Live Comedy L.A.

Let’s pretend for a minute you have a date. And let’s say you’re still getting to know this person…meaning…no weekend dates yet (don’t make that mistake).  You don’t want to spend a lot of money yet because you aren’t too sure where things are going. You know what I’m talking about. So what are your options…drinks…coffee…nope…dumb. Go with comedy. Trust me on this one. I submit to you the ultimate cheap date…the best stand-up comedy show in the city…Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge. No cover…no drink minimum…and just a great time. Guaranteed action folks.

Last night’s show was stellar. Tight sets from everyone. The place was packed! Let’s check the line-up and see what happened:

Ritchie Angeles: ProfileShot
Chris Edwards: ProfileShot
Adam Gropman: ProfileShot
Scott Nelson: ProfileShot
Matt Dwyer: ProfileShot
Mike O’Connell: ProfileShot
Chris Franjola: ProfileShot

Ritchie Angeles was an incredible host. He was exactly what you look for in a host of a stand-up comedy show. Funny, professional, and dialed into the intros. He set aside his ego (not that he has one - but we all do in one way or another) for the good of the show. His introductions were stellar…made everyone in the audience look forward to the comedians when they came up. I hope every comedian thanked him at the end of the show. And if you are a comedian who has a good host at your show…make sure to thank him or her.

Chris Edwards was great also. It was his first time at Red Rock and it was my first time seeing him. He led off with a joke about a woman calling him a Todd Bridges and Carlton Banks look-a-like. Hilarious! Because it was true.

Adam Gropman was off the charts last night. Adam’s last performance at Red Rock was tough…but I knew he could bring it back around…and he nailed it last night. The jokes about dating an older woman had me screaming. So good. Awesome to watch the process and how slight changes in the routine can make such a big difference.

Scott Nelson crushed it too. He has a joke about pens that was the joke of the night. I hate to compare but to help you out a bit…he has a little Seinfeld flare to him. Good show.

Matt Dwyer is a sick bastard…and I love it…and think everyone else does too. After gulping down his wine…he just rattles off some sick stuff that had the crowd rolling. His existential outlook is funny.

Mike O’Connell was out of place. He’s a very talented guy…but his guitar…one man show routine was not stand-up. I don’t want to judge…because performance is performance…but I’m a purest when it comes to stand-up. I also think he went on too long…but that’s not my call. I have to admit though…the Asian Baby song was funny.  Great actor…great performer…

Chris Franjola is off the charts funny. He brought some new material…which I always appreciate. I actually think Franjola is the funniest when he just does off the cuff material…crowd work. His older stuff was great too. His joke about watching his buddy’s video tapes will never get old.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again…Franjola is one of the top comedians in our city. I don’t know what I have to do…but everyone needs to go see him. I will call him out on one thing though…he talked a little trash about the “line-up card”. I don’t think Chris knows I invented the “line-up” card so people know who to search when they get home from the show. Instead of typing in Chris Granola…or Chris Frijoles…in the Google search box…they’ll search for Franjola (not too often you can use a comedians joke against him - if you were there…you’ll get it!). It’s all about organic search engine optimization folks.

Folks…Los Angeles stand-up comedy rocks!

Line-up:
Matty Ballgame
J. Chris Newberg
Iliza Shlesinger
Bret Ernst
Sam Tripoli
Adam Gropman
Andrew Norelli
Bone Hampton

Nice to see the line-up card making a second appearance at the Laugh Lounge…and in color. I’m diggin’ it. And I saw people taking it with them…I think it’s going to catch on. Also, cool to see a special slot on the line-up card dedicated to me for my birthday…no I didn’t do the card this week…thanks Matty! Loved the new seating set-up…I probably should have thought of this…but I’m glad someone did (I can’t think of jokes, line-up cards, how to deal with a guest appearance by Bret Ernst…and new seating arrangements - however - I think we should take Franjola’s advice from the last show and put a table up there for the comedians). They took one of the “couches” from the “Judges” section and put it out front. Good call. Sweet crowd…late arriving L.A. crowd as usual…but whattaya gonna do…ask the Dodgers. People don’t come till the third inning for their games…people don’t come till the third comedian for this show. On to the comedians…

Matty Ballgame - myspace.com/balaker
Ballgame kept it to a tight two minute set last night because of a stop in by Bret Ernst (more on him later). Gotta love Matty for sacrificing himself for the good of the show. No joke…he knows what’s good for the show…he knows Ernst is one of the best…and one of my favorites ; )…so he cut his own time. He did some standard jokes…kept it tight…and nailed his Lindsey Lohan joke. Can’t ask for much more than that. Ballgame knows how to wear the promoter hat when he needs to and that’s clutch. It is exactly why this is the best room in the city.

