The Antlers @ Bowery Ballroom last May (more by Ryan Muir)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Ribbons @ Don Hill's
* Hip Hop legends @ BB King's
* The Bad Plus @ Highline Ballroom
* Amy Ray, Toshi Reagan @ The Bell House
* Patrick Bower, Oceanographer @ The Cameo
* Blacklist, Tigersapien @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Bouncing Souls, 7Seconds, Tim Barry @ Webster Hall
* Freshkills, Dark Vibe, X-Ray Eyeballs @ Bruar Falls
* Fixed w/ Trouble & Bass, Boy 8 Bit @ Public Assembly
* Bloody Panda, Liturgy, Battilus, Castavet @ Union Pool
* Does It Offend You, Yeah? (DJ), Teenage Bad Girl @ Webster Hall
* Blind Date w/ DJ Dolores & SIBA, Otto @ Damrosch Park Bandshell
* Extra Life, Vaz, Little Women, Wires Under Tension @ Death By Audio
* Vulture Whale, Della Valle, Neil Nathan, Elisa Girlando @ Maxwell's
* Cannabis Corpse, Tournament, Survival, Shred Bundy @ The Charleston
* The Antlers, Murder Mystery, Twin Thousands, Brent Arnold @ Mercury Lounge
* Yatagarasu, Best Fwends, Teenage Nightwar, Gun Outfit, GDFX @ Cake Shop
* Tanlines, Teengirl Fantasy, Sewn Leather, MNDR, Angels Of America @ Monster Island Basement
* Real Estate, Pet Ghost Project, Pill Wonder, Phil & The Osophers, Clinical Trials @ Shea Stadium

The Antlers are celebrating the release of their new disc, Hospice, at the Mercury Lounge tonight with Murder Mystery, Twin Thousands and solo cello from Brent Arnold.

No South Street Seaport concert tonight, but one more was just announced.

LOTS OF TICKETS went on sale.

Bouncing Souls play another NYC show. Last night, Lifetime opened their gig. Tonight 7Seconds, whose lead singer Kevin Seconds was interviewed by the Souls' Greg Attonito on this site, will open. Check out Greg discussing vegetarianism in a video below.

Best Fwends played yesterday with Das Racist. Tonight they perform at the second of their four NYC shows, at the Cake Shop. Yatagarasu, Teenage Nightwar, Gun Outfit, McDonalds and GDFX are also on the bill.

Catch metal tonight from Cannabis Corpse, Tournament, Survival and Shred Bundy at the Charleston. Bloody Panda, Liturgy, Battilus and Castavet play at Union Pool. WIZARDRY will be at the venue Sunday with "fellow face melters" Marching Teeth and Skeleton Breath. See Wiz's new effigy-burning, forest-rocking video below.

The Bad Plus play their Friday night installment of the Highline Piano series tonight at the Highline Ballroom.

NIN hit Bowery Ballroom on Saturday.

Girl Talk is at Williamsburg Waterfront on Sunday.

Alabama band Vulture Whale play Maxwell's tonight. They gig at the slightly charred Pianos (which is closed tonight) tomorrow.

A 'Punk Photo' exhibition at Littlefield tonight. flyer below..

"[Former NY Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey appeared on last night's episode of "The Daily Show" to discuss her belief that the House health care reform bill will force Americans into end-of-life directives they might come to regret -- the source, some say, of Sarah Palin's "death panels" commentary." Albany Times-Union. Video below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

by Klaus Kinski

The 10th Annual Del Close Marathon is just a few weeks away, and like last year, the schedule is a tad overwhelming. Featuring over 150 shows from improv groups from all over North America, this milestone anniversary edition of the Marathon takes place non-stop from Friday afternoon August 8 to after midnight on Sunday August 10.

Del Close was the driving force behind improvisational comedy in Chicago for over 30 years influencing Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley and the Upright Citizens Brigade to name a few. After Del's passing in 1999, the UCB started the Del Close Marathon to celebrate their mentor and keep alive his name and teachings for future generations.

