photos by David Andrako

The 2011 Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival concluded on Sunday night (9/18) with two shows at the Bell House. "A Special Food-Themed Comedy Show For You" was hosted by Eugene Mirman and Leo Allen, with Ron Funches, Sarah Vowell, Larry Murphy, Raquel Pelzel and David Rees. "Pretty Good Friends", hosted by Michael Showalter, was with Eugene Mirman, Marc Maron (who plays the same Brooklyn venue again tonight/Monday), Hannibal Buress, Jared Logan and surprise musical guest Andrew Bird.

Andrew played four songs: Goin Home (Charlie Patton), So Much Wine (Handsome Family), Bein' Green (Joe Raposo), and Give It Away (new song).

Congrats to Mirman & co for another great year! Looking forward to 2012. Pictures from 2011 are HERE, HERE, HERE, and below...

Continue reading "Andrew Bird played! -- Eugene Mirman Comedy Fest Day 4 pics (Marc Maron, Sarah Vowell, Michael Showalter & more)"

by Klaus Kinski

Chris Hardwick, Adam Savage, Matt Mira & Jonah Ray at Largo in LA

On August 16, 2011 at 8:18 PM, a whistle-blower came forward and called me out on something that I've been hoping would go unnoticed during my tenure as an esteemed, beloved, respected, deified, reviled, BV contributor; my grammar sux. So now I am back at school, bonin' up my wordliness. But with all this classwork and homework, I only have time for a quickie post thingy for you fine folks. So here goes. Tickets for the partially Kickstarter-funded 2011 Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival went on sale a while back and, as expected, ticket sales were rather brisk (brisque?). As a matter of fact, a few shows sold out faster than I could say "It's IT'S not ITS?" The shows that sold out fast were An Evening Of Science featuring StarTalk Live with Neil deGrasse Tyson plus Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman and Scott Adsit on Thursday September 15th and The Archer Variety Hour and Panel featuring Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Adam Reed, Jessica Walter, Matt Thompson, Amber Nash, and Lucky Yates which happens on Saturday September 17th. Both shows are happening at the Bell House. HOWEVER, according to delightful tweet by the Bell House Bot, tickets for those shows will go back on sale today, Tuesday September 13 at noon! Get those F5 buttons ready people! Full updated fest lineup below.

In other sold out Bell House comedy news, once the smoke clears from the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, the great Marc Maron will be in the House on Monday September 19th for a live taping of his better-than-most-other-podcasts podcast WTF with Marc Maron. Yeah, it's sold out, but so were those Eugene Fest shows... so you never know.

Oh, and speaking of live podcast tapings, The Gramercy Theater, who has a new booker in their ranks, has some pretty f-ing awesome podcast tapings coming up. On Friday October 14th, comedian Chris Hardwick brings The Nerdist podcast to the Gramercy with guests Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. In case you want to know, Jonah Ray is one of my favorite LA-based comedians in the business and it's a fucking honor to have him gracing our city with his tall, bespeckled, full head of hair having self. Do you like apples? Jonah is amazing. How d'ya like dem fackin apples? Tickets went on sale back on August 26th and the demand was so great that the added a show later that evening, happening at 10:30pm. It's going to be so awesome. Trust me. Hummus breath.

And speaking of the Gramercy Theater and live tapings, Klaus favorite Doug Benson will have a whopping TWO LIVE PODCAST TAPINGS at the Gramercy on Sunday October 23rd. He kicks things off at 4:20pm with The Benson Interruption. If you haven't seen an Interruption, you are missing out on some of the funniest shit ever. Doug invites his comedy friends to the stage and, while they attempt to do stand-up, he interrupts them. It. Is. The. Best. Tickets are on sale as I type this, so get on that shit Tout de suite. Later that evening, at 8:00pm, Doug brings his legendary Doug Loves Movies podcast to the Gramercy stage. At this point in the evening, I can tell you that Doug and his yet-to-be-announced panelists will be feeling prettttttty loose. As a person who has seen these shows live in the past, I must insist you dust the cobwebs off your wallet and check these suckers out. It may be the best Saturday October 23rd in your miserable lives. And after the shows, go home and buy Doug Benson's new CD Potty Mouth. The package features a CD AND a DVD. Schwing. Welp, I guess I gotta hit the books. Smell ya later.

