If you happen to be in north of Boston or in the New Hampshire area Saturday, Mike McDonald had put together a great show at The Music Hall in Portsmouth. It’s his Tenth Annual Comedy XXtravaganza, and McDonald will be performing along with Ken Rogerson, Joe Wong, Matt D., and Christine Hurley, plus music from The Boston Naturals.
“I started doing it cause I wanted a theater setting for great comics to interact with a great audience,” says McDonald.
It’s an interesting mix of younger comics and veteran talent. So how did he choose the comics, I asked? “I needed a Chinese guy, a chick, a kid who’s never gotten laid, and a guy in recovery,” says McDonald. “Well. Actually I picked these comics cause they can all throw heat.”
The shows, as usual, will benefit charities, this time the Green Alliance and the Seacoast Food Pantry. “We hook up with some local charities every year to give something back from the show to the Seacoast,” says McDonald. “It’s tough out there and anything we can do to raise a little awareness. I picked [the charities] with my co-producer who lives in Portsmouth. I’d look over the cause and the website and if I was onboard with what they do, we go with them.”
The Boston Comedy Festival wrapped up Saturday at the Wilbur with an efficient night of comedy and a strong line-up, basically split into two moving parts – the competition finals, with eight contestants, and two awards, given to Boston Comedian of the Year Joe Wong and the Lifetime Achievement Award going to Robert Klein. There were only two other comedians on the bill, Darryl Lenox and host Jim McCue. And where this event has sometimes dragged in the past, it felt winnowed down to a trim formula this year.
Lenox opened the show before running to do his own headline spot at Cheers. It’s a shame there was so much going on Saturday night – Comics Come Home at the Agganis, Jim Gaffigan at the Wang, Juston McKinney at Nick’s, the Festival finals, Todd Barry at the Hard Rock, and a strong local line-up at Mottley’s. Lennox probably got lost in the shuffle, especially opening on a show against his own show, and he deserves better. If the chance comes around to see him headline again, take it.
Matt D.
It was a pretty strong crop of finalists this year, as well, probably the strongest in recent memory. It was equally split between out-of-towners (Saleem Muhammad, Nate Bargatze, Nick Cobb, and Will Sylvince) and Boston comics (Mehran, Matt D. Lamont Price, and Orlando Baxter). There was no one on the bill for the finals that felt tacked on or not polished enough to have made it onto the show.
Orlando Baxter
The Boston contingent was especially strong, including Baxter, who has improved by leaps and bounds since I last saw him (and it had been a while). I was wondering, before the show, how Matt D. would fit in. He’s a deadpan absurdist, rattling off joke after well-constructed joke. But a lot of the comics had big energy and big personalities. It would be easy for him to get lost in that, but that didn’t happen. Matt D. had a great set dense with one and two line jokes.
In a Boston Comedy Festival first, there was a tie for first place between Nate Bargatze and Saleem. Will Sylvince came second, and Nick Cobb came in third. Which means the Boston comics trailed the field. There was a certain amount of parity among this group, but that doesn’t make the results any less puzzling.
Nate Bargatze and Saleem Muhammad
Contests are always subjective, and it’s impossible to know the mind and tastes of the judges. And the fact there was a tie for first may mean the tally for each comic may have been roughly the same. I’d be surprised if there were more than two or three points difference from the top to the bottom of the bill. And when it comes right down to it, how does two or three points translate into a meaningful comment on someone’s comic talent or ability? That may also be why only Bargatze and Saleem were actually announced at the show – I asked afterwards about the rest of the order.
Joe Wong
The second half of the show was loose and entertaining. Wong had a great set, accepting his plaque for Boston Comedian of the Year. He talked about playing the Festival in 2003, and meeting Eddie Brill, who books the comics for David Letterman in 2005. Wong noted that Brill told him when they first met that Wong was on his way to the Letterman show. Wong addressed the comedians from the competition, saying, “So if Eddie Brill has not told you this yet…”
Robert Klein was fantastic. His resume is long, stretching over more than forty years, and Klein had a little fun with his introduction for his Lifetime Achievement Award. Standing next to McCue and listening to a list of his accomplishments, Klein began to hunch over and tremble, aging as McCue spoke.
