Comedy: Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, Podcasts • Page 2

That does sound awesome. I'll check give it a shot tonight or tomorrow.

Might go see Ari Shaffir next week.

 

Niiceee. I'm not SUPER into his stand up, but enjoy listening to him on all the deathsquad podcasts and I like his show This is not Happening.

 

Paid Regular is a solid special. The one that was released around the same time was good too. I haven't heard anything before that. I missed the last two TINH episodes. Been slackin'!

 

Yeah I still need to watch the latest one! Can't wait for Diaz episode, haha.

 

Kill Tony is awesome and I really enjoyed the Hinchcliffe special too, tbh. Ari's stand-up is hit or miss (not a fan of the race stuff), but yeah, Skeptic Tank and This is Not Happening are both really, really great. I'll have to check out Segura's podcast.

Sigh...you are my people. Haha. Putting material together now for my fifth performance this year

 

@Mr. Serotonin Diaz is always the secret weapon.

@Aaron Mook Where do you perform? Local comedy clubs or just open mics? I've always wanted to give it a shot but I never know where to start, whether it's forming a joke or performing in general. I can say stupid things, but writing a proper bit isn't the same.

 

Segura and his wife Christina just rant after playing popular internet clips. There are a ton of inside jokes that have developed over the course of the podcast...id almost recommend starting from the beginning just so you "get" some of the random inside jokes they have with fans of the podcast.

 

im slacking on Your Mom's House, too.

I'm still waiting for Matt Braunger to come to Phoenix.

 

So far, I've only been able to perform at local venues attached to my university, but I just turned 21 so I've been harassing our local comedy club for an MC spot haha.

Yeah, writing jokes is a huge challenge. I straight-up can't write comedy scripts, at least right now. As far as stand-up goes...I started imitating a lot of comedians I admired (Tom Segura with a little Aziz thrown in) and basically talked about what I knew best: pop culture, TV and movies, etc. Now, after a year of writing and a few performances, I like to think I'm refining that. A lot of what I write are just musings on dumb things I notice myself doing; like, right now, I'm working on this bit about how I know I'm an asshole because sometimes the only reason I remember to unfriend someone on Facebook is when I see it's their birthday. Things like that haha

 

See, that's a funny concept haha. Normally, I'll write down something I think is funny but nothing ever happens after that. I usually figure other people won't think it's funny so I delete it and wait for something else, then the process repeats itself.

 

Yeah, I know what you mean. Honestly, and I know everyone says this (and I'm obviously no professional), but the best advice I can give is to keep a notebook. Write down any and every premise you come up with, as soon as you come up with it. Sit on it for a bit and when you're bored, just think of ways you could expand on it. I honestly regret how long it took me to keep a notebook because I've forgotten a lot of bits from my first few times performing. Eh, they were probably shit anyways haha

 

Holy shit, RIP Garry Shandling

 

Gabrus has a pod called High and Mighty. Anyone listen?

 

One of the things about being home that I look forward to most is getting to go and watch local comedy.

 

When the topic is interesting or when the guest is someone familiar. The conspiracy theory episode with Anthony Atamanuik is my favorite.

 

cool, another place for me to talk about how doughboys is consuming my life

 

just don't start talking about pickles or else this thread is doomed

 

I can't stop laughing at Scott referring to a klan rally as Hayes, Sean, and Brett today on CBB.

 

This could be an interesting topic to get some more discussion in here. What are everyone's local scenes like? Or is there one even? Or do you even know. Obviously anyone in here who lives in LA/NY/Chi have vibrant, bustling scenes, but I'm interested in smaller cities too (interested in the big comedy meccas too of course!).

Cleveland has a cool little burgeoning scene spearheaded by this guy Ramon Rivas, who is hilarious and starting to gain some notoriety. Pretty sure he was on one of the most recent Comedy Central comics to watch lists. He and a group of comics have been throwing a festival over the summer for the past several years. This year Kurt Braunohler, Marcella Aguero, Brandon Wardell, among others are coming for it. Can't wait.

 

So I start Level 1 improv tomorrow. I'm so nervous haha

 

Mitch is filming for Love today and Gillian put a snap up of those two switching faces and it's amazing and horrifying

 

Finished up Hinchcliffe's special. I liked the Thriller part haha.

 

The scene in Birmingham is pretty good. It's probably not as big as it is in certain other larger cities here but it seems to have grown a lot in the last couple of years, which maybe gives it a momentum and energy other places don't have, and that coincided with me starting to do stand-up myself so it works pretty well for me personally when I'm here.

The town I live in has a venue where a lot of mid-level comedians perform, but only one open mic/new act type show that I know of. In fairness, it's much smaller by comparison, and thankfully it's not too hard to get to the nearby cities if you want something else.

 

Kansas is garbage for comedy. The city I live in, Lawrence, had a mild emergence of a scene for about a year or 2 but I guess everyone gave up or moved to Denver.

The only actual clubs are in Kansas City where they have an Improv and a place called Stanford and Sons.

You may have heard comics talk shit on stanford and son's during podcasts. That place is a mess. The owner opens every single show with a grueling and extraordinarily unfunny 25+ minute cocaine fueled rant about how his club is so amazing because Larry the Cable Guy did open mics there (and he always mentions how "Larry" has never been back since). They usually get about 2-3 comics I actually care about per year (TJ Miller loves the place so that's always cool) and at least twice a weekend the super drunk crowd will fuck up the show.

They used to do this thing where they advertise a certain comedian will be performing there, but a day or so before the show that comedian would "cancel" and of course they couldn't give refunds because they got a "huge replacement act" headlining that night, but it is always just the guy who normally hosts or features. The same guy who you've seen do the same routine at every show for the last 2 years. Kyle Kinane had to call them out on it because they did it to him multiple times.

The other club is a stripmall restaurant that seems to have had a contest to see how many tables and chairs they could fit into their building. It is insanely cramped and uncomfortable to watch shows there. They get a decent lineup but most of the time at both clubs it's just novelty acts to try to drag in shoppers. For example, next weekend, the 2 clubs in Kansas City are booked by Carlos Mencia and a magician

Apparently the (actual) improv scene is somewhat decent in Kansas City and a bunch of people have come from it but basically, like everything around here, you spend a year or 2 doing it here and then you move to Chicago or Denver because Kansas City has nothing to offer past that point.