Weekend passes are a measly $25 and are only sold at the door. Shows taking place at the FIT Kate Murphy Ampitheatre, however, are $10 each and can be purchased directly from the UCB Theater website. The FIT shows feature appearances by Horatio Sanz, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, Rob Riggle people from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, Amy Poehler and many many many other popular comedians. Buy tickets for those soon, as I expect them to sell out rather quickly.

Demetri Martin, Invite Them Up, RIP (Marianne Ways)

Tonight (March 10, 2008) @ Pianos goes something like this:

11:00 SOUTH (UK)
10:00 KRISTOFFER RAGNSTAM
8:00 IT IS IT

Continue reading "'It is It' comedy @ Pianos (Demetri Martin) before South"

words by Jon Roren, photos by Marianne Ways

DOWNLOAD: Cobra Krames - What More Time! (MP3)

Karin, Bobby and the time capsule @ Rififi, Feb 25, 2008

Invite Them Up has been a mainstay on the Downtown comedy scene for about six years, and has played host to many great talents. This week sees the end of ITU's run as a weekly show, with shows on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night to celebrate more than a half-decade of fart jokes and fireballs. If you're coming on Wednesday, bring something for the fancy time capsule.

John Oliver

Host Bobby Tisdale got night one-of-three underway with his patented rubbing of the microphone on some dude's balls before bringing up opening comic Greg Johnson - the co-host of the ECNY award-winning Rififi variety show 'Greg Johnson and Larry Murphy Show'. Johnson was followed by Michael Showalter whose set consisted of one of his trademark "showbiz rants" - this one about how he was only 3rd-to-last-night material and that he clearly wasn't good enough for Wednesday night before trying to tell jokes about shows nobody in the audience had seen.

Continue reading "Invite Them Up, night 1 of 3 final shows (pics & recap) "

by Klaus Kinski

I just had a gander at the UCB NY schedule and got super-pumped by a recurring February show called Ben Karlin Presents: Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me...LIVE!. The show will happen once a week, has an ever-changing line-up of comedians and special guests, and will feature live music by FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE. From the site:

"Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me...LIVE!” is an hour-long comedy show on the subject of failed relationships and the shit we endure to make them work even when God himself tells us they won’t. Sprung from the book of the same name – an anthology of essays and short humor pieces by men, edited by Ben Karlin (The Daily Show w/Jon Stewart) – the live show will feature a blend of read and performed pieces from the book, stand-up comedy, live music, special guests and other material wrapped around the theme of relationships gone bad.

BUT FIRST: Check out the new UCBCOMEDY.COM....

Original comedy from the twisted minds of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre’s best improv, sketch and stand up comedians. Funny, F’d Up and Illegal videos, podcasts, jokes and other content from the largest humor community in the world.

Continue reading "Ben Karlin Presents, Fountains of Wayne, UCBcomedy.com"

Kitson, Oliver, Schaal, Clement (CRED)

Daniel Kitson added a FOURTH show at Union Hall. The Sunday and Monday shows are completely sold out, but there's a handful for tickets left for the remaining shows. I'm telling you, if ever there was a comedy show that absolutely cannot be missed it's this one. As a matter of fact, I'm giving away one pair of tickets to the Wednesday 12/5, 10pm show (details at the end of this post). Maybe they'll release a ticket or two the nights of the peformances, maybe they won't. It's totally worthy a shot though.

And don't forget about the NY Mag Not Your Office Holiday Party featuring We Are Scientists and the UCB Theater happening on 12/18/07 at the Canal Room. The show will be hosted by Daily Show correspondent Rob Riggle who will also serve as The Boss. Partygoers will be provided with fakey name tags as well as a checklist of inappropriate office things that you should be partaking in such as admitting your best excuses for taking a sick day, kissing a co-worker under the mistle toe, brown nosing your boss, and photo-copying your buns. It sounds like lots of fun. I've got two pairs of tickets to give away (also at the end of this post).

Taking a page out of Sub Pop's book, indie label Matador Records has signed their first comedy act! Earles and Jensen Present: Just Farr A Laugh Vol. 1 and 2 will be released February 19th on Matador Records. Their myspace page has an ever changing sample of their work, so check it out. Scads more info at Chunklet.

MUCH MORE BELOW......

Continue reading "Klaus Kinski's Comedy Canon (12/01/07)"

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