Klein accepts his award
In the past, the Lifetime Achievement winners have often bantered for a few minutes, done a little shtick, accepted the award and left. Klein, however, is still an active, working comic, and he wasn’t going to let an audience of roughly 600 people get away without some stand-up. Klein accepted his award, and then McCue seemed a bit surprised when Klein took the mic and started doing material. McCue stood in the background, waiting for Klein to wrap up, and when Klein noticed, he asked him if he had anything more to say. McCue slunk off while Klein launched into what would be a 25 minute set.
Klein started to wax nostalgic about coming to Boston with The Apple Tree in 1966, previewing the show before its Broadway run. Not all of the memories were good – Klein stayed at the Avery Hotel, which he called a piece of shit, while the big stars stayed at the Ritz. He was all over the map, material-wise, delivering a loose, casual set. He talked about having to “shtup” Joan Rivers in a movie, and how she tried to sell him bracelets during the scene. Industrious woman.
Klein backstage
Maybe the best part of a show like this is what happens backstage. Klein has always had an affinity for comics, and when the show was over, he was huddled up with the younger crowd, letting them pick his brain a bit. The comics seemed to soak up the advice, thrilled to have a brief audience with a legend, all the better for just having seen that legend crush in front of the same audience they had just played.
Price cracked up at the after party, talking about Klein backstage, busting chops over the price of a scotch at the Wilbur. And no matter how the contest ended, he said, being on that bill was the prize.
Joe Wong has been getting a lot of praise lately, appearing on Letterman, Ellen, and at the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner. So it’s about time he took a few lumps. Dave Rattigan plans to put Joe through the ringer tonight at the Burren with “Dump on Joe Wong Night,” where a few comedians who know Joe well will give him a kind of mini-roast.
“Comics are all asked to preface their material with an insult of Joe,” says Rattigan.
Who says the comedy scene isn’t sane and loving?
The night will also feature the 5 New Jokes contest with Joe, Matt D., Chrissy Kelleher, Jim Bowes, and Jim McQuaid. Every comic has to do five new jokes they wrote that week to qualify (Rattigan is always at the clubs and books a few rooms, so he’ll probably be able to tell a comic’s new material from something more road-tested). Rattigan hosts the show.
The Burren is in Davis Square. Show starts at 10PM.
Tonight at the Tavern at the End of the World, Joe Wong will be working out an unusual set. It’s not for a big local show, or even a late night talk show spot. Wong will be doing the set he’ll be performing at the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington for an audience that will include President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Tonight's show is a special event, the Twas the Night Before St. Paddy's Day showcase (Tony Moschetto will also be on hand). Scotty Lombardo's regular open mic will resume next Wednesday.
I spoke with Joe earlier today about playing for the president, and the material he has planned.
Are you nervous for tomorrow night?
Not really. I’ve practiced the set many times before. Who knows, maybe I will change my mind once I get there.
Have you been coached by anybody about what to expect?
My manager’s been to similar occasions a couple of times before. He kind of knows what to wear and so forth. Honestly, the biggest hassle is getting a tuxedo ready. That’s like a brave new world to me.
Do you have any special material planned because the dinner is of a political nature?
Oh, yeah. I have a lot of political jokes. The entire set is, some immigration stuff, and the rest is mainly politics.
Was that something that was unusual for you?
It’s very different than my usual routine, in a sense. But on the other hand, in 2003, I had a short film about me running for president. I sort of used that concept but added more political jokes. I really enjoyed this process, though, I have to say, coming out with jokes, making fun of current policies or saying something totally absurd about my political views. I’m having fun with it. And it’s the Radio and Correspondents Dinner, so I don’t even have to worry about my choice of words. In a regular comedy club, I have to make that sure I don’t use big words that turns people off, but in this case, they’re all reporters.
Do you have any specific targets or is it more you’re poking fun at yourself?
Mainly I’m poking fun at myself. But also, I have some jokes about Scott Brown. Of course, Obama and Biden. And a little bit about the Supreme Court Justices. That’s about it. Samuel Alito is going to be there, I think.
That’ll be fun.
I just hope that the reporters should know, pretty much should be up to date with current events. Some jokes won’t work in the general audience, but they should be more accepting of it.
If you’re looking through the club listing for a comedy show tonight, don’t skip the Boston Comedy Showcase at Club Oberon. You won’t find a stronger line-up in the city – Joe Wong (two Letterman appearances, Ellen), Corey Manning (Jamie Foxx’s Laffapalooza), Mehran (who hosts his own monthly shows at Mottley’s and Tommy’s), Lady Vain (NE Def Comedy Jam Showcase), Dan Crohn (who produced the Doug Stanhope show at the Hard Rock last year), and Shereen Kassam (SlumDog Comedy Tour).
