Month: January 2016

Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week: Day 3

Day Three: Cam Newton

(jk it’s Carmen Lynch)

Carmen Lynch is very funny comedian who’s big in New York. When she isn’t doing the best shows in the city, she’s traveling around the country headlining clubs.

She’s also a writer on Inside Amy Schumer and has appeared on late night several times. I picked this video because I loved Ferguson’s show. Any comedian he has on is usually a little weird or different from what you’re used to seeing – and you know it’s going to be an interesting set. This is a fun one!

Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week: Day 2

Day Two: Joe List

To New York City comedians, Joe List is a name you gotta know. He’s been around the best clubs in the city for a little while now and he’s starting to make his way onto TV. He was on last season of Last Comic Standing and made it pretty darn far. He’s also performed on late night several times over the past couple of years.

This article paints List as “the comedy underdog,” a guy who’s been around the New York comedy scene for forever, but has never quite gotten his big break. If you like him, check out the podcast he co-hosts with Mark Normand (also hilarious), Tuesdays With Stories.

Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week: Day One

I’m trying a thing to see if people like this sort of idea, and the thing is called “Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week.”

I tried to make the title as straightforward as possible so that I don’t have to waste this paragraph explaining what I’m gonna do. You get it!

Some notes, though:

  • If you know about comedy, you might have heard some of these names before. If you don’t then you probably haven’t.
  • I chose comics that weren’t too unknown (all have been on tv) because it’s better that way.
  • I’m mostly sticking to NYC comedians. Why? I’ve seen more of them. It makes it more personal! (fake enthusiasm)

Day One: Michelle Wolf

I remember hearing about Michelle Wolf about a year ago and didn’t really know much about her. Well, she’s all over New York City and if you don’t know who she is then you’re crazy! (sorry) A few months ago, I saw her at Hot Soup, one of the best free stand up shows in the city. And she absolutely killed. She’s a lot of fun and her voice is pretty wacky.

She got her break performing at the Just For Laughs festival a few years back and she’s worked as a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Why Are You All Trying To Be Ghosts?

Not everybody thinks I’m funny.

When people boo me on stage, I’m just like, “Why are you all trying to be ghosts? Why are all these ghosts at my comedy show? This must be my demographic.”

They’re all like, “Booooo…Boooooo!” Shut up, ghosts. You’re dead. Because I killed you with my comedy. Because I’m so funny. I’m killing it up here.

5 Great Podcasts About Stand Up Comedy

I haven’t had the chance to check out all of the podcasts on this list yet, but ComedianU put together a list of the best podcasts about comedy. And they seem pretty comedy nerd-y which is awesome. I’m still trying to explore and look for new podcasts and stuff about comedy always interests me. I think they’re also tailored more for the comedian, but hey, they might be interesting to fans nonetheless.

Comedy Actor Roundtable With Ricky Gervais, Will Forte, Fred Armison, And More!

Any time you see a set that looks like like an A Midsummer Night’s Dream patio party, you know what you’re seeing has to be good.

A comedy friend shared this fantastic YouTube video with me that’s from The Hollywood Reporter: a roundtable discussion with a bunch of comedy actors who are on shows that are really big right now. Ricky Gervais (Derek), Don Cheadle (House of Lies), Will Forte (Last Man on Earth), Fred Armisen (Portlandia), Jordan Peele (Key & Peele), and Thomas Middleditch (I’m not gonna tell you which show he’s on…jk it’s Silicon Valley). They talk about what it’s like to be improving on set, how working with the writers and directors works, and just generally a lot of stuff you wouldn’t normally hear about their television shows.

Any “roundtable discussion” seems very overly structured to me. Like, just call it a discussion or something, right? But, the conversation here flows really naturally and you get the sense these actors are having a good time. Any time you get people in the industry together just talking I feel like better stuff comes out then when it’s just an interview with the media or something like that. I enjoyed watching it a lot. And, having seen most of their shows, I can vouch for them as funny people.

I also like how they threw in a woman to lead the discussion when they realized “Wait, these are all men actors. And they’re funny. We need a not funny woman to keep them on track.” Yay diversity!

P.S. I can’t help but feel like they coordinated the colors of the suits.

Cameron Esposito: Lesbian Comic, Also Just Pretty Darn Funny

Cameron Esposito is visiting my alma mater this week for a performance, which is great! And as colleges tend to go, the people who invited her probably don’t really know who she is. She’s a lesbian comic, and that seems to be their main selling point on students going to see her. College students tending to be liberal and thinking, “oh that’s great! I support lesbians! I’m gonna go see that!” and going to see the show for that reason instead of just, like, just wanting to see good comedy.

I have no problem with that strategy, because Esposito also happens to be a really great comic. But, I wanted to point out that she’s not simply a lesbian with a voice, but also just damn funny. She’s really funny and she just happens to talk about how she is a lesbian sometimes.

Some people even call her the next big star of stand up. Who’s to say? She’s from Chicago originally (like me) so I’d be pretty down with that happening. Some great comics lately coming from there: Hannibal Buress, Kyle Kinane. Represent!

Typing “my alma mater” feels weird. I feel like I wouldn’t like someone who talks about “their alma mater” for some reason. Like, “Ooh, so fancy! You know Latin!” But I’m pretty sure that’s the only word for that.

Seth Meyers’ ‘Making a Murderer’ Parody

So apparently all the rage right now is making jokes about Making a Murderer – that Netflix documentary series that everybody’s been watching. It seems like every other joke at open mics is about it (exaggeration).

Yes, I watched the whole thing pretty much straight and yes it is an addicting show. And yes you should watch it. If you have seen it, you’ll find this video pretty funny, which Meyers used as his cold open for his first night back to Late Night.