Continue reading "Nerdist, Doug Benson & Marc Maron keep taping podcasts in NYC, Eugene Mirman fest coming soon (tix back on sale today)"

If one needed further proof that F. Scott Fitzgerald's quote about there being no second acts in American life was finally dead, consider Marc Maron. The New Jersey-born comedian helped pioneer what is now known as the New York alternative-comedy scene, beginning in the mid 1990s at the now shuttered Luna Lounge with the Monday-night stand-up revue "Eating It." While many of his peers moved swiftly up the comedy food chain, Mr. Maron moved out to Los Angeles, where his career stalled.

Once there, though, he found that his garage, of all places, provided an escape from personal turmoil and professional stasis--for it was there that he began to produce his interview podcast, "WTF." The program has since become a bona fide hit via iTunes, where it regularly appears in the service's top 10 most downloaded podcasts. [Wall Street Journal]

Tickets are also still on sale for the two Paul F. Tompkins shows at the same venue.

Marc is now in the midst of a run of shows in CT. All dates, and a video of WTF on WBEZ, below....

Continue reading "Marc Maron did 'WTF' at the Bell House, will again (dates)"

PFT @ 92YTribeca in 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Marc Maron hosts and curates WTF with Marc Maron at The Bell House tonight (6/1). An early show starts at 7 PM with Jonathan Katz, Will Arnett, Judy Gold, Marina Franklin, and Keith Robinson. The late show starts at 9 PM with Wyatt Cenac, Sam Lipsyte, Tom Scharpling, Horatio Sanz, and Kevin Allison. Both shows are sold out.

You can still get tickets however for the two Paul F. Tompkins shows happening at the same venue on October 22 and 23. Both nights will have completely different sets, and be recorded for a new comedy album. To quote Paul, "Be there, and be a part of history!*

* Once the show is over, it will be in the past and considered, technically, history."

Meanwhile catch Paul every month at the Largo in LA.

"I'm in Austin TX! You know how I know that? Live music in the airport! #AndASignThatSaysAustin #SXSW" - Doug Benson

"Never realized how much I dislike music until hanging out in Austin, Texas during #sxsw" - Michael Ian Black

Tig Notaro at a BV party in 2010 (more by Tim Griffin)

Music is not the only thing will seem light in NYC next week, as many names in the comedy world are headed to Austin for SXSW as well. Scott Aukerman, Matt Bearden, Doug Benson, Michael Ian Black, Kurt Braunohler, Rob Cantrell, Chris Cubas, Joe Derosa, Chris Fairbanks, Dave Foley, Jena Friedman, Brett Gelman, Donald Glover, Chris Hardwick, Pete Holmes, Anthony Jeselnik, Howard Kremer, Ben Kronberg, Tom Lennon, Darryl Lenox, Al Madrigal, Marc Maron, Doug Mellard, Eugene Mirman, Kumail Nanjiani, Tig Notaro, John Oliver, Chelsea Peretti, Kevin Pollak, Amy Schumer, Brody Stevens, Bryson Turner, Brendon Walsh, Glenn Wool, and Hampton Yountare are among those that SXSW lists as officially being there. Esther's Follie's is the venue where much of it goes down.

Tig Notaro, who performed at a BrooklynVegan Austin event in 2010, returns this year with a few more items on her resume. Not only does she have a Sarah Silverman-produced "new comedy variety show for the Logo Network" to promote, but she has reportedly joined the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans family whose official showcase she'll be MCing. She's also on the lineup of Sasquatch this year, and recently shared a bill with Jens Lekman in LA.

Brody Stevens & Zach Galifianakis

You might know LA's Brody Stevens from Due Date or The Hangover (and the Hangover 2 when it comes out). You may have seen him hanging out with his friend and co-star Zach Galifianakis, possibly on a scooter, or maybe in the audience of Saturday Night Live last night. Maybe you follow him on Twitter (like @BVComedy does) (follow @BVcomedy too!).

Brody and Tig (and Mirman and others) perform at Esther's Follie's on Friday, March 18th at 9:30pm, and I'm excited to announce that Brody will also host and tell jokes at the BrooklynVegan Day Party at Barbarella from noon-6pm on Thursday, March 17th! Full lineup TBA momentarily!