Kassam co-produced the show, inspired by a conversation with a friend who had never been to a comedy show. “I immediately started bragging about the pool of amazing, talented comics we have in the Boston area and how many of them are blowing up and moving to NYC and LA,” she says. “I convinced him that he would not be disappointed if he checked out a local comedy show, and I was right.”
Kassam and co-producer Peter Norris wanted to find Boston comedians who had already broken or were on the verge, trying to capture an audience that might not think of coming out to a comedy show. “The goal is to give the audience such a great show that they will not only remember the night and the talent, but also fall in love with comedy and become faithful patrons to the comedy scene,” says Kassam.
The plan is to host a showcase like this every month at Oberon, as Kassam points out there are many more comedians she’d like to feature. She’d like to showcase the diversity of talent Boston has to offer, something exemplified by tonight’s roster. “The comedians on the line-up are smart, funny, and hit on real things/situations that they have encountered; each of these comics pushes against the boundaries in a witty, but bright manner,” says Kassam. “This show will encourage people to feel comfortable stepping outside of what they are used to.”
Joe Wong returned to the Late Show with David Letterman last night a television veteran, less than a year after making his television debut on the show in April of 2009. Another solid set, with an inspirational message to those who don't like to wash their hands.
Joe Wong taped his second appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday, which will air Friday. Contacted by e-mail, Wong reports that all went well. “The second time is slightly easier,” he said. “I am more familiar with the stage and the theater. I felt that the crowd loved it. I'd have to watch it Friday to know better. I am never calm enough right after a show to judge it.”
Joe won’t have much time to celebrate. He’ll be headlining The Comedy Club at Cheers on Friday and Saturday, running home to watch the spot Friday night. “I like agonizing over a bad set alone (kidding),” he said. “I want to stay at home as much as possible because I am traveling more and more these days.”
In case you missed it, here’s Wong’s Letterman spot from April of last year.
Dick Doherty's various clubs around Boston will host events for Haitian relief, with 100 percent of the ticket sales going to the Ester Lafontant Charitable Foundation. The ELCF collects donations to send to Haiti, anything from blankets and candles to wheelchairs. Their Facebook page is here. There will be four shows in all, each with a different line-up, featuring comedians like Joe Wong, Frank Santorelli, Jim Colliton, Paul Nardizzi, and others, each hosted by Dick Doherty.
THE SHOWS:
Feb. 3 - Dick’s Beantown Comedy Escape, 8PM The Holiday Inn, 195 Westgate Drive, Westgate Mall Brockton Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50 Line-up: Frank Santorelli, Paul Nardizzi, Jim Lauletta, Stephanie Peters, and Mitch Stinson, hosted by Dick Doherty.
Feb. 4 - Dick's Beantown Comedy Escape, 8PM The Old Court Restaurant, 29 Central Street, Lowell Mass Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50 Line-Up: Frank Santorelli, Dave Russo, Jim Lauletta, hosted by Dick Doherty.
Feb. 8 - Dick’s Beantown Comedy Vault, 8PM REMINGTONS Restaurant, 124 Boylston St. at Boylston T Boston Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50 Line-up: Joe Wong, Mitch Stinson, Jim Colliton, Robbie Printz, hosted by Dick Doherty
Feb. 10 - Dick’s Beantown Comedy Escape, 8PM The Crowne Plaza Hotel, 10 Lincoln Square, Downtown Worcester Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50 Line-up: Joe Wong, Chris Zito, Mike Whitman, Jim Colliton, Corey Rodrigues, hosted by Dick Doherty.
Since Joe Wong made his debut on Letterman in April of last year, he's been racking up TV appearances. Ellen DeGeneres is a huge fan, and has tapped him to be on her daytime show and her variety show. His next Letterman appearance is scheduled for February 19 (but keep checking listings, the comedians often get bumped when the show goes long). You can see him in person tonight and tomorrow at Mottley's Comedy Club.
Here's Wong on the red carpet at the American Music Awards for Ellen:
Eddie Brill is a New York guy, but he has a special place in his heart for Boston. Brill, who books comics for David Letterman, went to Emerson College and worked on his chops here in his early days. Now he gets back for gigs like his two-night stand at The Comedy Club at Cheers, tonight and tomorrow, and to look for talent for Letterman. “Some of the best comics in the world are from here,” he says, speaking last night from his hotel room in Boston. “If I didn’t come here to check out the comics in Boston, I’d be a fool.” He booked Joe Wong for his debut this past April, and worked with him on his set. Brill also teaches comedy, and he’ll be teaching three days of seven-hour workshops at Emerson this weekend.
