Live Comedy L.A.

Line-Up:
Matty Ballgame
Patrick Ney
Lana Turner
Bernadette Balagtas
Nick Thune
Jeff Short
Michael Batts
Chris Porter
Josh Wolf

Biggest line-up in Ballgame Laugh Lounge history tonight…but it wasn’t awful. You know why…because all of the comedians were good…they stuck to their time…no one went up too long…and that kept you wanting more. The other thing was important…at no point was Matty saying stuff like, “OK folks…only few more comedian…hang in there.” I hate that shit. If you have to say that…the comedians aren’t good…and you are putting on a bad show…and not helping the cause…which is getting people out to see live comedy. Get with the program folks…this should always be fun…not torture.

Just a highlight review this time (sorry to the comedians in this line-up…I’ll get you back in more detail on another blog) because I’m writing this two weeks after the fact…my bad…I’ll catch up today.

Matty Ballgame is still slinging new jokes every time and the confidence is still rising…I love it. Pat Ney was very good…looking forward to seeing him again. I still can’t get into Lana Turner’s style…it’s not that she has bad jokes…I’m just not into the style…to each his own. I LOVE Bernadette Balagtas…she is just very friendly…clean…funny as hell. Thune did his IM Bit…Salmonerd/Insynchottie…very well done bit…I’ve seen it 3 times now…and he has it dialed…looking for new material from Thune. Jeff Short was the surprise of the night…he crushed it…tons of talent…great jokes…a big time up and comer with Kinno. Michael Batts had a solid set…Porter was stellar…and Josh Wolf was solid. More later on everyone.

Line-Up:
Quinn Dahle
Louis Katz
Daniel Tosh
Matt Ralston
Daniel Kinno
Matt Fulchiron
TBD Comedian
Doug Benson

This was the “Best and Brightest” show at the Improv. I’ll be honest…this line-up was too big…and there were too many comedians looking at notes for this show. I guess I don’t expect that at the Improv…which is my favorite of the three big clubs in the city. This was like a mish mash line-up…new comedians who didn’t seem ready to be there…and a GREAT comedian who they put up too early. Not sure what was going on with this one to be honest.

Quinn Dahle -
Quinn is not a host. Didn’t have the material to warm up the crowd…and the only credit he used for every comedian was that they were from Comedy Central. Hey…I loved seeing him…but I don’t think it’s fair to put him in the host role. The clubs need to give this role more importance. Just my opinion.

Louis Katz -
First time seeing Louis…he had some good stuff…but nothing stuck with me this time…which isn’t necessarily bad. However, he used his notes a ton. I just think if you are at the Improv…you shouldn’t use notes. At what point do comedians not use notes. It’s actually becoming a problem…if they are using them at small work out rooms…small paid rooms…bigger paid rooms…weekday shows at the big clubs…then when aren’t they using them. Just an observation.

Daniel Tosh -
You can see my many takes on Tosh in previous blogs…he’s one of the best…I love him. His “Chilly Doggin” reference was awesome. The guy kills it. Don’t know why they put him up so early.

Matt Ralson -
Don’t know why his set isn’t sticking with me…probably because I’m writing this 3 weeks too late.

Daniel Kinno -
I’m making a prediction…Kinno will be one of the young, hot comics in the very near future…much like Bret Ernst was back in 2004. He has good presence and great material. I’ve seen him twice now…and he kills. Needs to drop the notes at the Improv though.

Matt “The Fullcharge” Fulchiron -
The only other time I saw The Fullcharge was doing a tight 3 at Red Rock. He busted out a sweet 12 and I dug it. He’s got the goods. He tells jokes so fast it’s almost too hard to remember them. But he’s damn good.

Doug Benson -
Love Benson. Seen him a million times…and he still kills. He did McGriddles…which is the best joke…I can never hear it too many times. Hope he wins Last Comic Standing.

Line-Up:
Paul Ogata
KT Tatara
Shane Wang
Kevin Schea
Edwin San Juan
Jo Koy

Slanted Comedy made it’s way to the Hollywood Improv…and I was able to catch it for the first time. I haven’t seen Jo Koy in almost a year so it was good to see him. Big crowd…I’m not gonna lie to you…the Asian themed shows always draw a big crowd at the comedy clubs…whether it’s PK’s show at the Laugh Factory or Edwin’s show…they draw a crowd. On to the comedians:

Paul Ogata -
This was my first time seeing Paul and he was a fantastic host. He had great jokes to warm up the crowd…knew all the comedians in the line-up personally…didn’t mess up their intros…and you never got the sense that he was trying to step on their time. He set-up each comedian so you were excited to see them. Plus Paul had his own great material. His iBoner joke is stellar. Definitely will see him again.

KT Tatara -
KT comes with an agressive style of comedy. And he’s dirty…which I like. I like this line, “I was with this girl in her bedroom…and I came across her bible. Which made me feel awkward because I meant to come on her face.” HA! Good stuff from KT. Plus I like how promoted his site and iPod promotion at the end of his set. If the host and the venue aren’t going to do…which should be priority number one in this business…then the comedians have to.

Shane Wang -
I don’t think Shang was supposed to be in the line-up but he stopped down from SF…which was cool. Smooth, deep voice style…his best joke of the night was about a girl he was dating…and his roommate thought he could do “better”. Shane said, “Yeah, I could do “Better”…but “Better” wasn’t trying to do me. “Better” was trying to fuck “Best”. So I’ll just stick with “OK”. Awesome!

Kevin Schea -
Kevin Schea is always stellar…I’ve seen him probably 4 times. I need to check out his DVD “Kim’s of Comedy”. He definitely didn’t disappoint tonight though. He has a very non-chalant style…like he’s half drunk…in fact he may be…but it totally works on stage. I’m always happy to see him in a line-up.

Edwin San Juan -
First time seeing Edwin…he rocked. His Asian stereo-type jokes were actually good. Especially the Filippino accent’s. He puts on a great show.

Jo Koy -
I love Jo…great guy…and just out of this world funny. His fighting joke is top 5 jokes of all time as far as I’m concerned. And he added a shitting joke that actually had me nervous that I wasn’t going to breathe again. Plus his Filippino Mother jokes are amazing. I’m happy that he just landed a show Comedy Central…I’m looking forward to it.