Comedy Bang! Bang! tour

This week in press releases brings us Scott Aukerman's latest inspiration, Comedy Bang! Bang!, coming soon to a venue near you (if you're in one of the cities below). Canadian fans of this hugely popular podcast (and now TV series) will note the last date on the tour: Aug. 10. Scott and his gang of merry mirth-makers will be performing at the Biltmore Cabaret right here in sunny Vancouver, thanks to the efforts of Will Davis and the local comedy festival. The poster doesn't reflect it, but it says so right here on the press release so it must be true.

Comedy Bang! Bang! LIVE! will feature a mix of live stand-up, character cameos, and improvisational games along with sneak peek clips from the series. Parts of each performance will be taped for Scott’s popular Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast. Scott will be joined by a rotating cast of Comedy Bang! Bang! regulars including comedians James Adomian, Tim Heidecker, and Paul F. Tompkins as well as special guests along the way. Comedy Bang! Bang! LIVE! begins in San Diego, CA at Comic Con on July 15, 2012 and picks back up in Minneapolis, MN on July 29, 2012; For more ticket information, visit:
www.ifc.com/shows/comedy-bang-bang/tour.

Comedy Bang! Bang! LIVE! Dates and Venues:
Sunday, July 15                   The Casbah                    San Diego, CA
Sunday, July 29                   Cedar Cultural Center  Minneapolis, MN
Monday, July 30                  Logan Square Auditorium      Chicago, IL
Wednesday, August 1           Neptune Theater              Seattle, WA°
Thursday, August 2              Aladdin Theatre                 Portland, OR°
Friday, August 3                   Herbst Theatre         San Francisco, CA°
Saturday, August 4       First Unitarian Church    Los Angeles, CA°      
Monday, August 6                 Royale                                  Boston, MA°
Tuesday, August 7 -Two Shows  Highline Ballroom     New York, NY°
Wednesday, August 8             Howard Theatre        Washington, D.C.°
Thursday, August 9                 Trocadero Theatre    Philadelphia, PA°
Friday, August 10                      Biltmore Cabaret       Vancouver, B.C.
°Kurt Braunohler will be the opening act on these dates.

Comedy Bang! Bang! LIVE! is in support of Comedy Bang! Bang! which airs Friday nights at 10pm ET/PT on IFC. Cleverly riffing on the well-known format of the late night talk show and based on Scott Aukerman’s popular podcast of the same name, Comedy Bang! Bang! infuses celebrity appearances and comedy sketches with a tinge of the surreal, as if Fernwood Tonight had Hollywood’s A-list of the day and mixed in the dream sequences and talking inanimate objects of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. In each episode, Aukerman engages his guests with unfiltered and improvisational lines of questioning, punctuated by banter and beats provided by musical cohort Reggie Watts (Conan), to reinvent the traditional celebrity interview. Packed with character cameos, filmic shorts, sketches, games, abrupt dream sequence detours and talking set pieces, Comedy Bang! Bang! delivers thirty minutes of absurd laugh-loaded fun featuring some of the biggest names in comedy.

For continued updates on both shows and the tour check out:

Twitter: @ifctv/@scottaukerman/#cbbtv
Facebook: facebook.com/ifccomedybangbang
Online: www.ifc.com/shows/comedy-bang-bang/tour

World's Biggest Asshole

Now who would that be? I couldn't begin to name one. But Scott Aukerman happily gave us his vote when he visited the What's So Funny? studios back in September of 2009. Run the clip, Kevin:

If you missed it the first time, you can listen to the whole episode here or download it at iTunes.

Dec. 20: Marc Maron

When this show started, way back in 2004, there weren't any comedy podcasts. Or at least I didn't know about them. And what I don't know doesn't exist in my world. These days, cyberspace is littered with them. What's So Funny? isn't technically a comedy show. It's a show about comedy, is how I describe it.

Since I discovered podcasts, I've listened to my share of them. Some I like, some I don't. And of those I like, I find I often tire of them in relatively short order. The schtick gets old with everyone trying to one-up each other. Sometimes I sit there and wonder why I'm listening, and then they'll stumble onto something interesting/fascinating/hilarious.