How often do you get back to Boston, do you think?
Probably about three to four times a year. I’m always here looking for comics for the Great American Comedy Festival. I’ll try to do a Letterman audition up here, as well, but sometimes they’re the same thing. And I always teach at Emerson once a year, and I come up once or twice a year to do gigs or corporate work. That kind of a thing.
What are the workshops on, in particular?
It’s a comedy workshop that I created about ten years ago. I’ve been doing the one-day, very intense workshops for seven hours. And I’ve done it all over the world now, in Australia and England and Ireland, and all over Canada and the United States. It’s been very, very successful. It’s really about comics being honest with each other and helping each other, being each others’ eyes and ears. I’ve got it down to a science where it’s really effective.
So a few years ago I presented it to Emerson, and they let me do a weekend. It was so successful that we’re into our third year in a row.
Who is it aimed at? College comics or –
No, I’ve done workshops with ten people and eight of them have been doing it for sixteen years, plus. Comedians are nice to each other, but it’s really hard to be honest with each other because there’s a lot of ego involved. This is a situation where people have been given the okay to really be honest with each other in a respectful way, and you can help each other and be each others’ eyes and ears, to point out the kinds of things that people don’t know about themselves because you can’t see yourself.
Is that the main point of it, to show people how to communicate within the comic community?
Naw, that’s only part of it. The key is, I learned more from teaching when I was at Emerson than I did from doing. So I created a workshop where everyone is a teacher. Everyone learns so much about what they do by seeing what others do.
How much of that is stuff you learned since working on the Letterman show?
Hmmm… I don’t think I’ve learned that much. I have learned about what we want at Letterman, but that’s something in addition to what I’m already doing. It’s pretty much a different hat. And I’ve always loved teaching and I will admit I’m pretty damn good at it. I’ve always been very good at being that kind of person. Been doing it or a very long time and I’ve had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of students, and a lot of them have been in touch with me and a lot of them have been inspired, not only to be comics but to be writers, and they learn a lot from them. So it’s been very, very good. There are people who don’t ever do it again, but they appreciate it. And then there’s people who never thought about doing it and begin doing it.
How tough is it when you sit down with a comic, especially one who might be well known and has been road testing their material for years, how tough is it to sit down with them and do something for Letterman?
It’s very tricky. What happens is, the kind of cool thing is, word has gotten around to trust me, that I’m not going to let anyone go up there and do anything that would make them look bad. Whatever I talk to them about will only be, will help them do better. And there have been some scenarios where I’ve helped some pretty top-name comics with some ideas for their sets and they just loved them. What it really comes down to, the bottom line is, it’s the comedian, it’s their set, not mine. So I might make suggestions, and most of the time, these people will follow it, but they’ll do it because they’ve learned to trust me.
Was it harder at the beginning, when you don’t know as much as you do now, when you first started the job?
I had booked before, a had booked a comedy club and a couple of shows, but this was booking for someone else’s taste. And interestingly enough, we have similar tastes. We both like the same kind of funny, which really is helpful to me. He also has a lot of integrity, Letterman, where he doesn’t care if anyone is big, he just cares that they’re funny. That’s a really great boss to work for, who’ll put comics on because they’re really great at what they do, not because they have a big name and you want to get ratings. He just wants the comics to be great. He’d rather find a young comic that no one knows about, instead of finding someone who already has all that power.
Are you currently looking at anyone else from Boston, or working with Joe again?
Definitely going to do something with Joe again in the new year. I like Dan Boulger. I like him a lot, I could see him eventually have a set for the show. There are so many great comics in Boston, and each time I see the groups from Boston, they improve all the time because there’s so much work here.
Very few people would have ever thought of putting Bigg Nez and Joe Wong together as a hip-hop duo called Tin Tin Buffet, as Robby Roadsteamer has done in Episode 7 of Quiet Depseration, a faux reality show about the Boston arts and entertainment scene. It's those sorts of combinations that have made Quiet Desperation so appealing, throwing a couple of dozen of Boston's talented comics together in one story and seeing what happens.
Friday night at Anderson Comedy's show, The Gas, at Great Scott Roadsteamer celebrates Quiet Depseration with some of the show's contributors -- Mehran, Chris Coxen, Tom Dustin, Erin Judge, Shaun Bedgood, Ken Reid, and Joe Madaus.
