by Klaus Kinski

Jesse Popp

Speaking of Hot Tub with Kurt & Kristen, maybe you were at the weekly variety show this past Monday when Andy Blitz, one of my favorite people in the biz, performed. It has been a really really long time since I last had the good fortune to catch him live, but all of a sudden multiple opportunities are popping up!

In general, I try to remain apolitical in my writings here on BV. Believe me, if you knew my views on society it'd be like a scene in a movie where some dude (me) farts in a crowded elevator and everyone in there (you guys) nonchalantly scuttles to the other side of the elevator. However, there is no denying that many many many members of the comedy community are still very much involved in the Occupy Wall Street community. Perhaps not always physically, but definitely philosophically. Case in point; an event called 99 Comics For The 99% happening at the UCB Theater East on Tuesday May 1st at 8:00pm (May Day). This massive undertaking will feature 99 Comics telling jokes in support of the 99% and OWS. Man I don't even think I could name 99 comics. Anyhow, the line-up (included below) features some seriously great talent and many Klaus faves including Adam McKay (via video), Adam Newman, ANDY BLITZ, Eliot Glazer, Giulia Rozzi, Greg Johnson, Jamie Kilstein, Jimmy Dore, John Frusciante, Jon Friedman, Murderfist, Rob Cantrell, Sara Shaefer, Seth Herzog, Stucky & Murray, Tom Shillue, Two Fun Men, and, well, many many more. Two Fun Men were actually on Fallon the other day in what has to be one of my favorite sketches in ages. Video of that below too!

I am also really happy to announce that Jesse Popp, one of the most pants-shittingly funny up and coming NYC comic geniuses of our time, is recording a Comedy Central special over two nights at Union Hall. The shows will take place on May 2nd and May 4th. Both shows have 7:30pm doors, 8:00pm shows. Tickets are only $5, so you not only get to see one of NYCs finest comedians on the cheap, but the back of your numbskull might even make it on TV. Check out Jesse in the New York Times' One in 8 Million series. Jesse is a great down to earth comedian with a good head on his shoulders. This country will be a much better place when the name Jesse Popp becomes a household name, I tell ya.

Continue reading "99 comics telling jokes for 99%; Jesse Popp taping a special"

by Klaus Kinski

Euegene Mirman @ The Eugene Mirman Festival (more by David Andrako)

Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching that time of year when I feel so oppressed and destroyed by the heat and humidity that I can't help but contemplate suicide knowing that I must endure this for many many many more weeks. As the sweat and grease springs forth from every pore of my body... as the sweat that begins at the back of my neck rolls its way south and converges with my back sweat and picks up momentum and girth as the sweaty tidal wave approaches my butt-crack... as I wince through this every day I think, "Dead people don't have to deal with this. It must be much cooler and shadier being entombed." (it's DEFINITELY cooler being in the band Entombed). People migrate to the beach not just to enjoy the sun and the water; they do so to escape the revolting sight of people like me panting and sweating through our clothing and the sheer lack of comfort we exude. It is at this point in the calendar year that I feel my lowest and need a serious and somewhat sustained pick-me-up. Thankfully, the fine folks at Creaghead & Company have a pile of comedic fare for me to ingest in the coming weeks that will hopefully keep me from the edge. It will do nothing for my perpetual moisture and shininess, but it'll make life more tolerable!

For those of you not in the know, Creaghead & Company is a small, mom and pop outfit from Brooklyn that puts together some seriously rad music and comedy events. You may not have known it, but Creaghead & Company was/is behind events and tours such as Pretty Good Friends (a weekly comedy show at Union Hall hosted by Eugene Mirman) (there was also a PGF tour that featured Mirman, Reggie Watts, and Kumail Nanjiani), The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, Heart of Darkness (brain child of Greg Barris), Marking Out (hosted by Matt McCarthy), and more. The shows C&Co put together aren't just standard stand-up fare. Each and ever yone of these shows DO feature some of the best minds in comedy currently drawing breath.

A more elaborate listing of their upcoming events are listed below, but allow me to take time out of MY busy day and give YOU a quick de-briefing (not the underwear kind) of what to expect in the coming days/weeks. The fun starts, like, soon... as in, like, Monday July 11th when Matt McCarthy's show Marking Out hits the Ace Hotel with guests including Michael Showalter, Joe Mande, Adam Lowitt, and musical guest Toys & Tiny Instruments. For the record, McCarthy is an absolute comedic force. Sort of like the real Klaus Kinski, only hilarious and completely different looking. Or maybe like the Minor Threat of comedy where you want to be up front gnashing your teeth and pumping your fist with him, but instead reel it in and respectfully listen while he does his thing. One of my favorites in the biz.