With so many comedy podcasts, how do you even choose what to pick? I start by looking at the hosts and whether I'm a fan of theirs to begin with. That's a good start. Next I look at the guests, and whether I'm a fan of the guests. Then I commit. You've got to listen to the whole episode and give it your full attention. Doing something mind-numbing like a menial chore works.

Some of my favourites are Never Not Funny (with Jimmy Pardo), Comedy and Everything Else (with Jimmy Dore and Todd Glass, although I think he quit recently), Comedy Death-Ray (with Scott Aukerman), and Stop Podcasting Yourself (with Graham Clark and Dave Shumka).

I keep going back, on and off, to all of these, depending on who's on. But one keeps me coming back every single episode: WTF with Marc Maron. Despite what you probably think, WTF doesn't stand for Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Maron is a bit of an acquired taste and he's clearly not for everyone. But for my money, this is the best show on the internet. Why? Maybe because Maron doesn't try so hard. He's a confident conversationalist, albeit a self-centred one. He's funny when he needs to be but doesn't feel the need to always go for the laugh. He's intelligent. He's forceful. He's full of neuroses and anxieties. He's got a great voice. He's raw and honest and intense. He's curious, both intellectually and psychologically. And the show gets better each time out.

It also doesn't matter who his guest is. It's usually a comic (some of my favourite episodes have been with Zach Galifianakis, Doug Stanhope, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Brill, Jen Kirkman, and Andy Kindler) but not always. It's just as fascinating to hear him talk to a former junior high school friend who is now an astronomer, a music journalist or a musician. Each show starts off with a solo rant or rumination by Maron and usually ends with either a prepared bit. Not coincidentally, his show is one of the most popular requests on iTunes.

Maron was in town a couple weeks ago to tape an episode of The Debaters on CBC radio. I couldn't have him in the same town without trying to get him back on our little show. So I asked. No problem. He even let me use his fancy equipment instead of my rinky-dink iPod. So we sat up in his hotel room and rolled tape, the results of which will air tonight at 11 pm PST on 102.7 FM in Vancouver or via livestream here. And we'll let you know here when the episode gets posted to iTunes. Probably sometime next week.

If you heard WTF's episode 29 with Andy Kindler, you'll hear Maron talk about food waste. When you hear him on our show talking about the same thing, though, know that he said it there first. We just aired ours later. But if you stick around, we do get a scoop. Maron starts talking about his old pal Sam Kinison and tells us something he's never said in public before. I won't spoil it for you.

So tune in. And when you're done that, if you haven't already, go download some WTF episodes.

NOTE: The video bar there on the right should be clips of Maron's comedy. If you see rapsters doing their raps, try hitting the refresh button.

Two new podcasts... and they really are new(ish)

We're really getting caught up to speed here with the podcasts. No, last week's isn't up yet, but the two before it are. They're good ones, too, with big-time(y) American guests. Check 'em out, either right here or go to iTunes. Either way is fine with me.










Tom Segura & Jon Reep, from Sept. 20, 2009:

Scott Aukerman, from Sept. 27, 2009:

Comedy Death-Ray at the Vogue

The L.A.-based Comedy Death-Ray show has been a staple of the Vancouver festival, making the trek north four years in a row. Scott Aukerman and BJ Porter bring together the best of the indie crowd for a marathon comedy showcase. Last night was no exception as they entertained most of the audience for a full three hours. I say "most" because some people are just jerks, yelling out, interrupting, yawning audibly at the first sign of something they don't like. Attention future comedy audience members: You're never going to like everything at a comedy show. Just sit tight and something or somebody you do like will be on soon. Don't spoil it for everyone else. Porter said at the end of the show that this would be their last trip to Vancouver. I'm hoping he's kidding, but Donny Osmond was right when he said one bad apple can spoil the whole lot, girl.