Coxen is one of Boston's most reliable character comics, and has a considerable collection of whackjobs and goofballs (there's a very fine difference, I would have to cite sources) including Ripps McCoxen. McCoxen has just added the title "Camaro Whisperer" to his resume, as demonstrated in the latest video from Coxen.
Ellen DeGeneres today revealed that Boston comedian Joe Wong will be on Ellen's Bigger, Longer, & Wider Show, which tapes June 17 and airs June 27 on TBS. Watch for my poss on TVSquad for more info on the show.
Robby Roadsteamer has created a franchise in Boston with his Greater Boston Alternative Comedy shows, gathering his favorite comedians and a band or two and putting on shows at venues like the Paradise and the Middle East (see my interview with Roadsteamer from the first show in December). Tonight, he brings the Greater Boston Alternative Mayday! Mayday! Comedy Show to the Middle East Upstairs with Joe Wong, Mehran, Erin Judge, Ken Reid, Chris Coxen, Anderson Comedy, and Sean Sullivan.
The shows have fostered a sense of community, which Roadsteamer immediately looked to showcase in a new YouTube-based sitcom called Quiet Desperation (see the first three episodes below). I caught up with Roadsteamer last week to talk about the shows and the Boston comedy monster he’s creating.
How have the Greater Boston Alternative shows been going?
Personally, for me, they’ve been a blast, just because it’s definitely an audience that doesn’t normally go to a comedy club. I, with the exception of shows at the Comedy Studio, have been burned out by conventional comedy shows. It’s nice to have a crowd that’s just open to anything. A lot of times, crowds at comedy clubs are, “make me laugh,” there has to be much more give onstage to win them over before you can actually enjoy doing your set.
These last couple of shows have been people who don’t normally go to comedy shows. A lot of them usually go to music shows and like that. There’s a much looser [feel to] the audience. You can tell it’s going to be a good show. And the comedians, I’ve seen some unique performances at these things, because they just open up a little bit. They don’t have to be delivering every ten to twenty seconds. They can take their time telling stories and developing other things onstage.
How are you pulling those audiences into the shows?
I’m pullign them a lot from basically the music side of the tracks. At WBCN, I built up a fanbase of people from all walks of my creative life. I usually do a lot Facebook blasts and things like that. But I know these people are all… it’s very hard to get people to shows these days. Everybody always flyers and stuff, but really, even shows I’ve seen a lot of flyers for, I can still name everybody in the audience at a lot of these shows.
People’s time is very valuable apparently now these days. You’ve got to fight for them to not go home and update their status and all that. The only way to get to those people is to go on their little thing and be like, “Hey, I know you’re on Facebook right now, why don’t you go out to a show? I know that comedy shows sometimes suck, I know sometimes you have to be quiet for two hours, but there’s a bar right in the room and everybody’s going to have fun and it’s all a bunch of people that you know.” It’s turned into a thing where, yeah, people see great comedians, but it’s also a social group, too. It’s people who normally are awkward, people who are kind of withdrawn, I mean, myself indictable.
I’m having a lot of fun with these shows, and I know these shows are gaining a lot of momentum. We’re, after this, doing a three-night stand in Provincetown this summer at the Arthouse Theatre. They’re bringing the whole show down there. And I actually just opened for Jon Lejoie last week at the Wilbur Theatre –
How was that?
Oh, I absolutely crushed. I was not nervous and I realized I feed better off of, when I know there’s a lot of people in the room. It made me step it up. Bill, the owner of the Connection came up afterwards, he wanted me to bring the Greater Boston Alternative Show there for September. So we’re negotiating that now.
I’m really starting to enjoy the vibe, because the first time I did it at the Paradise, I don’t know, I think a lot of people were wondering what it was all about. I think comedians are starting to realize that, yeah, it’s not about the term “alternative comedy,” it’s just about the idea that there can be a different sort of platform for people to go to a show and not expect a typical comedy show.
Do you have an overall plan of what you’d like to see happening as you do more and more of these shows?
There’s already some comedians from this sort of vein starting to get breaks here and there. Maz Jobrani for Mehran, had him open up at the Berklee Performance Center. And that’s because one of the talent scouts came to the Paradise show. And in return for that, Mehran opened up for him in Washington D.C. and crushed in front of 1600 people, and they want to bring him on tour. And it’s like, what I’d like to see is comedians I’ve seen rough it out in the trenches of the Emerald Isle and all these crappy open mic nights have their chance to shine and have their breaks, because I feel they’ve got so much to offer, but they need the right opportunities.