Workaholics

Comedy Central will also have a presence down at SXSW, most notably with the cast of their new TV show Workaholics which premieres on the station on April 6th. To quote their press release:

"Graduating from college and entering the real world isn't easy, especially for three unmotivated roommates. The new Comedy Central comedy Workaholics is a look at post graduates as they hilariously cope with working in the real world. Think Office Space if it were a stoner comedy.

Starring Mail Order Comedy's Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, and Adam DeVine, and with former Scrubs executive producer Kevin Etten at the helm, Workaholics is a scripted series that follows three friends fresh out of college who live and work together as telemarketers. Dress codes, deadlines, and waking up before noon isn't something these guys are used to.

They spend their days scheming together to avoid doing any real work and their nights looking for good times."

You can also catch the Workaholics guys at Esther's Follies from 4-6pm on 3/17, and at Vice's Closing Night Pre-Party @ Starr Building on 3/9 from 10:30pm-12am. Check out some Workaholics previews, and Brody Stevens videos, below...

Continue reading "comedy @ SXSW (Workaholics, Tig Notaro & Brody Stevens)"

Last week Littlefield wasn't listing any more editions of "Hot Tub" on their schedule, but it is in fact back tonight (2/7). Corn Mo, Brent Sullivan, Adam Cayton-Holland, and Free Love Forum will all join Kurt Braunohler (but maybe not Kristen) at the Brooklyn venue this evening. There's also a lineup listed for 2/14 - "Found Footage Festival, Sandra Bauleo, Surprise Guests, + more!" (and Kristen's name is on that bill).

Tonight is also another edition of Kevin Allison's Risk! Storyslam at the Pit, and of course Whiplash at UCB (with Jay Pharoah, Adam Cayton-Holland, Brooke Van Poppelen & Roger Hailes).

Speaking of UCB, the Chris Gethard Show returns to the venue on February 19th. Chris recently returned from a tour that kicked off with some help from Diddy.

Speaking of Diddy (not actually), the great Reggie Watts has announced another big headlining show. Having already sold out Manhattan's Highline Ballroom, his next big NYC conquest will be Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 30th. Tickets for the "partially seated show" go on sale Friday at noon.

Reggie will also join Eugene Mirman (and Kumail Nanjiani) for a special Boston edition of "Pretty Good Friends" on March 1st. Meanwhile catch the next edition of Mirman's "Pretty Good Friends" at its usual home of Union Hall in Park Slope this Sunday (2/13), and don't miss the extra-large Brooklyn edition coming to the Bell House on 2/27 in honor of Michael Showalter's new book.

And speaking of The Bell House and new books...

TUE 2/8: 8pm / FREE
JON GLASER BOOK RELEASE PARTY
Please join us for an evening of readings and music from Jon Glaser's new book "My Dead Dad Was In ZZ Top" (Harper Perennial), followed by general hanging out good times. Paul Rudd, Scott Adsit, John Hodgman, Zoe Lister-Jones, Ira Kaplan, Jon Hamm, and other special guests are scheduled to appear. Books will be on sale, plus the first 25 people to purchase books receive a special free un-named gift!

Last but not least, Tuesday night live comedy series "Tell Your Friends" (who are advertisng a secret musical guest for this Tuesday's show) are releasing a movie! Trailer (starring Reggie Watts, Kurt Braunohler, Kristen Schaal and many others) and more details below...

Continue reading "Hot Tub, Reggie Watts, Whiplash, Jon Glaser's book, Tell Your Friends the movie, Chris Gethard & more shiat"

Tune in at 11am today (1/31) to catch Stella buds Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black streaming in Michael Birbiglia's Macys window (which he is still in through Tuesday).

In related comedy news, Michael Showalter is kicking off his "Mr. Funny Pants" tour on February 24th at Barnes & Noble in Union Square with special musical guest Neko Case. He swings back through town mid-tour to hit the Bell House in Brooklyn on 2/27. Tickets are still on sale for that special edition of "Pretty Good Friends" with Eugene Mirman, Reggie Watts, Kumail Nanjiani and special guests ("Please note this show will be mixed seated and standing. For best seat selection please arrive early and use the TicketFast print-at-home ticketing option. ").