Marking Out is at 8pm which means you can probably catch it before Whiplash, which, like every Monday night, starts at 11pm at UCB.

Then on Wednesday July 13th you can catch Tom Shillue's FunnyStory.biz at Caroline's On Broadway. The show is hosted by Klaus favorite Tom Shillue and features Kurt Braunohler, Rich Vos, Swords, and John Flynn. Yes, it's at Carolines but it's only 10 bucks. And as side note, I know Caroline's gets a lot of shit for being a corporate Time's Square tourist venue, but they have made a serious effort lately to have $5 shows, one of which is hosted by the great Joe Mande. So give 'em a break. You pompous shrill.

Then on Saturday July 16th you can catch Heart of Darkness at Union Hall. Hosted by Greg Barris, Heart of Darkness is waaayyyy more than a stand up revue. I spoke about it in my little corner of the internet, but to sum:

"It is an incorporative show," explains the project's charismatic creator, 28-year-old comedian Greg Barris, who will also take the stage. "The band and the comics will all be performing together, the audience will be involved, special guests will be involved--the whole way through. And people's sins will be forgiven."

This particular episode featuresJaneane Garofalo, John F. O'Donnell, BV favorite Reggie Watts, and MIND WARRIOR: from the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins University - Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D. This is something you experience, not passively watch. I really urge you to see this. If I had my way this show would happen nightly.

Head back to Union Hall on Monday July 18th for a pretty serious Creaghead & Company Mandatory Staff Meeting featuring Head Creaghead Caroline Creaghead. The meeting will also feature Department Heads: Eugene Mirman, Murderfist, Mike Pomranz, and intern Roger Hailes. And more. This event is actually not optional. If you don't go you'll be fired, from life. Pretty serious stuff.

Also, you might want to make sure that on July 29th you get your cut-off wearing ass over to the Williamsburg Waterfront for Creaghead & Co. related event Pretty Good Friends featuring Eugene Mirman, Patton Oswalt, Todd Barry, Kristen Schaal, and They Might Be Giants. The setting is beautiful, the event is free, and you deserve a good laugh. Trust me, you do.

More details on all these shows below...

Continue reading "Klaus Kinski's Comedy Canon (07/11/11)"

The Wave Pictures @ Knitting Factory pre-SXSW (more by Chris La Putt)

today in NYC
* Justin Bond @ Joe's Pub
* Pere Ubu @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Murderfist @ Mercury Lounge
* Nathan Bell, M. Yakara 3 @ Zebulon
* Miike Snow, Delorean @ Bowery Ballroom
* Vivian Girls, German Measles @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Violent Bullshit, Bad Dream, Elks @ Union Pool
* Rosetta, Junius & City of Ships @ Public Assembly
* The Big Pink, A Place To Bury Strangers @ Maxwell's
* Antietam, Brett Eugene Ralph, The Undeciders @ Bruar Falls
* Love is All, Beach Fossils, The Beets @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* The Wave Pictures, The Wowz, Polite Sleeper @ Mercury Lounge

A member of the Wowz played with The Wave Pictures at our Knitting Factory show before SXSW. Tonight the two bands share a bill at Mercury Lounge.

Speaking of Mercury Lounge, there's also an early show at the venue featuring the comedy group Murderfist.

About tonight's Bruar Falls show, headliner Antietam says, "Brett is a punk rock ex-footballer poet teacher with a powerful presence and a huge heart. T and T last shared a stage with him in Louisville, 1982. Go here to learn more about Brett and here for the Undeciders. This will be special!"

Starkweather isn't playing Public Assembly anymore tonight.

Today is Day Three of the Big Ears Fest in Knoxville. Read about Day One.

The Vivian Girls show at Brooklyn Bowl tonight is free.

Vivian Girls are also on the bill of the recently-expanded lineup of ATP NY 2010.

The Big Pink & A Place to Bury Strangers tour is at Maxwell's tonight and hits Webster Hall in two days.

Video from a Skeletons show that happened two nights ago, below...

A video of HEALTH performing at MtyMX, below...

A video of Inlets performing the other night in Philly, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"