Tim & Eric have added a November 27th late show at the Best Buy Theatre in NYC, so they're now playing two shows at the same venue in one night. Tickets are on sale. More dates HERE.

On other comedy news, check out Eugene Mirman's posted set of tour dates:

Sun, Nov 7 - Tearing The Veil of Maya @ Union Hall
Sun, Nov 14 - Tearing The Veil of Maya @ Union Hall
Sat, Jan 22 - Opening for Aziz Ansari @ Carnegie Hall

And don't forget you can catch Hannibal Buress (friend of Avey Tare?) for free every Sunday at Knitting Factory in another section of Brooklyn, including on Halloween (Tearing the Veil of Maya is taking that day off).

PREVIOUSLY: Nick Kroll has some tapings coming up

Check out a video of Reggie Watts playing a song about pancakes on his iPhone below...

Continue reading "Tim & Eric add a show, Eugene Mirman & Hannibal Buress every Sunday & other comedy stuff too"

Laugh with the stars at Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education on Saturday, October 2 at the Beacon Theatre.

Hosted by Jon Stewart, the evening will feature Lewis Black, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Joel McHale, John Oliver, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and too many more scheduled to appear!

Proceeds benefit autism education and family service programs across the country in support of the overabundance of autistic individuals that so desperately need quality services.

American Express® cardmembers can purchase advance tickets, Thursday, July 29 from 10AM - Sunday, August 1 at 10PM before they go on sale to the general public on Monday, August 2 at 9AM.

Much sooner: Tearing The Veil of Maya, the sometimes-weekly show that mostly happens at Union Hall is turning four and celebrating at Union Hall's sister venue The Bell House. The Four Year Anniversary Show will feature Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, Leo Allen, AD Miles, Wyatt Cenac "and friends!" Maybe Michael Showalter will be there too? That's at the Bell House on August 1st and tickets are on sale (note: "This show will be mixed seated/standing - please come early for the best seats.")

And speaking of weekly comedy shows happening in bigger, near-by venues, The Cameo's "Big Terrific" is happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg on August 27th. Hosts Gabe Liedman, Jenny Slate (SNL) and Max Silvestri promise "Many Special Guests". Tickets are on sale.

Continue reading "comedians fighting autism @ Beacon Theatre, Tearing the Veil of Maya turning four, Big Terrific getting bigger"

Jeremy Jay

Speaking of Union Hall, the small Park Slope venue doesn't get as much attention since its bigger sister The Bell House opened in the same neighborhood, but there are a bunch of shows coming up there in the next few days that I want to highlight real quick.

LA's Jeremy Jay (K Records) is there tonight (11/5). LA's Black Umbrella is on tour with Jeremy and the pair also play Cake Shop on Friday (11/6). Michael Leviton is also on the Union Hall bill. All dates below.

Friday night (11/6) at Union Hall is a solo show by Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze who plays Maxwell's tonight (11/5).

"Do you really want to hear the answer to the question "What if Glenn Tilbrook started singing like Freddy Mercury?" Do you think that jumping from the awkwardly stomping prog of late Led Zeppelin to ultra-compressed contemporary beats 'n' coos or McCartney-esque cute-pop is inherently interesting? If you answer yes, you might love this record. But if you're left shaking your head like me, it's probably because [Dave] Longstreth's music begs the question. Why did he make Bitte Orca? The only answer proffered is, because he could. " [Dusted]

Dave Longstreth: Who's Glenn Tilbrook?

AV Club: The guy from Squeeze.

Dave Longstreth: From Squeeze? Really? Is this guy British too? Well, whatever. I don't give a fuck.

The late show at the same venue is your 2nd NYC chance to catch The Hidden Cameras and Gentleman Reg on their current tour. The Canadian artists played Le Poisson Rouge last night while the Yankees were winning the World Series. How was it (the show I mean)?

Glorytellers and Ida play Union Hall on Saturday (11/7). Tickets are still on sale.

Finally, end the weekend laughing. Eugene Mirman and Michael Showalter's comedy show, Tearing the Veil of Maya, is happening at Union Hall on Sunday (11/8).

Continue reading "Jeremy Jay on tour ++ other upcoming shows @ Union Hall "

Eugene Mirman @ Le Poisson Rouge (more by Tim Griffin)

Dates have been announced dates for this year's Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, which will take place September 17th - 20th at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Lineup and ticket info to come.

