I took a bit of a blogging break, but I thought we’d jump start things again with a good old fashion review of this week’s Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge.

If you have not been by the show in a while, Red Rock continues to make the upstairs lounge classier and classier. And by classy…I mean adding a purple valuer curtain to the stage area. Pimpin’. The place looks great though and it has come a long way in the past 4 years.

Fresh off her new writing gig at Chelsea Lately, Christina Pazsitzky killed it again with a bunch of new stuff. She’s so smooth. But since I’m the president of her fan club…I’m biased. Karl Hess and Ben Gleib were excellent as well. Hess has the most distinguished voice in comedy. Not voice in the ethereal but his actually voice. He’s so precise with his words. And Gleib was doing some GREAT material on religion.

Finally we were treated to the musical comedy stylings of Kirk Zipfel. Now…musical comedy can be really annoying…but Zipfel is different. First, he’s clearly a great guitar player. Second, when you are singing about butterfaces and making fun of the riff Jack Johnson can play, you’re cool with me. Kirk is one of the most underrated comedians in the city. I dropped in a video below. Check it!

The Hangover’s Brody Stevens (err…Steven Brody Stevens…he played the cop) hit the Laugh Lounge last night along with the great Tom Segura, a killer set from Tom Clark, and a newcomer who I really enjoyed, Jon Tomashefsky.

Brody is by far the most unique comedian in the city. He doesn’t do jokes so much. He just talks. But it’s the way he talks. His cadence. His mannerisms. They’re hilarious. And he just says off the wall shit. Last night he said, “My family is from New Mexico. Pioneering Jews of the Southwest!”. In classic Brody style, he did his set from the middle of the room. Also, if you love Los Angeles like I do…no other comedian incorporates the city in his routine more than Brody. It’s cool. You have to see it to appreciate it. And it may take you a few times to appreciate him…but eventually you will.

Segura is always great. I’m happy he’s been on the road with Rogan lately. Clearly big things are going to happen for him. I hate to say I told you so…but…get ready.

I got to see Tom Clark and Jon Tomashefsky for the first time. Clark was awesome. He has a quick, off the wall style. And Tomashefsky seems very comfortable on-stage. Very conversational. It puts the audience at ease.

Good times at Ballgame’s again. Matty actually called me an Editor-in-Chief. Makes me laugh. But I dig it.

UPDATE:
When I wrote this post last night I was remiss in mentioning Keith Ernst. He continues to be a very consistent comedian. There is a natural tendency to compare him to Bret, which may or may not suck for Keith…I don’t know. But really, he’s good. Anyway, that’s all I got this morning.

A few quick notes from Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge last night:

1. Matty Balaker’s writing continues to get better and better. He’s always topical and probably writes as much or more than any comedian out there. He only did 5 – 7 minutes last night but it was solid. Matty will be performing 15 minutes at my birthday show on the 18th at Red Rock, so I’m excited to see him do a longer set for the first time in a while. I know he has the goods.

2. Discovered 2 new comedians last night – Mark Daviau and Danny Bevins. I had not seen either. Mark was a funny dude. His joke about wearing a wig of an Italian artisan was very funny. I’ll get out to see him more. Danny Bevins had a tough set…not because his jokes were bad…but because the crowd seemed to deflate after Ari Shaffir got off stage. It’s a weird dynamic that happens at shows sometimes. Can’t really explain it. It must suck for a comedian. After the show, everyone said they really thought Bevins was a good comedian…but something happened to the crowd. Trying to make people laugh is rough sometimes.

3. Jacob Sirof really stood out to me. He has a lot of good jokes and solid presence on stage. You can tell the guy is a seasoned comedian. If you have a chance, get out and see this guy.

One last reminder…when you are at a live comedy show…and you are in the audience…keep your yapper shut. There was this douchebag in the front row that felt it was necessary to “assist” the comedians with their jokes. If you feel that urge…leave. You may be kinda funny at parties…but you are not a pro. You’re a dick. You might as well have a sign on that says, “I’m a douche.”

