.

It's not unusual to catch Colin in one of the many small room comedy showcases all over the city, but when there's an opportunity to see him do a solo, FULL SET in a small room it is definitely worth seeing. On Monday January 14 and Monday January 21 at 8:00pm at the UCB Theater in Chelsea, catch COLIN QUINN: Unconstitutional (A Work In Progress). Unconstitutional is Colin's upcoming new off-Broadway show and these intimate performances at the teeny UCB Theater serve as a way for Colin to exercise the material in front of live bodies to see what sticks. These shows cannot be missed and are sure as shit gonna sell out fast so get your tickets NOW!

by Bill Pearis

I get the feeling Reggie Watts just loves performing and will play anywhere. He's headlined Webster Hall but will show up at Cameo and do a whole set too. He's got a few tour dates this month including an NYC show at Glasslands on 1/13 with with Shining Mirrors and Baby Alpaca. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Later in the month, he'll be hosting a "Reggidency" at SF Sketchfest from Jan. 27 - 29, which includes an evening where his unique musical skills will be paired with dancer/choreographer Amy O'Neal; one that's a collaborative effort with Grammy-nominated Robert Glasper; and, perhaps, most excitingly, a "Sound Effects Summit" with Michael Winslow (of the Police Academy films). That would be something to witness.

All Reggie Watts tour dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Reggie Watts playing shows in January, including Glasslands in NYC before SF Sketchfest with Michael Winslow (dates)"

by Klaus Kinski

The United States is rife with three things; assholes, podcasts, and assholes with podcasts. For me, podcasts are an unnavigable medium because anybody with a computer and 1/8th of a normal sized human brain can produce a podcast. Don't get me wrong; there are some incredible podcasts out there and the world is taking notice. Julie Klausner's podcast How Was Your Week has reached an almost legendary status and even got a glowing write-up in the Times recently. Marc Maron's WTF podcast basically set the standard for what constitutes a quality podcast. Greg Proops, Dave Hill, and Doug Benson also all have wonderful podcasts. And yet, the only reason I know of and can vouch for the quality of these podcasts and the people behind them is because I was a huge fan of these people in a pre-podcast world.

NYC is an epicenter of podcasting. If only there was a way where a guy like me could see, say, over 20 live podcasts on 2 stages over the course of 2 days consuming nearly 12 amazing hours of my life. Of wait. THERE IS! The naugural New York City Podcast Festival will take place at on 2 stages at The Pit on January 12th and January 13th 2013!! This show features a staggering line-up of talent including Dave Hill (Klaus Kinski favorite), Nick Turner (Klaus Kinski favorite), Kevin Allison, Wyatt Cenac, Gary Gulman, Craig Rowin, Jeff Rubin, Jermaine Fowler, Liam McEneaney, TV's Frank Conniff , Halley Feiffer, Julieanne Smolinski, Dan St. Germain, Sean Donnelly, Jackie Kashian, Myq Kaplan, MC Mr Napkins, Jared Logan, Anthony Antamanuik, Dan Soder, Mike Pace, and many others. This, my friends and enemies, is probably the greatest crash course in awesome podcasts on the planet and it's happening in our very own back yard. Keep your (dead) eyes on the NycPodFest Facebook Page for updates!

You can see the FULL SCHEDULE BELOW. You can buy tickets for individual shows, buy a festival pass, or you can win tickets right here! We have 5 SINGLE tickets to give away for Dave Hills Podcasting Incident with guest Gavin Mcinnes for 1/12 at 11pm. We also have 5 SINGLE tickets to give away for ThisMyShow on 1/13 at 7pm with guest Nick Turner. Contest deets are waaayyyyy down there...

Continue reading "Inaugural NYC Podcast Fest is this month (schedule, win tix!)"

by Klaus Kinski

Todd Barry has been one of my favorite comedians for the past 10 years and the only reason he didn't make it onto my Top 10 Mostly Local Comedians Who I Really Enjoyed in 2012 list is because he is a seasoned 25-year veteran of the biz and as close to perfection as a comedian can possibly be. He don't need my props. We New Yorkers are lucky in that we can see Todd usually several times a week, but when the man announces a formal tour, a tour that even has a theme attached to it, well, it is my job to alert the masses. In just a few weeks, as mentioned, Todd will be embarking on a tour called TODD BARRY: THE CROWD WORK TOUR:

A Todd Barry show consists of two things: amazing jokes and amazing crowd work. On this tour he's not doing the amazing jokes. That's right, an entire show of riffing and bantering with the audience. Could be good!