This goes beyond just doing the comedy shows for me. It’s like that show I sent you this morning, Quiet Desperation. I’m using the same pocket of comedians to show how they would be in an outside of the box TV show that pretty much lampoons the whole Spinal Tap meets the D.I.Y. scene and stuff like that. I want it to be across the board, because these people, I don’t just talk about comedy with. We’re all sort of intertwined with other things, too. It could be philosophies, the way we enjoy life. It’s so weird how, accidentally, all these comedians turned out to be really close friends. I could tell you stories on everybody who does these shows. Like, how I met them and what I’ve shared with them. And it’s weird that I also happen to find them amazingly brilliant onstage.
I just actually last week closed the deal, I guess MTV’s putting together another Beavis and Butthead type of show, and it’s going to be based on YouTube videos and stuff like that, and one of their people approached my publishing company and they’re paying us a thousand dollars per episode, I mean, it’s one right now, but if people like the videos, they’ll purchase for other episodes for permission to use all the YouTube videos on each episodes.
Going back to Quiet Desperation, is that just made for friends and people in the scene? It seems like a lot of stuff would fly over people’s heads if they’re not into the local comedy or music scenes.
My opinion is this, I think you show it to anybody in terms of the type of character Tom Dustin is, the type of character Mehran [is]. Yeah, we’re using local locations and stuff, but I don’t expect somebody to gut laugh when they hear somebody performing at Great Scott. And I don’t expect people to gut laugh when they see Erin Judge is reporting for the Boston Globe, but somebody performing at a sports bar in front of five people after I’ve just explained how much that sucks? There’s not, I fell, a lot of inside.
It’s the type of show, it’s like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Arrested Development. I think on its own as a YouTube video, I don’t think it holds its own, because those types of shows, you need to watch them. That’s going to be our only handicap. I mean, I know it’s not going to be a five to eight million hit video because people just want stuff on YouTube to make fun of, the retarded kid who can’t sing Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” the right way.
With a video like this, I feel like if it were budgeted it would be perfect for something like MTV. You’re looking at ten to twenty fake bands of all different genres doing really close to the bone reality comedy songs in each of those genres in that Spinal Tap meets D.I.Y. mode. How many people are struggling musicians trying to pretend they’re bigger than they are in this country? How many people eon the comedy side really have these dreams and visions, too? It’s a lampooning of how a lot of us are living this life of, “Oh god, I really don’t care about the break, but I need it!”
I feel the jokes and the humor, if you give it a real, unbiased watching, I feel the talent is top of the line, the delivery’s top of the line, you don’t feel stupid for watching it. I think the acting is very convincing. And I think more and more, now that we’re getting episodes out and telling the story a little bit more fluidly, there have been a few bites and breaks. The Phoenix is going to host all the newer episodes, including the ones we’ve already got printed up.
Last month, Joe Wong made his television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman. A lot has happened for Wong since then. He's working on management and new opportunities, and he's been praised by Louis C.K. Friday, he'll be at the Comedy Studio for a special free early show at 6 p.m. to tape a full set.
Tonight, he'll be on Daniella Capolino's show on WMFO.org/91.5 FM talking about his recent run. The show starts at 5PM, and you can listen on the radio at 91.5 or online at wmfo.org.
In case you missed it, here's the Letterman set:
Also, last week, Derek Gerry and Brian Joyce interviewed Janeane Garofalo on Hear It Wow, which broadcasts every Wednesday from 7PM to 9PM. Garofalo played to a full venue Friday, and gave the most energetic performance I have seen from her. She covered everything from politics to pills to her dogs, ending with a great love story about winter flu (it would be tough to communicate how charming the story was, despite the inherent grossness of the effects of winter flu).
Gerry has posted the interview in pieces on the Hear It Wow blog, here. It's as thorough an interview with her as you will hear or read anywhere. Garofalo was enjoying herself, and stretched a bit over an hour before having to leave to catch a comedy show.
I call in to Gerry's show every Wednesday, as well, to talk about what's happening in the local comedy scene. So if you haven't tuned in yet, and you like the Garofalo interview, let that be your introduction. WMFO is very Boston comedy friendly (Billy Bob Neck also hosts a show Monday mornings there from 10-noon), Billy Bob Neck's Hour of Bein' Good, which I realize is actually two hours, but I digress).
