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.

A great lineup for a great cause.

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"

After meeting his biological father for the first time, GE powerhouse Jack Donaghy discovered his dad, professor Milton Greene, needed a kidney. Not being a potential organ donor himself, Mr. Donaghy turned to some very affluent friends in the entertainment world. This partnership created the phenomenon, "Kidney Now!' -- a benefit concert featuring some of the most recognizable names in the music industry. With the help of this song, Milton Green just might find the kidney match he needs and Jack Donaghy may be granted the gift of a father he never knew.

Video from last night's episode of 30 Rock below...

Continue reading "30 Rock 'Kidney Now' w/ Elvis Costello, Beastie Boys, Moby, Talib Kweli, Norah Jones, Steve Earle, Rhett Miller (video) "

Conan O'Brien's last show in his old time slot was Friday night. A drumless White Stripes were the musical guest.

Conan won't be gone for long though. He takes over Jay Leno's slot, one hour earlier, on June 1st. Jay Leno airs his final show in his current time slot on May 29th, and then eventually moves to 10 pm on the same station.

Jimmy Fallon takes over Conan's NBC time slot on March 2nd. His house band The Roots take over NYC around the same time. Fallon's guest have started to be announced...

If Jimmy Fallon is nervous about the premiere of his new gig as "Late Night" host, he'll have Robert De Niro and Van Morrison to lean on. They'll be the guests for his March 2 debut hosting the NBC show...

NBC says Tina Fey, Jon Bon Jovi, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Donald Trump and Serena Williams are among other guests scheduled for Fallon's first week. [Vindy.com]

U2 will be the first band to play five nights in a row on Letterman that same week. "Coinciding with the worldwide release of [their new album] No Line on the Horizon, it's the first time a musical guest has performed an entire week on the CBS late night broadcast." That new album is now streaming in its entirety at MySpace.

Van Morrison's Fallon appearance comes soon after his two shows at the Theater at MSG, and right before the two at the Beacon.

The video from Joaquin Phoenix's recent, infamous appearance on Letterman, below...

Continue reading "U2's streaming album & Letterman residency, Jimmy Fallon got Van Morrison & other late night news"

can you tell them apart?

Just two weeks after Duffy appeared, the other "next Amy Winehouse" Adele was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. (the real) Sarah Palin (cringe) was on last night's episode too....

Continue reading "Saran Palin & Tina Fey on SNL (video)"

Jonah Matranga

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Brooklyn Book Festival
* Apollo Sunshine @ Sound Fix Records
* Jonah Matranga & the Gay Blades @ Maxwell's
* Pink Reason, Woods & friends @ the Lucky Cat
* Signal & Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
* Trouble & Minsk @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Loved Ones, Franz Nicolay & others @ Knitting Factory
* The Cult @ Irving Plaza (moved from Roseland Ballroom)
* High Places, Soft Circle & Matteah Baim @ Death By Audio

Though both secretly scheduled to perform at Saturday's Lightning Bolt show, neither Fucked Up or No Age showed up

Video of Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin last night on SNL below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

Seth Meyers on strike - November 5, 2007 (CRED)

He (Lorne Michaels) is wary about what is going to happen this weekend when this venerable sketch show returns after more than three months. So for Saturday's return he has enlisted Tina Fey, an "SNL" alum, and the country singer Carrie Underwood............Mr. Michaels said that even with her familiarity with the show, he picked Ms. Fey as host because "it was just the right time for her." He noted that she had won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild award and a Producers Guild award in recent months, "all in stealth fashion." Next week's host is Ellen Page, star of the Oscar-nominated film "Juno." After that things get murky until May when Shia LeBoeuf and Steve Carell are committed, largely because both have films ("Indiana Jones" for Mr. LeBoeuf and "Get Smart" for Mr. Carell) opening this spring. [NY Times]

Then Sunday night is the Oscars where it will be a battle between "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood", though according to the Guardian..

If the general public had any say in the matter, this year's best picture Oscar would go to Juno rather than joint favourites There Will be Blood and No Country For Old Men. For good measure, 20-year-old Ellen Page would scoop the best actress award while Johnny Depp would be named best actor for his turn in Sweeney Todd. Each is considered a long shot, at best, to win an Oscar this Sunday.

The writers strike (as seen in the photo above) has caused two NYC shows to look for a new home. That means 150 lucky people are going to see a live performance of Saturday Night Live at the UCB Theatre, and another 150 will get to see 30 Rock.

Proceeds from the sale of tickets to "30 Rock" - priced at a modest $20 - will go to the Writers Guild strike fund, the Web site says.

The writers' strike, which began 10 days ago, immediately shut down production of "SNL" and "30 Rock" because so many of the stars also write the shows. [NY Post] (via)

The 30 Rock listing says some people will get in at the door. Good luck with that.

For a more sure bet, stop by the UCB at 9:30 tonight for a performance of the Dave Hill Explosion with special guests Lady Bunny and Touching You. Tickets are still available.