Brian Kiley talks about the new Conan

Brian Kiley's new album,
Self Portrait

Boston comedian Brian Kiley has been with Conan O'Brien through a lot of changes, from Late Night to The Tonight Show and now, to Conan, which premieres tonight on TBS. I spoke with him about the new show for TVSquad.com. You can read the piece here.

Kiley writes jokes for Conan's monologues, and somehow manages to write enough brilliant jokes for himself to fill a full headlining set. That's what you get on Kiley's new album, Self-Portrait. Barry Crimmins gives it 38 stars. Which, I am told, is a very excellent rating. A sample -- ""My dad fought in World War Two. And he never talks about it, of course. He's Japanese. He's a sore loser, my dad."

Kiley has been based on the west coast since The Tonight Show staff relocated from New York, so he doesn't make it back out to Boston too often. But when he does, I will certainly alert you here.

You can find Self-Portrait on iTunes here.

A Swinging Supershow at Mottley's

Even in a flourishing economy, it can take a while for a comedy club to catch on, especially on the non-prime weekend nights. Which is why a night like Thursday at Mottley’s Comedy Club are so heartening to see.

Faneuil Hall was mostly dead Thursday night. A few straggling shoppers, a sparser than usual crowd gathered at the food court. Around the corner at Trinity, a handful of people watched Thursday night football (Raiders versus Chargers – why not just flp a coin for the winner?). But downstairs, in a small room that can hold about 90 people, co-owner Tim McIntire was giving the cash register a work-out with a nice, steady stream of people for Dan Sally and Andy Ofiesh’s Supershow, which they host every Thursday.

McIntire, Sally, and Ofiesh say that attendance has been spotty so far, but the place was roughly two thirds full Thursday, and they got to see a great show. Sally and Ofiesh developed their chemistry a few years ago hosting Thursdays at the Comedy Studio, and they haven’t lost a step with Supershow. They are loose and conversational, and like to tweak their audience a bit.

The pair started the show with their “mission statement, “ which included the promise “to go too far,” to “threaten nudity,” and, said Ofiesh, to have a “rape whistle talk.” “Very important to protect your ears while raping,” he said. And yes, they did make good on the nudity promise, at least partially, in a hypnotists bit later on.

The line-up was almost all spot on, including Jess Baade, Shereen Kassam, Renata Tutko, Jon Rineman, and special guest Brian Kiley, a Newton native and Conan O’Brien writer who is in town for next week’s tapings of the NESN Comedy All-Stars show at the Wilbur Theatre. Kiley writes some of the most efficient comic couplets in the business, and it’s always a pleasure to watch him work. (I’ve written about him for the Globe a couple of times – You can see the last one here). I have to admit I didn’t enjoy show-closer Paul Marino’s style (including his extended riff on Phil Collins), but I seemed to be in the minority at the club that night.

If you’re trying to figure out what to do with your Thursday, go see Supershow. It’s worth supporting.