J. Chris Newberg - jchrisnewberg.com
At some point, I’ll give you my thoughts on what I believe a host of a comedy show should be. I believe it’s a special position that plays a pivotal role in the evening’s events. I won’t get into it now…but stay tuned for it. What I do know is that J. Chris Newberg is not a host. His material is good…I liked the short musical bits…but he’s not a host. And the notebook on the floor by the mic needs to go. Fitzsimmons, Silverman…even Gillearn can pull off the notes like that…but they are very special cases. This isn’t that type of room. I’m not trying to knock the guy…but truth be told…ditch the notebook and bring it back around for a smoother set.

Iliza Shlesinger - ilizashlesinger.com
Two takes on Iliza (who I’ve now seen 4 times) - even with a shortened set…she did new material. I like the house party jokes. And there is nobody in comedy better at handling non-laughter than Iliza. That may sound bad…but it’s not. Sometimes…you tell a joke…and it doesn’t work. Sometimes…you tell a great joke…and the crowd isn’t into it yet. Sometimes…shit just happens. Iliza handles those situations better than anyone I’ve seen because she has this sarcastic, “I don’t give a shit” attitude that works so well on stage…and actually helps loosen the crowd…and can create funny moments. She just powers through…it’s really incredible if you are paying close attention. Telling a joke and not getting a ton of laughs is tough…she says “Fuck it…you didn’t like that one…I got another one right here.” I like her a lot.

Bret Ernst - breternstlive.com
Bret has reached a point in his career where he doesn’t even have to think when he’s on stage. You can just tell…it just flows out of him. He’s hilarious. His jokes about his “guido” friends back on the East Coast are priceless…especially the jokes about bottle service. Christ…those had me rolling. And the “old man jokes”…just awesome. I love Ernst…loved him since ‘04…and it’s great to see him just pop into places like Red Rock to help out Matty Ballgame. That’s a good guy. Because he’s top notch folks. If you ever get a chance to see the roller skating joke…it kills.

Sam Tripoli - myspace.com/crimefighter
I love the “Crime Fighter”. He’s really starting to be very consistent every time he goes up. Tripoli did a short set…but make no mistake about it…this guy has the ability to go on for a long time. Still love the “300″ joke…just makes you want to go to Westwood and beat the shit out of Persians, he says. Hilarious!

Adam Gropman - myspace.com/gropman
First time seeing Gropman. He had a lot of material…but I just don’t think the tech jokes were playing with the crowd. His Sandler impression was good. And he definitely got thrown by some silent moments…tough set this time. No worries though. He’ll bring it back around.

Andrew Norelli - andrewnorelli.com
Norelli had such a great set…last time he performed…I performed…so I wasn’t fully concentrating on his stuff…but I did this time. His joke about wishing the Indians would just move here so we could just pick up the Mexicans and Indians outside of Home Depot in one trip might have been the joke of the night. Also, the chin to shoulder ratio being the determining factor of how gay you look in pictures is unreal. Plus his AIDS jokes were stellar. Norelli is great. So glad I could see him again and pay attention this time.

Bone Hampton - bonehampton.com
I just love this guy. Not just because he knows I write this blog and talked about during his set…but because he’s a riot and a hell of a good guy. There are very few comedians that I quote on a consistent basis…Tosh, Sickler, Gaffigan…and Bone. “FO’ FIFTY….BYE!!!” My girlfriend and I say that at least once a week. Now Bone grabbed me after the show and said he thought I would write something about him needing to do new material. The fact is…I could listen to his material all the time…just like a good song. But I want to hear new material because he’s that good. Just like I want to hear new material from Sickler and Gillearn. Because when they write new stuff…it’s awesome. Lookin’ forward to new material from Bone!

Next Show: August 7th