Todd's tour hits NYC on January 21 at Union Hall for two shows. The early show is sold out but you can still get tickets to the 10 PM performance.

In addition to The Crowd Work Tour (dates below) you can catch Todd at the EastVille Comedy Club several times between January 10 - January 13. Todd plays there a lot (as does Janeane Garofalo) and you can also get free tickets to Eastville shows via Best New York Comedy. All tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Todd Barry playing multiple NYC shows at Eastville Comedy Club before 'The Crowd Work Tour' (dates) "

by Klaus Kinski

Happy New Year, shit-head! As you know, at the close of 2012 I harangued comedians I like for Top 10 lists pertaining to the year 2012. Many were asked, few replied. This is probably final installment of comedians giving their Top 10 of 2012 comes from Klaus Favorite (and Top 10 Comedians of 2012 List Gold Key Recipient) Seth Herzog! Seth is a great man who gave me his Top 10 list long before 2012's death rattle beckoned 2013 to fall upon us, but as I am a lazy ass with a lot of personal obligations it has taken me until January 2nd to get this list out there. Don't forget you can get your Zog fix at his show SWEET every Tuesday at The Slipper Room.

Seth's list is below...

Continue reading "Seth Herzog lists his favorite things of 2012"

photo by Dale May

You are probably familiar with Dave Hill by now. He's the brains behind the book Tasteful Nudes, which was released earlier this year, he performs locally in NYC a good deal, was one of BV's own Klaus Kinski's favorite local comedians this year, and he reviewed Morrissey's Radio City show for us. Oh yeah, and maybe you read his review of Def Leppard, Poison, and Lita Ford?

Dave just gave us his list of his top ten favorite things of 2012. It includes some shows he saw (like the Def Leppard one), a show he didn't see, and his own book. The whole thing (plus commentary) is a pretty great read, and it's below for your viewing pleasure...

Continue reading "Dave Hill's Best of 2012 list"

by Klaus Kinski

Will Chris Gethard make Klaus' list?

Because I have a terrible memory and personal tastes that change from week to week, coming up with a "Best of" list spanning an entire year is absolutely impossible. And the term "Best of" sounds too goddamned dogmatic to be taken very seriously. I only like lists when they are silly and light like "Top Ten Funniest Farts" or something of that nature. And anyway, the reality is that taste is subjective; a concept which you crotchety commenters can't seem to get through your thick skulls. Especially when it comes to comedy. So rather than give you a "Top 10 Funniest Comedians of 2012" list, what follows is "Though There Are Certainly Others, Here Are 10 Mostly Local Comedians Who Klaus Kinski Really Enjoyed in 2012 In No Particular Order, Really," below...

Continue reading "Top 10 Mostly Local Comedians Who I Really Enjoyed in 2012"

by Klaus Kinski

John Kellogg Hodgman is a 41 year old author, actor, auctioneer, and humorist with one of the most fertile brains and diverse CVs in the biz. To the masses, Hodgman is probably best known as a Daily Show correspondent and as the personification of the "PC" in those numerous, insufferable and divisive Mac v. PC advertisements broadcast by the Macintosh Department of Propaganda. But those two facets of his career are small potatoes when you consider he's also written three books and, well... JESUS! Just look at his Wikipedia page!

His most recent tome, That Is All, came out in paperpack back in October and is the third and final installment in his trilogy of Complete World Knowledge. In addition to offering readers tips on the impending demise of the world as we know it on Friday (12/21/12), the book covers other topics including sports and wine and also features a list of seven hundred ancient and unspeakable gods. This man is a meticulous list-smith.

I found Hodgman to be an truly wonderful auctioneer at the Tom Scharpling/Ted Leo Sandy Benefit at the Bell House a couple weeks ago (Friday, December 7 to be specific). His banter was absolutely hilarious, but when the bids started flying he immediately assumed the role of veteran auctioneer and was able to keep drunken non-bidders quiet while keeping the actual bidding in perfect control. And as you will see from the list below, John Hodgman really likes the Bell House. As a matter of fact, be sure to check him out at the Bell House Friday December 21 where he will be doing two special THAT IS ALL live shows in one special evening. Sadly the 10:00pm late show is sold out, but the 7:00pm early show still has some vacancies. Get early show tix now before they are gone!!

UPDATE! John will be previewing That is All tonight (12/17) at Long Island City club The Creek and Cave . 8 PM and it's FREE.

And now, I present to you, The TEN BEST THINGS OF 2012 by John Hodgman:

Continue reading "John Hodgman lists his "Ten Best Things of 2012," welcoming the apocalypse at The Bell House (& tonight in LIC)"