Last year's fest happened September 15th-18th, with events at the Bell House and Union Hall. Featured acts included Janeane Garofalo, John Oliver, Kristen Schaal, Aziz Ansari, Michael Showalter, Mike Birbiglia, Fred Armisen and many others.

Aziz Ansari, now an even huger celebrity thanks to a co-starring role in the new NBC TV series Parks and Recreation, will be back in NYC soon and will be making at least two appearances while he's here. The first is at Eugene Mirman's weekly Tearing the Veil of Maya show at Union Hall on Sunday, May 3rd @ 7:30 pm (tickets at the door) (Eugene won't actually be there though). The next is one night later at UCB as part of Leo Allen's weekly, late-night Whiplash show. Tickets to the latter are free, and you probably want to make a reservation.

Aziz's other upcoming appearances include the Sasquatch Festival, Bonnaroo, and a TBA DVD taping in NYC in "early June".

Mirman is currently on tour with Flight of the Conchords (which is why he won't be at Union Hall on Sunday), though he didn't jump on till after the group's two NYC shows.

Mirman also recently toured with John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders. That show visited NYC three times: February 11th, March 11th, and April 15th (all three links have pics, one of which is reposted above). There remains a May 21st show hosted by Philly radio show World Cafe Live. Tickets for that show are on sale.

Speaking of John Wesley Harding (aka Wesley Stace), on Thursday, April 30th, he'll be performing at CUNY's Proshansky Auditorium on a bill titled "Collaborations/Elaborations: The Music of Daniel Felsenfeld." The event is part of the PEN World Voices Festival, and will feature Harding, Mark Z. Danielewski, Daniel Felsenfeld, Rick Moody, and others. Details on that below.

In addition to that show, Harding has his own UK tour coming up. He just did a reading/performance at the Union Square Barnes and Noble on April 27th.

Details on the PEN Festival show, with all upcoming Eugene Mirman dates and a video roundup of the comedian's recent activities, below...

Continue reading "2009 Eugene Mirman Comedy Fest dates announced ++ upcoming Aziz Ansari appearances in NYC"

David Cross (you may know him as the Crane from the movie Kung Fu Panda) is confirmed to appear with Eugene Mirman at the previously mentioned Tearing the Veil of Maya holiday show at Union Hall in Brooklyn on December 7th. Tickets are now on sale. That's one day before David appears at Knitting Factory with Marnie Stern and Fred Armisen.

Eugene Mirman is confirmed to appear at Variety Shac's Farewell to the Knit (at the Knit) on December 17th. Also on the bill: Tigers and Monkeys (a band that is often on the bill of comedy shows), Jon Glaser and Stella's Michael Showalter. Tickets are on sale.

Stella performed two shows at Union Hall this past Saturday and will be appearing at Nokia Theatre December 9th and 10th.

Demetri Martin plays UCB tonight, Monday December 1st.

ALSO TONIGHT (MONDAY): @ Pianos - It Is It (free comedy) w/ Pete Holmes, Hannibal Burress, Roger Hailes, Noah Garfinkle, and others.

More like this, HERE.

by Klaus Kinski

Good ole Brooklyn is going to be the epicenter of some of the world's best comedy from September 25th - September 28th when the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival rolls into Park Slope. The 4-day festival boasts 10 MASSIVE shows that will take place at Union Hall and the soon-to-be-open Bell House. The exact line-ups and guests have yet to be set in stone, but prepare yourself for a sweet opening night awards ceremony, an Invite Them Up reunion, an Apartment 2F renuion, an installment of Variety Shac, some fresh faces of comedy, a Tearing The Veil of Maya closing night blow-out, and, of course, appearances by the best of the best (think Galifianakis, Birbiglia, Schaal, Oliver, Showalter, The Sklar Brothers, and many many many more....). Here's how the schedule looks thus far:

Continue reading "Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival (9/25-9/28 in Park Slope)"

Eugene Mirman is reporting live from the Democratic National Convention in Denver for 23/6. Below you'll find the first video followed by proof that his weekly Tearing the Veil of Maya shows at Union Hall are starting up again very soon....

Continue reading "Eugene Mirman @ DNC (video), but he'll be back soon (dates)"

Michael Showalter & Janeane Garofalo @ Union Hall -July 2007 (Bryan Bruchman)

Last year David Cross, Janeane Garofalo and Land of Talk performed at Eugene Mirman and Michael Showalter's anniversary party. This year anything can happen. $10 tickets to the July 20th Union Hall show are on sale.