Michael and Michael, as many know, used to be on a very funny show called The State along with red head Kevin Allison who is still doing his thing as well. Catch his show called "RISK! STORYSLAM" tonight (1/31) at the Pit at 6pm for FREE. If you miss it, there's always next Monday and the Monday after that and...

Also on Mondays (but much later): Whiplash at UCB. Jon Friedman, Myq Kaplan, Mike DeStefano and Adira Amram will all be there tonight.

Also coming up at the Bell House in Brooklyn: two chances to see "WTF With Marc Maron". Early and late March 10th shows are on sale.

Also coming up at the Bell House:

MON 1/31: 7:30pm doors / FREE

WONDER TWINS & RUSSCOMM PRESENT
THE 2011 BROOKLYN BEARDFEST & STACHE BASH:
NECKBEARD TELECASTER
LOS ENCANTADOS
JON MIZRACHI
BEARD-LESQUE
By members of Storybook Burlesque, featuring:
Magdalena Fox, Victoria Privates, and Jenny C'est Quoi with mustacio'd stage kitten Rosey la Rouge

Finally - a festival for bearded and mustached people and the people who love them! Come celebrate all things beard with us on Monday January 31st as we prepare to enter "Facial Hair February" with beardy bands, mustached DJs, vendors, contests, food and more.

Speaking of tunes, piano-playing comedian Bo Burnham isn't even old enough to drink but he is big enough to headline Best Buy Theater in Times Square on February 4th. Tickets are still on sale. Maybe you caught Bo's special on Comedy Central. If not, it airs again on February 4th and February 11th.

Speaking of Comedy Central, Nick Kroll's special that was taped at Music Hall of Williamsburg aired on Saturday. I don't know when it will air again, but I only caught about 10 minutes and wish I saw the rest - in part because it's fun to see the barely recognizable Brooklyn venue on TV. Meanwhile you can watch two clips below.

Kurt Braunohler and Kristen's next edition of Hot Tub @ Littlefield in Brooklyn (the only remaining Hot Tub on Littlefield's schedule for now) happens tonight (1/31). Their guests include Dan St. Germain, Matt Higgins, Dr. Uke and Daughters, "+ more!"

It won't be long before you see more of Kurt though. He's starting a new talk show at the Pit called "Night of the Living." "This monthly show will feature special house band Adira Amram and the Experience, and bits and sketches from New York City's finest comedians. Come see the beginning of something very cool. And very stupid. Because that's how we like it." Its first episode happens live on February 4th with special guests Eugene Mirman, Jon Glaser, and a secret musical guest. Tickets are on sale.

Daniel Kitson played his final show at St. Ann's Warehouse last night.

Neil Hamburger is touring in February and March. Tickets are on sale for a March 17th Brooklyn show at Knitting Factory with "The Kenny 'K-Strass' Strasser Yo-Yo Extravaganza" and "Major Entertainer Mike H." All tour dates are below....

Continue reading "Michaels in Birbigs' window, Neil Hamburger tour, Beardfest, Bo Burnham, Marc Maron, Nick Kroll, Kurt Braunohler & more"

If there's a Hanukkah equivalent of the Grinch, they're probably relieved that last night, Wednesday, December 8th, was the final night of Hanukkah and the final night of Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows. Those in attendance last night were treated to an opening set by a local band called The National and comedian Marc Maron. Frequent YLT collaborators Bruce Bennett (of the A-Bones) and Gil Divine were special guests during the encore, and Hamish Kilgour of the Clean sat in most of the night on guitar.

Here's the final tally:

12/1 - M. Ward, Todd Barry, Nash Kato
12/2 - The Parting Gifts, Jim Gaffigan, members of The Feelies
12/3 - Jeff Tweedy, Eugene Mirman & Kid Congo Powers
12/4 - Syl Johnson, Jon Glaser, Peter Wolf & Ira's mom
12/5 - Mission of Burma & Wyatt Cenac
12/6 - Mofungo, Amy Rigby, Wreckless Eric, Mikael Jorgensen, Tara Key, Gil Divine & Eugene Mirman
12/7 - Bonnie Prince Billy, Kurt Braunohler & Kristen Schaal & Nels Cline
12/8 - The National, Marc Maron, Hamish Kilgour, Bruce Bennett, Gil Divine

Continue reading "The National & Marc Maron opened for Yo La Tengo (and Hanukkah is over)"

words & photos by David Andrako

"It looks like America might have fallen in love with a Pakistani!" Eugene Mirman after Kumail Nanjiani's well received set at The Bell House.