Apart from that, the show was almost perfect. I'm a sucker for the comedy team and have been asking for more for years. Aukerman & Porter, aka The Fun Bunch, really are fun guys and good hosts. They're loose, not as scripted as traditional comedy teams and that's to be expected for such an event. One of their skits saw Aukerman as a magician and Porter as his helper. Porter grabbed an unsuspecting guy from the second row (Rory Scovel, who played his part with understated perfection to the point where everyone around me figured he really was a guy named Scott who worked in a bookstore). The bit went on and on and I loved it. I think most of the crowd did, too, but some got impatient as the magician and his helper got fed up with each other.

I think such a bit helps weed out those who don't get it. The performer should relish the fact that not everyone gets it, so long as most of us do. But I can also see how the few impatient jerks might act like a gut-punch to your ego. So here's what you do, impatient jerks: If you don't like something, quickly and quietly get up and leave. Get a drink. Go to the bathroom. Just leave. Come back when whatever you don't like is over. You're not speaking for the rest of us.

That's exactly what I did when Brent Weinbach came on in the second half. I saw Brent a few years ago and liked him. Then when he came back last year, I couldn't stand his act. You've always got to give someone a fair chance, so I sat and watched his comedic performance art this time. I didn't like his almost verbatum recitation of a YouTube clip of a hispanic guy telling women to shave their hoo-haws, but at least it was new. Then he started in with some of the same bits he did last year. Unlike some comics who, when doing old bits, always tell it in a refreshing manner, Weinbach has got his act down pat. Nothing changes. So when he got into his excruciating Russian alphabet bit, I got up and left. I knew it was a long bit, so I went and got a slice of pizza... Okay, two slices. By the time I got back, Todd Barry – one of my all-time favourites – was on stage. Damn you Weinbach for making miss the first four minutes of Todd Barry! The point is, I didn't shout out or heckle or yawn. I didn't like the act, so I removed myself.

I was thinking about my harsh thoughts about Weinbach and felt bad should he ever come across them. Maybe they'd sting, like a heckler's taunts. I hope not. I have nothing against Weinbach at all and would love to talk to him. Nobody's act is for everybody. As long as some people like you, that's all that matters. I'm just one guy with an opinion, like anyone else. Yeah, occasionally I write about them in the paper, but I try to be fair and try to convey that it's just my opinion.

Not to harp on the negative, but Maria Bamford, as much as I like her personally, is kind of hit and miss with me, too. For me, she's the kind of act that if you've seen her once, you've seen her enough. Because once is fantastic. She does great voices, great characterizations, is naturally funny and weird in a wonderful way. But for me it doesn't translate to repeated viewings. For others, they think she's the best thing since... something else that's really great.

Okay, enough with the digs. Everyone else was great. Phil Hanley represented the 604 (and 778, I guess) well... Andy Kindler was on fire with his unique brand of meta-comedy ("Is there a chance I won't comment on what I just said?" The answer, of course, is no). Loved his chops on Jay Leno, too, a favourite target of his: "I was worried. Would he be as edgy at 10 o'clock? Would they let Jay be Jay?"... Reggie Watts closed the first half with flair, as usual. The guy really is amazing. (See my profile on him here.)... Todd Barry was killing when one yahoo gave him a big yawn. Todd asked, "Are you bored?" Maybe he shouldn't have asked because the boor replied in the affirmative and things went south in a hurry... And another all-time favourite Paul F. Tompkins closed out the evening with two stories both about being fired from video stores. That guy could, as they say, read the phone book and it would be funny. There's not a funnier comic working today.

All in all a great show. I headed down to the Media Club and caught the quirky and cute Garfunkel & Oates sing some really funny original songs accompanying themselves on ukulele, guitar and kazoos. They even did a rap. Then Reggie Watts brought the house down with some explosive and explosively funny... uh, whatever it is he does. I mentioned to someone on my way down that I envy those that will see him for the first time without knowing anything about him, because he will blow their minds. Sure enough, after the show I overheard many who were simply in awe. If you haven't seen him yet, there are still a few more chances.

Tonight I don't know what I'll see. I hate the schedule. Shows are layered over one another so you have to pick and choose. It gets really crazy tomorrow with two galas (Edge of the Fest at the Vogue and Best of the Fest at the Centre) both at 8 pm.