words & photos by David Andrako

"I will erase all of the fun that you've had tonight. You didn't pay to see me. I should do 40 minutes of broken jokes." Surprise headliner Louis CK

The first night of the 3rd Annual Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival was billed as "An Evening of Comedy from 1986" and featured sets from Emo Phillips, Tony V, Larry Murphy, Ron Lynch and Jon Glaser. As mentioned above, Louis CK was the unannounced headliner and he worked out some new material in a 45 minute plus set. Eugene Mirman acted as emcee, dj and Teddy Ruxpin operator.

During the 10 minute walk from my apartment to The Bell House I surveyed the damage caused by the fast moving storms that tore through Brooklyn and Queens several hours before the show began. Downed trees, crushed cars and closed streets were rampant as residents were returning home to a neighborhood that was affected by one of the most powerful storms in recent history.

Eugene Mirman kicked off the evening with a 3D film that he made, offered the audience duck (which he'd ordered from a local Chinese restaurant) and directed everyone towards the merch tables which featured everything from festival posters to personal items that Eugene brought from his apartment and had priced "a little high, so that no one would buy them." Tony V, a Boston comedian whom Eugene admired as a young comedian, followed with a tight set that set the mood for the evening. Larry Murphy, another Boston comedian best know for his work on Adult Swim's "Delocated" and "Assy Mcgee", performed as "Sandy Gorbin" the world's greatest impressionist.

Ron Lynch, yet another Boston comic and one who was a working comedian in 1986 turned in a varied set that featured jokes from his 1986 set, slight of hand magic and the playing of Louis CK's 1986 audition tape that Louie recorded in an attempt to be booked at Ron's comedy club. Louie interrupted Ron's set and chastised him for playing the tape and retreated backstage. Dr. Attitude aka Jon Glaser (aka the creator of Delocated) appeared on stage in doctor's scrubs with FUCK YOU spelled out in electrical tape and Van Halen's "Panama" as his intro song. Glaser's attitude heavy set ended with him mocking the audience and interrupting Eugene as he introduced Emo Phillips, the much beloved comedian. Emo, making his first appearance at the festival, was a ball of manic energy that worked his way through topics including religion, greeting cards and marriage. His 20-minute set was punctuated by biting social commentary mixed in with clever wordplay and a stage presence that could best be described as elastic.

Louis CK, one of the most respected working stand-ups today, closed the show with a set of new material that was both familiar and fresh. Unafraid to attack the audience Louie pointed out that "You all hate everything real. You're a bunch of meta motherfuckers" as he worked through material as varied as the origins of the Roman calendar and back to school clothes shopping with his daughters.

The Festival continues through Sunday, the 19th with 8 additional shows at The Bell House, The Rock Shop and Union Hall. Some shows are sold out, but others still have limited tickets available.

More pictures from last night, below...

Continue reading "Louis CK showed up & it was 1986 again at night 1 of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Fest (pics & review ) "

today in NYC
* Mortified @ 92Y Tribeca
* Aziz Ansari @ Town Hall
* Otis Brown III @ The Stone
* Luis Resto @ Le Poisson Rouge
* The Secret Sisters @ Joe's Pub
* Melissa Ferrick @ The Rock Shop
* Cake @ Central Park Summerstage
* Biffy Clyro, Six Gallery @ Maxwell's
* Trainwreck, Reckless Sons @ Mercury Lounge
* El Ten Eleven, Dosh, Baths @ Knitting Factory
* Trevor Hall, Matthew Santos @ Mercury Lounge
* Eugene Mirman Comedy Fest @ the Bell House
* The Body, Bad Dream, Deathbeds @ The Acheron
* AIDS Wolf, An Albatross, Child Abuse @ Cake Shop
* Das Racist, Maluca, Keepaway, Tecla @ Santos Party House
* Dan Friel, Dustin Wong, Black Actor, The Gamut @ Shea Stadium
* Christopher Willits, Taylor Deupree, Lawrence English @ Zebulon
* Joey Baron, Ikue Mori, Robyn Schulkowsky, Jim Staley @ The Stone
* Those Darlins, The Strange Boys, Gentleman Jesse @ Bowery Ballroom
* Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Dum Dum Girls @ Radio City Music Hall
* Pink Reason, UV Race, Super Wild Horses, Total Control @ Death By Audio
* Nicole Atkins, River City Extension, Common Prayer, Only Son @ Glasslands
* Horse's Mouth, The Extraordinaires, Jonny Corndawg, Magnetic Island @ Pianos
* Jukebox The Ghost, Drink Up Buttercup, Via Audio @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* La Otracina, Mondo Drag, The Main Street Gospel, CloudlandCanyon @ Union Pool
* The Winter Drinks, Sylvie Lewis, Jason Anderson, The Yarrows @ Pete's Candy Store
* The Caterpillers, Night Manager, Reading Rainbow, Super Wild Horses @ Cameo
* Tone Tank, Scott Thorough, Junk Science, Serengeti, Safe, Chances With Wolves @ Southpaw

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The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival begins.

The San Gennaro Festival begins.

What else?

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by Klaus Kinski

As I get older, I just I don't have the wherewithal to see as much comedy as I should. It's really depressing. There are so many goddamned GREAT comedy shows happening in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and even Queens that rather than pick one to go to, my brain shuts down and says "Just go home and watch Wheeler Dealers on the ole DVR, KK." It was easier to decide when Rififi was around. So thank Cod there's a yearly comedy festival in Brooklyntown that brings my ever flabbening body out of hibernation and reacquaints me with a sliver of the current roster of the greatest living comedians. That festival is the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, and this year it takes place from September 16th - September 19th and will impregnate The Bell House, The Rock Shop, and Union Hall (or as I like to call them, the most annoying venues to go if you don't have kids or play bocce) with its comedy seedlings.

As with previous years, the 2010 Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival brings together a supremely jaw-dropping group of comedians and performers. What can one expect? Oh, I don't know. Maybe (definitely) Emo Philips, Daniel Kitson, Jon Glaser, Max Silvestri, David Cross, Jon Benjamin, Kristen Schaal, Kurt Braunohler, Yo La Tengo, John Wesley Harding, Sarah Vowell, John Mulaney, and so many more I'm liable to puke with glee should I continue. What am I most looking forward to? Thanks for asking! I'd have to say it's a toss up between the bill Yo La Tengo falls on and a rare Tinkle performance (without Todd Barry, sadly)(although, Todd is opening for Superchunk at MHOW on September 19th, so that's something) (sold out though) (probably because Todd is on the bill).

The festival line-up will be tweaked, added onto, emboldened, modified, and made better as we make our way to the opening date, but have a gander at what's already planned below. In the immortal words of the person who put the roster together for me, "This is what's happening; but not everything that's happening". Ticket info to follow, but many shows will be on sale in advance. Also, please see a message from enfant terrible David Cross below...

Continue reading "the 2010 Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival is coming"