The third day of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival (Saturday) saw four shows performed at three different venues around Park Slope and Gowanus along with performances from over 20 comedians, a song by John Wesley Harding and a heavy dose of Bourne Trilogy references.

The early show, "Mike Birbiglia Interviews A Bunch Of Sort Of Authors and Sarah Vowell", was hosted by the aforementioned Birbiglia and saw him interviewing Michael Showalter, Eugene Mirman, Patrick Borelli and Sarah Vowell about their most recent books. Birbiglia based the order of the interviews on his anxiety about the interviews from highest to lowest. Sarah Vowell went first and Eugene Mirman closed. Sarah, the most accomplished author on the panel, admitted being jealous of Chuck Klosterman "because he would get mentioned on The O.C." She also spoke of her next project, a historical book on the American annexation of Hawaii.

Michael Showalter's book "Mr. Funny Pants" will be released early next year and was described as "a book about how to write a book." He and Birbiglia read a chapter from the book that recapped a fictional interview with Charlie Rose. Patrick Borelli gave a surprisingly heartfelt slideshow of headshots from his book, "Holy Headshots." Birgibilia reminded Borelli about their short-lived two man improv team "Michael O' Patrick" from earlier in their careers. Eugene Mirman joined Birbiglia to chat about his book "Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life" that was released in February of 2009. The two also recounted the origin of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival that was hatched during a night of heavy drinking and may or may not have been the result of a dare that Eugene accepted. The early show ended with all of the authors having a Q&A with the audience.

The two middle shows of the evening ran simultaneously at Union Hall and The Rock Shop. Eugene headed over to Union Hall to host "Eugene's World Class Masters of Comedy" which featured sets from Daniel Kitson (who also performed the night before), Ron Lynch, Marc Maron and Todd Barry. Being that I'd seen or would be seeing all of the comedians at Union Hall (except Todd Barry) at other shows during the festival I opted to head over to The Rock Shop for "A Night of Gay or Foreign Comedy." The show was hosted by Gabe Liedman and featured Maeve Higgins (who also performed the night before), Glenn Wool, Brent Sulivan, Kumail Nanjiani and Mehran Khaghani. Standouts of the show were Higgins, Boston based comic Mehran Khagani and Brent Sullivan (I agree with Eugene's description in the Festival guide that one of his jokes is a Top 5 joke of 2010).

The final show of the evening was held back at The Bell House and was billed as (deep breath) "Why Do I Know Everything about Everyone At The French Dinner? An Evening of Espionage Themed Comedy Celebrating Our Love of the Bourne Trilogy and All Things Spy." Eugene opened the show by explaining that his love for the Bourne Trilogy began when he watched the first film and showed a short film that he created in tribute to the trilogy. Kumail Nanjiani, fresh off a quick set at The Rock Shop, was the first comic of the evening and admitted that his set was "based on someone who watched the Bourne Trilogy yesterday". His set, which ended with a story about being subjected to racist taunts in Los Angeles, was rewarded by the loudest applause of the festival (so far).

Jon Glaser returned to the stage, not as Dr. Attitude (his character from Thursday night's show) but as The Man In The Green Mask - a CIA spy sent to educate the audience on what it takes to be a spy. He was unwilling to answer most questions during a brief Q&A but did admit to melting a gun into the shape of a banana. Friend of Eugene, John Wesley Harding (who also plays the fest Sunday night), performed a song written especially for the evening, "A Ballad Of The Bourne Trilogy". Sarah Vowell made several appearances between acts to read Bourne-themed poetry that was penned by Eugene.

Leo Allen and Eric Slovin (Allen and Slovin) performed in complete homemade, glue filled costumes as Spy vs. Spy and spent most of their set lamenting having booked a comedy show on Yom Kippur and talking about their day spent at Temple Beth Chuckles. Marc Maron, after performing at Union Hall, closed the show with a thoroughly researched set that featured his thoughts on spys, espionage, proper mic stands and the existence (or not) of his FBI file.