Good times as usual though.

My podcasting career is up to a whopping 7 interviews now. I have really enjoyed each one of them and appreciate the time the comedians have given me. On Tuesday, 5 of the 7 people who I have interviewed were at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge…either performing or playing DJ (Matty Ballgame…yeah…he’s a hedge fund manager, a comedian, and a DJ). And I think the lesson for the night was pretty clear…I have talked with some damn funny people.

Ritchie Angeles was a special guest host for the evening. He just has a special way of bringing the excitement of a sports announcer to the comedy show. Gives you those little goosebumps you get at a ballgame.

Rebecca Michael did all new material for the crowd…and I thought she was great. I felt it was time for Rebecca to push herself past her old material and take the next step…and she shined. As a newer comedian, this is a difficult but necessary step. Can’t wait to see her continue the development of her new jokes.

Chris Franjola from Chelsea Lately closed the show with a stellar set of crowd work. Essentially, he went up on stage not really wanting to do material – this is actually when Franjola is at his best. He’s relaxed and off the cuff. Luckily he hit comedy gold…a group of 4 girls in their early 20’s sitting in row two…and a dude with a puffy vest jacket in row one. It doesn’t get much better than that people. He went back and forth with these folks…and it killed.

I normally don’t like to categorize comedians…male, female, black, Asian…because funny is funny. Who cares? But people do it all the time. So I want to make this very easy to read for everyone. Christina Pazsitzky cemented herself as the best female comedian in the city. The mark of a great comedian is continual development of great material. It’s about writing. I’ve seen CP (or Pezz if you’re nasty) perform almost 10 times. She continues to make me laugh over and over again with great, new material. She’s dirty, she’s cute, and I’m pretty sure she’s smarter than most of us. She told a joke about her husband’s obsessive grabbing of his crotch that had me screaming. Get off your ass and go see her…she’s in town for the summer.

Finally a big shout out to Patrick Keane. He’s hilarious. He tells a joke about Kane and Abel that is one of the best jokes I’ve heard. Definitely check him out when you get a chance.

“Sorry…I like to party…” – if you were at the show…you know what that means. Actually…I was there and still don’t know what it means…but Franjola had a field day with it. Thanks to the ladies in row 2.

Matty “Ballgame” Balaker has been putting on Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge for 3 years now.  That’s a pretty incredible number.  There are very few live comedy shows in Los Angeles that last that amount of time.  The success of the show stems from Matt’s unwaivering passion for stand-up comedy, his professionalism, and his understanding that the audience comes first.  The show has been so successful that Red Rock as completely transformed it’s upstairs lounge from grandma’s attic to a borderline swanktasic lounge.

Over the past 3 years, I would venture to say I have seen 90% of the shows. As a regular dude with a job and responsibilities, it’s an easy way for me to get my comedy fix. It’s free, there’s no drink min., parking is easy, food is good if I want it, and the comedians are the best in the city. Plus I’m out the door by 10pm.

In those 3 years, I have seen great sets from the likes of Alonzo Bodden, Greg Fitzsimmons, Bert Kreischer, Ryan Sickler, Tom Segura, Bret Ernst and many others. But I think most show regulars would agree that the definitive performance at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge was Joe Rogan’s 1 hour and 15 minute set in 2007. It was probably the funniest stand-up routine I have ever seen live.

Last night, I believe Sam Tripoli delivered the best set Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge has seen since Rogan. He brought is A+ game and was spitting heat from the moment he grabbed the mic. He unloaded on the the eclectic Asian hair dresser in the front row and tried to get her in a threesome with a blonde at the end of the row. He even hit swine flu with the line of the night, “One Mexican dude fucks a pig and we are all screwed. Meanwhile, chicks have been blowing donkeys down there for years, and everything has been fine. What’s going on?!”. The guy was on fire…moving from off the cuff audience work to written material with little detection.