If you missed Louis C.K.'sshow at the Orphem in March, you get a second chance to see him tonight at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester tonight. It's a great venue -- I saw Lily Tomlin there last year. And C.K.'s new material is as strong as anything he's done for his last couple of specials. And since C.K. already taped his third special last month, he may be starting over and working on even more new material. Either way, he is always worth seeing.
Also, it seems C.K. caught up-and-coming Boston comic Joe Wong's set on Letterman last month, and he was impressed. He wrote this in his blog, about the thrill of seeing an unknown comic kill on a national show, his thoughts on the perfect TV spot, and a shout out to the Comedy Studio.
I went to the Comedy Studio the night Wong's set aired to watch it on the second floor with a group of comics and Studio owner Rick Jenkins. I can honestly say that in ten years of covering the Boston scene, I'd never seen anything like it. Jenkins made the announcement that one of Boston's own was about to appear on Letterman, and the place went silent (except for a non-comic or two in the far corners) when Joe took the stage. Comics cheered every punchline, and if everybody hadn't been standing already, Wong would have gotten a standing ovation. It felt like a real victory for everyone in Boston comedy, and I'm glad to see C.K. talk about it. I'm glad it felt that way outside of Boston, too.
Besides updating Boston Comedy several times a week, I also write for the TVSquad.com blog. Sometimes, I have a subject with a bit of crossover, and as I was planning on writing a story about how Eddie Brill prepares comics to be on Letterman, Brill told me Joe Wong was going to be on the show. So I got to write my behind the scenes story and include a great Boston comic in the mix. Brill was impressed with Wong, and said the audience was, as well. The buzz about this has been building all week in the Boston comedy community, and while Wong will be watching tonight with his family at home, some of us will try to catch it on the TVs at the Comedy Studio (check the Kvetch Board for details).
Boston comedian Joe Wong has taped his spot for the Late Show with David Letterman, which will air Friday. Word from Letterman’s Eddie Brill, who worked with Wong on his set, is that it was a “grand slam.” A few others from around the scene managed to get down to New York for the taping, and Brill’s assessment seems to be the consensus. The Comedy Studio plans to show the appearance on the TVs on the second floor, but keep checking the Studio Kvetch Board for details.
Mottley’s Comedy Bailout
If you happen to see this as you’re making plans for tonight, Mottley’s Comedy Club is unveiling a new show tonight, called Mottley’s Comedy Bailout. Tickets will be $8, $5 for college kids, and free if you bring your layoff letter or an unemployment check stub. Jon Lincoln hosts tonight with Val Kappa, Mike Whitman, Joe Madaus, and Chris Coxen. This will be their regular Wednesday night show.
Bill Burr on NHL.com
If you’re both a comedy and a hockey fan, then NHL.com finally has something that combines your favorite interests. Bill Burr will be blogging about the Bruins throughout the playoffs, or at least throughout the Bruins’ participation in the playoffs. Here’s the first shot.
Billy Bob Neck Protests Taxes
A lot of people are protesting the bailouts with Tea Parties on Tax Day. Billy Bob Neck would like to participate. We think. This is his plea for you to join him.
For those who don’t do digital downloads, Jimmy Tingle for President: The Funniest Campaign in History is now out on good old hard copy CD. Tingle has been offering the album as a download for a couple of weeks. (You can hear a track, “Cafeteria Catholic,” here).
Tingle has been editing the project for a while now, putting together the best from his shows at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown last year, taking out specific references to the race for the presidency that would date the material. He’ll celebrate the release of the album with a show tomorrow at the Regent Theatre in Arlington (he’ll also play shows there in May and June).
Joe Wong on Letterman
Boston’s own Joe Wong is tentatively set to record a set for the Late Show with David Letterman Monday, which would air next week. Letterman comic booker Eddie Brill, recently in town for auditions for his Great American Comedy Festival, has been working with Wong on his set, and Wong gave a preview of it Sunday at the Comedy Studio.
Tommy’s Comedy Lounge to Open in May
John Tobin and Frank Ahearn completed paperwork this week to open a new club in the Charles Playhouse on May 2. The name “Tommy’s Comedy Lounge” comes from Thomas Wignell, the 18th century actor and humorist for which Tobin also named the Thomas Wignell Award, presented to comedians chosen for the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame, another of Tobin’s projects. The club will run Thursdays through Saturdays, and reach out to college comedy groups for Thursday night shows.