In related news, Tearing the Veil of Maya will return as a weekly show at Union Hall after Labor Day. Mike Birbiglia is playing Union Hall again this Tuesday (July 15), but not before performing at UCB on Monday. Dave Hill is playing the Union Hall party at the Brooklyn Bridge in August. Dave Hill is also performing at UCB on Thursday July 17th WITH Martha Plimpton and Lucy Wainwright Roche (who recently played Southpaw with Neko Case and Eugene Mirman and Michael Showalter).

ALSO: The Del Close Marathon is coming to UCB

RECENTLY: Michael Showalter performed at McCarren Pool

AND: Fleet Foxes are playing Union Hall in Park Slope tonight. The Vaselines are playing right down the street at Southpaw in Park Slope tonight. Both Fleet Foxes and The Vaselines are then heading to Seattle to play the Sub Pop Festival this weekend along with Park Slope's Eugene Mirman (and David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Todd Barry, Flight of the Conchords and Kristen Schaal) and No Age (who are playing South Street Seaport tomorrow) and Low (who are playing Union Hall in Park Slope on September 23rd).

Max Silvestri @ Rififi, NYC - Oct 29, 2007 (CRED)

In addition to all the special comedy shows always going on, don't forget that there are plenty of shows that happen weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly in NYC that are always reliable, rarely over $5, and usually feature some of the biggest comedians in the business. Why, just the other day Invite Them Up featured Jim Gaffigan, Demetri Martin, Nick Kroll, Andy Blitz, and Max Silvestri. Nuts, right!? Here are some other recurring shows I highly recommend.

• Totally J/K with Joe and Noah: Every other Monday at Rififi with Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkle
• At Night with Gabe and Jenny: Mondays at Rififi
• Sweet: Tuesday at The Slipper Room with Seth Herzog
• Invite Them Up: Wednesdays at Rififi with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale
• Greg Johnson & Larry Murphy: Fridays at Rififi with Greg Johnson and Larry Murphy
• It is It: Monthly at Pianos with Adam Lowitt (The Daily Show)
• Tearing the Veil of Maya: Sundays at Union Hall with Eugene Mirman and Michael Showalter

DOWNLOAD: The Silent League - Breathe (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Loney, Dear - I am John (MP3)

David Cross @ Union Hall, Brooklyn, NYC - June 10, 2007 (CRED)

a review by Nick Greto

The evening started rather lonesome, as my friends eluded me. I called just about everyone I knew, but no one had the time.

Regardless, I made my way to Union Hall alone and arrived just before the doors opened at 9:15. But, ahh, what was this? It appeared that the early, weekly "Tearing the Veil of Maya" comedy show (this week with a very special guest) was still in session. I tried my luck. "Any chance I can get in for the end?"

A moment later I was on the other side of the door and Dr. Tobias Funke was on stage! Though I only caught about 15 minutes of his act, David Cross seemed unprepared. He fumbled through papers searching for each subject to discuss. However, when he did land a joke, it was a direct hit. One couldn't help but laugh. He discussed hippies and Hollywood, and sipped from what appeared to be a PBR. After the show everyone was asked to exit the room in preparation for the late show with The Silent League and Loney, Dear.

The Silent League took the stage a short while later and made for a perfect transition from David Cross to Loney, Dear. Their Flaming Lips-esque vocals and Bowie-influenced tunes seemingly warmed up an already excited crowd.

When Loney, Dear took the stage the room went silent, and the hushed sounds of frontman Emil Svanangen's acoustic guitar filled the air. Shortly thereafter came his distinctive vocals. The crowd stared on, apparently entranced. Then the entire band joined him for the second song, and the audience began to move.

On record - Loney, Dear's sound is relaxing - a chill, sort of "whoa is me/things aren't so bad" contrasting vibe, but live Svanangen's songs take new form. The hopefulness pours from the vocals and lyrics; the songs never feel depressing. The crowd was bubbly and filled with smiles. Svanangen shared stories, and joked with us. People swayed with the music, and sang along when asked.

The highlight of the performance was "Sinister in a State of Hope" - a beautiful rendition of a great song. At least one person near me was moved to tears. Moments earlier my girlfriend suddenly arrived - no longer lonely, I thought how appropriate it all seemed for a Loney, Dear show.

Official gig poster below....

Continue reading "David Cross, the Silent League & Loney, Dear @ Union Hall"