Forgive the pun in the title…it’s ridiculous. But it’s true. Last night, Duncan Trussell put on Comedy is Dead 7 in the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever cemetery in front of more than 200 people. The show was so great.

They kicked things off with a few short videos. My favorite being this music video from Major Lazer’s hit single Pon De Floor directed by Eric Wareheim. It’s awesome.

Ron Lynch hosted the show. He was excellent. He has this dead pan style that is really smooth and awkward at the same time. Its perfect. His magic bit was great. He didn’t actually do any magic. Just made fun of doing magic. Hilarious.

The line-up included Brent Weinbach, Duncan Trussell, Natasha Leggero, Steve Agee, Matt Braunger, and Aziz Ansari. I’m actually forgetting one comedian.

Brent Weinbach is probably one of the top 5 most talented people I’ve seen perform. He’s super intelligent. And Matt Braunger brought the house down. His Taco Bell bit is great.

I also really enjoyed watching Aziz battle through new material. It’s so cool watching a great comedian do brand new stuff. At least if you’re a comedy nerd like me.

Overall it was an excellent show and I’m really looking forward to going again. And I’m really looking forward to going to see more Ron Lynch hosted events.

January 26 – February 1, 2009

Monday – 1/26
What’s Up Tiger Lily / Cuba Libre Bar / 8pm / Free
Still haven’t seen this show, but I will be there this week. It’s a bigger line-up than I usually like but Maria Bamford and Duncan Trussell are in the house, and I love them a lot. Plus Matt Champaign who I really enjoyed seeing at Ballgame’s last week is also in the line-up. Looks like Dov Davidoff will also be there among others.

Tuesday – 1/27
CDR – Patton Oswalts 40th / UCB LA / 8:30pm / $5
Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Karen Kilgariff, and the great Dana Gould. No wonder it’s already sold out. But hey, if you’re in the neighborhood…give it a shot.

Ignorance is Bliss / Melrose Improv / 10pm / $14 (but hit up Daryl Wright on Myspace for a discount)
Another show with a bigger line-up than I’d like to see, but Bret Ernst, Ian Edwards, Wright, and Dov are all very good.

Wednesday – 1/28
Comedy Juice / Melrose Improv / 10pm / $7 (email guestlist@comedyjuice.com)
Dane Cook and Dwayne Perkins are good to go for this one. And Ben Gleib will be there. Comedy Juice is always a great show.

Thursday – 1/29
Shang / Melrose Improv / 8pm / FREE (email shangism@pacbell.net)
Shang is awesome and a really fun comedian. I dig him and recommend checking out this show.

Check our Weekly Picks page for more recommendations this week.

I asked a few of my favorite L.A.-based comedians a simple question – if you have the night off and feel like going to laugh, who are you going to see? One stipulation…it must be another L.A.-based comedian so that our readers can go see them. Here are the answers I got:

Greg Fitzsimmons – Greg Proops Chat Show at Largo
Tom Segura – Bert Kreischer
Brian Scolaro – Ben Gleib, Bobby Lee, Elon Gold, Ian Edwards
Matty “Ballgame” Balaker – Bert Kreischer
Dana Min Goodman – Sarah Silverman, Tig Notaro, Greg Fitzsimmons
Jason Gillearn – Ian Edwards
Ryan Sickler – Zach Galifiniakis
Chris Franjola – Jason Gillearn, Brody Stevens, Tom Segura
Duncan Trussell – Brian Holtzman
Andrew Norelli – Brent Weinbach
Bob Bledsoe – Zach Galifiniakis

Comedy is very subjective…so you are going to have to get out there and see these guys and gals yourself. But make no mistake about it, comedians are a tough crowd folks. I watch comedians in the back of the room during shows…when the audience is cracking up…they are not laughing. So when they say a comedian is funny, chances are, he/she is bringin’ the goods. Hope you find some new comedians to see from this list – I know I have. A quick search on Myspace or Google will help you find these comedians…or subscribe to our page…we’ll let you know where they are performing in L.A.

Kicked off the year in comedy with a show at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge at Red Rock on Tuesday night. Check the line-up:

Bob Bledsoe: ProfileShot – VideoShot
Jonas Garvin: ProfileShot
Matty “Ballgame” Balaker: ProfileShot
Iliza Shlesinger: ProfileShot
KT Tatara: ProfileShot – VideoShot
Duncan Trussell: ProfileShot – VideoShot
Ryan Sickler: ProfileShot – VideoShot

Highlights:
Bob Bledsoe kicked off the show and then wrapped it back around with a set in the middle that he is sending into Leno. I’ve seen Bob a few times and it was great seeing his classic material, plus the new clean stuff that will hopefully end up on the Late Night Shows. Jonas Garvin took the stage for the first time at Red Rock…I have not seen him before. Great stage persona…with some material development…he’ll be good. Matty Ballgame had me screaming out loud when we was talking about inviting his girlfriend’s friend over for a BBQ and a threesome. I’ve heard the joke before…but he nailed it. Iliza is always great…and KT is just a stellar comedian. He’s very polished. I expect big things from him. Duncan Trussell is an extremely intelligent, extremely funny individual who I could watch over and over again. I have the feeling this guy has tons of material at home that he’s just waiting to throw at us. I hope he never does clean set in his life…it would kill it. And of course Sickler took the stage at Red Rock for the first time in a while. I love this guy. He’s a buddy…so I’m biased. His new tortilla joke had me laughing “about 10 tortillas”. I’d like to see some new stuff…which I know we will. In the mean time…he’s comedy is like a good tune…I turn it up every time it comes on.

Line-Up:
Matty “Ballgame” Balaker
Matt Hummell
Bob Bledsoe
Natasha Leggero
Duncan Trussell
Chris Franjola

6 comedians…perfect size. Everyone kept it tight. Matty had some Laugh Lounge first timers in the line-up also which is great to see. Love it when I get to see new comedians.

Ballgame -
Matty is a good host…kept it tight this time around. Still slingin’ new jokes. But he pretty much let the other comedians have it tonight.

Matt Hummell -
First time seeing Matt…I’m gonna need to see his material again…but he kept it tight. Gotta love that.

Bob Blesoe -
Bob is a riot. Starts off the show with the joke about someone leaving a message on the wall in the bathroom about giving blow jobs…but didn’t leave a number. Hilarious! Plus his joke about the Wisconsin girl’s accent is stellar. I like Bob a lot. He was in the line-up during my debut…so it was cool to see him without the stress of that night.

Natasha Leggero -
Wow! She’s off the charts. Her stage persona is part stuck-up…part cute as hell. I loved her bit about doing comedy to get laid…it was sarcastic of course…which is her MO…but it rocked. Can’t wait to see her in action again.

Duncan Trussell -
Clearly Duncan is a sick fuck…and I love it. Little Hobo is unreal…his bit about channeling was stellar. He didn’t do “Fuck Blob” which is one of my favorite jokes of any comedian…but that’s ok. Duncan is still top 10. I love this guy.

Chris Franjola -
Franjola’s joke about watching his neighbor’s video of him fucking an old girlfriend has officially reached “all time” status. You can put it with Scolaro’s Sneezing, Jokoy’s Fighting, Dane’s Someone Shit on the Coats, and Sickler’s CAIDS and Dash of Downs. It’s a riot. Franjola is awesome…and I hope I can get him to perform at my 30th birthday party.