New Pilot from Robby Roadsteamer
Robby Roadsteamer posted his pilot for a new show on the Boston comedy scene, called “Quiet Desperation,” this week, with an assist from Shaun Bedgood, Mehran, and Tom Dustin. And a new character from Chris Coxen, Renaldo. He’s a singer. Kind of. And he’d like to free women from… well, just watch this.
New England natives Al Ducharme and Bernadette Pauley are back in Boston tonight and tomorrow playing Mottley’s Comedy Club. Bethany Van Delft hosts tonight, Stephen Donovan hosts tomorrow… Interesting pairing tonight and tomorrow at Dick’s Beantown Comedy Escape at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Worcester, with John David and Joe Wong on the bill (with Kris Norton)… Great line-up at the Comedy Studio this weekend. Tonight, Renata Tutko hosts Doug Chagnon, Chris Coxen, Nate Johnson, Erin Judge, Chrissy Kelleher, Shane Mauss, Andrew Mayer, Brian Moote, Chris Pennie, and Ronald Reagan 80s. Saturday, it’s Jessie Baade, Taylor Connelly, Paul Day, Erin Judge, Mehran, Brian Moote, Sean Sullivan, PJ Westin, and Jono Zalay… Dom Irrera is at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre tonight (take a look at my Q&A with him from earlier in the week), and ex-SNL Weekend Update anchor Norm MacDonald plays tomorrow. They also announced a couple of additions to the schedule this week – Jay Mohr is there May 2 and Demetri Martin, fresh from the success of his new Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin, comes to the Wilbur April 10… 5 Funny Females is back at Max Stein’s in Lexington tonight with host Susan Alexander, Ellen Moschetto, Erin Livingston, Jess Sutich, and Jessie Baade… If you happen to be down in North Providence, RI tomorrow, you can catch Amy Tee’s Comedy Chaos at the Sunset Bar and Grill, with special guest Dana Goldberg.
A few months ago, I put together a story for the Boston Globe about local comedian Joe Wong returning to his native China to perform stand-up comedy. I set it up and gave some context, and then Wong told the story of his trip in his own words.
So when I found a link in James Fallows’ blog for The Atlantic about a film called My Beijing Birthday, in which an American goes to China to study stand-up comedy in a class with children, I wondered how the two experiences might compare. The film is playing at the Harvard University Law School tonight and the Hult International Business School on Wednesday (click the Atlantic link for details).
I got in touch Howie Snyder, the writer and director of the documentary, and the American in question, through e-mail, to ask a few questions about the film. The New Yorker went to China in 1996 and studied for about a year and a half in a class with 8-year-olds, then revisited them years later to see what they’d become. The film follows his interaction with the kids, in the initial class and his 2008 return visit.
What made you decide to pursue stand-up comedy in Beijing?
Well, I first went to Beijing as a foreign exchange student in 1981. When I would stop in the street, crowds of Chinese people would surround me just to stare and listen to me speak Chinese. I thought then that it would be easy to sell tickets, and so the seed for being a performer was planted.
What was your previous experience with stand-up?
No other stand-up experience here in America, although I was always a funny guy.
I know there is a tradition of stand-up in China, and it's starting to grow more towards western ideas of it -- from the two-person, straight man/funny man teams to individuals with an individual point of view. What were your expectations of the art form in China, and what did you find that surprised you when you were there?
Well, I am sorry to say that the art form is not really going towards the Western idea, as it is pretty controlled by the government. Making political and sexual jokes are basically not allowed, so the art form has been losing steam over the past few years. Any comedy must poke fun at strange phenomena in society, as so limiting political and sexual jokes really takes away from the art form's true potential.
Please see this link for some of the recent history on stand-up in China.
Did you find their thoughts about wanting to be in show business were different than those same kinds of dreams that kids have in America?
I think that those Chinese kids in 1996 were a lot more innocent and naive than US kids. They just liked the art form. There wasn't a real sense that they wanted to become celebrities and live a Hollywood life like people in the US want to.
What did you expect to find when you went back after twelve years?
I expected that the kids would all be in college or continuing with their studies, and that they would be "good" young adults. By "good" I mean not in to drugs or alcohol like many kids in the US. I expected that one or two of them would still be engaged in some sort of performing arts, but that most of them would have moved on to something else. This is exactly what happened.
Did you stay in China after the film?
I still live in China. I have been working for Coca-Cola on their Olympic sponsorship, and will probably work for them again in the Spring.