Tripoli is a unique talent in the sense that he should not be contained. I’m sure network execs try to fit him into a bottle…but in order to get his full potential…they just need to let that guy loose.

The rest of the line-up was solid as well, but I have to say the night belonged to the Crime Fighter. Not only did he kill, but he walked in with a hot blonde with at least DD’s. And who doesn’t love comedy and boobs. Well done sir…well done.

Thought I would combine the two comedy shows that I went to this week in the greater Los Angeles-area into one condensed post – Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge at Red Rock on Tuesday night and Comedy Juice at the Ice House on Thursday night.

Quick review of the Laugh Lounge line-up:
Matty Balaker, Karl Hess, Nadine Rajabi, Tommy Keating, Johnny Cardinale, Jen Kirkman, Jason Gillearn, Geoff Lott (google them…I don’t feel like linking right now).

Pretty sure Karl Hess is one of the most underrated comedians out there. This dude needs to be in the big shows. Voice inflection alone gets laughs…plus he has great material. Keating and Cardinale were first timers for me and both did awesome. I’ve spoken many times before about how much I like Jen Kirkman. Jason Gillearn is THE most underrated comedian there is. He is off the charts. His slow delivery and unexpected dirty punchline lines kill the audience every time. Geoff Lott seems like he could do material forever…he’s that good and that smart. Plus, he’s a good dude. Rule #1…don’t be a dick.

The Comedy Juice line-up:
K-Von, Adam Ray, April Macie, Ryan Sickler

I love the Ice House. I want to thank my friend Barbara Corry for always being so kind when I’m there. Please check out her book “The Ultimate Green Room”. She has supported live comedy for many years. April Macie was so awesome. I love dirty, female comedians…I can’t help it. And I don’t think I’m the only one. The audience loved her too. Sickler was great again and Adam Ray was awesome too.

The Live Comedy L.A. podcasts will be conversations with comedians, producers, bookers, managers, venue operators, and other people in the L.A. comedy scene. Simple. Direct. And no bullshit. I use Skype to record the call and post it using GCast.

The first podcast is with Matty “Ballgame” Balaker, producer of Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge at Red Rock. I’m happy with the way it turned out. It’s VERY low key and I expect I will get better but it’s a good start. Hope you enjoy.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY (RIGHT CLICK TO DOWNLOAD)

The LCLA Podcast will be back next week with Rebecca Michael and Chris Franjola to talk about their new show “Commercial Break” on thestream.tv.

If you are interested in being on the LCLA Podcast shoot me an email at info@livecomedyla.com

Another week, another packed comedy show. People are laughing in 2009 and I’m digging it.

Last night Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge was mobbed. Like standing room only…can’t get in the door mobbed. It was awesome.

There were a couple of Laugh Lounge first timers that I really enjoyed seeing – Kat Herskovik and Mike Feinberg. Kat had this quiet, dirty sense of humor that won the crowd over and Mike had some really solid material.

Iliza Shlesinger was great as always. She did a portion of the longer set I saw last weekend.

Kerri Pomarolli (KerriPom) hit the Laugh Lounge stage for the first time in a while. First, I have to mention that she looks great after having her baby. I’ve seen her 3 times now…once while she was pregnant, once just after the baby was born, and now about a year since the baby…and she looks awesome. Ladies…you need to get on the KerriPom Program. Anyway, Kerri works clean, but the reality is…she’s funny. I love dirty comedians…but I love Kerri too. She has a sarcasm that is very likable. I think she could easily co-host a talk show.

The headliner was Ryan Sickler. Everyone knows Ryan is a cool dude and a good buddy…but goddamn he’s funny, isn’t he? He came with a ton of new material this time out, including the Thai massage bit that hit home after I spent 2 weeks in Thailand. He’s the real deal. He’s going to be at the Hollywood Improv on March 26th…I suggest you be there to see the man.

I also want to give a quick shout out to Andy Kozel and Brad Schecter who performed as well.