More pictures from the whole day, below...

Continue reading "Mike Birbiglia did interviews, Spy vs Spy & more on Day 3 of the 2010 Eugene Mirman Comedy Fetival (review & pics) "

photos by Ryan Muir

"Chatroulette @ Union Hall, Brklyn. I laughed, I cringed, I screamed. I witnessed THE pinnacle moment of Eugene Mirman's career. Amazing!" - kotter

Kristen Schaal as a smoking whoopie cushion...

Heeb Mag:What do you love most about living in New York? And your neighborhood in particular?

Eugene Mirman: One thing I love most about living New York is that you can walk out of your apartment at any time of day, go into almost any type of restaurant, point at someone and fuck them in the bathroom with no questions asked. It's so cool how up for anything New Yorkers are.

Eugene pulled up Chatroulette again Tuesday night at Union Hall which is where his next Tearing the Veil of Maya show (with friends, again) is scheduled for this Sunday, March 7th.

More pictures from the Bell House are below...

Continue reading "Eugene Mirman & friends played the Bell House (and with Chatroulette) (pics)"

by Klaus Kinski

Secret Wars @ All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

So we've got the Del Close Marathon happening this weekend (8/14-8/16) and we've got the New York Comedy Festival happening in November. And now it is with unbridled enthusiasm that I can achieve a comedy-festival-posting-hat-trick by announcing the EUGENE MIRMAN COMEDY FESTIVAL which is set to take over Brooklyn venues Union Hall and the Bell House from September 17 - September 20. OK, so we briefly mentioned the festival before, but with line-ups, showtimes, as well as venue and ticket info just released, it's time to spread the word.

Curated by the great Eugene Mirman, this year's festival has a gasp worthy line-up that is truly beyond belief and will feature stand-up, panels, videos, special guests, 'theme' shows, the occasional free drink, after-parties, and much more. The highlight of the festival for me are two Daniel Kitson headlining gigs at Union Hall. Daniel is a British Stand-up comedian who I've only had the opportunity to see once, but that one experience was epic. More monologuist than stand-up comedian, he is one of the smartest, funniest, most energetic and eloquent performers I have ever seen. We are blessed to have two chances to see him headline such an intimate room. Besides that, the festival boasts appearances by Reggie Watts, Todd Barry, John Hodgman, Bobby Tisdale, AD Miles, Kristen Schaal, Michael Showalter, Marc Maron, John Mulaney, Jon Benjamin, and many many more. And, of course, Eugene.

The schedule so far is below. According to the folks in charge, even more excitement will be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!! Tickets for all shows go on sale Sunday August 16 Saturday, August 15 at noon via Ticketweb (Bell House, Union Hall).

Full lineup and more below...

Continue reading "Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival 2009 lineup (Daniel Kitson & more), an 826NYC benefit (tickets), a new Sub Pop album"

KMFDM

Marc Maron & Janeane Garofalo are performing at Union Hall in Brooklyn on Tuesday, June 30th. Tickets are on sale.

KMFDM are playing the Gramercy Theater on on September 25th. Tickets are on sale.

Lords of Acid were supposed to play Irving Plaza on July 10th, but it has been postponed.

Snow Patrol are playing two nights at the Beacon Theater in NYC in September. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on sale for the Mos Def show at Governors Island.

Tickets are on sale for the Erykah Badu show at Governors Island.

Tickets are on sale for the B-52's show on Governors Island.

The Spinto Band are playing Mercury Lounge on July 17th. Tickets are on sale.

Tracy Chapman is playing Hammerstein Ballroom on August 7th. Tickets are on sale.

Toby from Youth Group is playing five shows at the Living Room in July. Tickets are on sale.

Rachel Trachtenburg is playing Citysol (not on the main day) and Governors Island. Video from a show she played in Tompkins Square Park on Saturday, below...

Continue reading "KMFDM, Snow Patrol, Mos Def, Tracy Chapman, other tickets"

That 2nd Thievery Corporation show at Terminal 5 (Feb 26) is now on presale (password=thieveryretaliation).

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra are playing two shows at Southpaw in Brooklyn this month. Tickets are on sale for January 30th and 31st.

Busta Rhymes is playing BB King's on March 10th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for the Ida Maria show happening at Mercury Lounge. Union Hall is sold out.

Tickets are on sale for the Thermals show at The Bell House. The access code is "SALTY", but I'm not sure it's necessary or does anything.

Telepathe are opening for M83 at Irving Plaza. Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for both Cat Power shows happening at the Apollo.

Tickets are on sale for the Frightened Rabbit show happening at Le Poisson Rouge.

Tickets are on sale for the Lady Sovereign show happening at Pianos.

Comedian Marc Maron is performing at Union Hall in Brooklyn on January 15th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for the John Doe & Exene of X show happening at MHOW on Saturday. One day later they also play Joe's Pub.

Tickets are still on sale for the Great Lake Swimmers and A Hawk & A Hacksaw show happening at Mercury Lounge on Saturday.

Brooklyn Qawwali Party was added to GlobalFEST. Femi Kuti was taken away. It's this Sunday at Webster Hall and tickets are still on sale.

Note that ALL the NYC-area Morrissey shows are going on sale at 11AM on Friday (not noon).

Have you listened to Jaydiohead yet?

Radiohead think Max Silvestri is funny... his Internet Thing anyway. Video below...

Continue reading "the Thermals, Antibalas, Busta Rhymes, Thievery Corporation, Marc Maron, other tickets & stuff"

Dave Hill, A.C. Newman, Carl Arnheiter (elf) & Brett Gelman @ UCBNY (via)

"Exciting news for the East Village -- we've discovered that the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre has designs on the former Two Boots Pioneer Theater space at 155 East 3rd Street. Alex Sidtis, directing manager of the UCB's current location in Chelsea, revealed to [NY Magazine] that the troupe is hoping to open an East Village outpost, depending on whether it can secure a tavern wine license (the theater will plead its case at a January 12 meeting of Community Board 3's licensing committee). The location will mean more stage time for its performers...

Sidtis loves the fact that the 99-seat theater has a lobby, and says of the layout, "It's a little different [than that of the Chelsea location]. The shows will be more presentational and less theatrical in nature." Phil Hartman, who built the theater a decade ago and still owns the adjacent Two Boots pizza parlor and video store, tells us "I love the theater and I'm pleased to think that it would stay alive as a theater and not get gutted and turned into something else."..."
[NY Magazine]

Leo Allen's Monday night spot used to be held by Aziz Ansari and the Human Giant crew doing a similar type of comedy show with the same types of guests. Don't miss Aziz when he does a much bigger type of show January 9th and 10th at Comix. All dates HERE.

The above photo was taken at the UCB Theatre in NYC, on December 18th.

DOWNLOAD: Neil Hamburger - At Least I Was Paid (MP3)

Well, what else do we need to say about this? "America's Funnyman" ("The World's Funnyman," actually) has decided to sing America's music at last! The country crooning of Neil Hamburger (though some would call it moaning) fits the white blues that is country music to a T! Neil's life story is perfect fodder for the "tear in the beer" genre as well - and Neil's original tunes, such as "At Least I Got Paid," "Three Piece Chicken Dinner" and "The Recycle Bin" bring his personality to the fore. His crack "Nashville West" band includes such luminaries as Dave Gleason, Atom Ellis, Prairie Prince, Rachel Haden and Joe Goldmark, all of whom play and sing their country-fried hearts out to create a sound that is decidedly old-school honky-tonk. All this plus cover versions of John Entwistle, Mark Eitzel and Billy Edd Wheeler add up to a powerful singing debut from America's newest hat act, Neil Hamburger!

I recently mentioned that Bob Odenkirk and David Cross would soon begin work on a pilot for HBO. Lo and behold, production of David's Situation begins May 9th, 2008 in sunny Los Angeles, with a live audience and everything. This show can't be completed and devoured by my eyes and ears soon enough. If anyone goes to the taping, tell me everything.

In related news, not only is Bob Odenkirk co-writer and director of David's Situation, but it turns out he'll also be playing Mike Birbiglia's older brother in Mike Birbiglia's CBS pilot Mike Birbiglia's Secret Public Journal, a pilot you can read about here.

much, much, much, much more below.....

Continue reading "Klaus Kinski's Comedy Canon (04/21/08)"