Matty “Ballgame” Balaker has solidified himself as one of the premier promoters of stand-up comedy in our city. Tonight’s show at Red Rock was off the charts. Ballgame consistently brings in the best newcomers like Rebecca Michael…the top featuring comedians like Iliza Sheslinger and Jeff Short…and top headliners like Tom Segura and Brian Scolaro. If you have not been to this show yet…you really are missing out on a great Tuesday night of laughs in the middle of the week. I have a regular job…I need to laugh…this show helps me de-stress…it’s awesome. Did I mention it’s free. Imagine that…you get to laugh for free. Oh…and there was a black midget in the house. Yep…heaven.

Quick Line-Up Run: Matty “Ballgame” Balaker, Joe Braza, Rebecca Michael, Tony Moser, Eliza Shlesinger, Jeff Short, Tom Segura, Brian Scolaro

I loved Joe Braza’s first person references…hilarious. Great to see Rebecca Michael do her thing. I went to her show at IO West on Sunday (which is great btw)…and to be doing stand-up for only a year…she is great. This isn’t easy folks…I’ve done it. There is nothing more difficult. Eliza Shlesinger did her 6 minute set for the Montreal Showcase. It was so polished. I watched Iliza for about a year now…and this 6 minute set was so dialed. I love when she does the joke about coming out of the water looking like a rat…awesome. Jeff Short brought some great new material…”gay guys never lose a staring contest”…LOL! And what can you say about Tom Segura and Brian Scolaro…I have written about them countless times…and they are two of the best comedians we have. I just saw Scolaro on Sunday…and I laughed just as hard at the “Sneezing” joke today as I did Sunday.

More updates this week on some good weekend shows coming up…

John Caparulo just hit big screens nationwide in Vince’s Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show…and now is a great chance to see him perform LIVE stand-up comedy in Los Angeles…for FREE. Jump on the Improv Website and use the PROMO CODE: FUN to get 4 FREE tickets to a show this weekend that he is headlining. Here are your options:

Friday, February 29 @ 8pm
Saturday, March 1 @ 8 or 10pm

He is terrific in the movie…but you will truly appreciate is rapid fire humor in person without the editing. John has a great story btw…

John grew up in the Ohio Valley, but it wasn’t long before his dreams would take him out west. After he graduated from Kent State University he headed to Hollywood. Upon his arrival in the big city, John got a job as a doorman at the world-famous Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard. It was there that he honed his skills amongst some of the most prolific comics in the business, such as Eddie Griffin, Joe Rogan, and Andrew Dice Clay. All the hard work started to pay off as the Hollywood industry began to take notice. John was signed by top-level representation. He then made his national television debut on “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn” and gave a memorable performance. Appearances soon followed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and The Game Show Network’s “Funny Money.” In 2003 John performed at the “Just For Laughs” comedy festival in Montreal and received an overwhelming response from industry attendees.

If you were thinking about heading to a movie Friday or Saturday night, skip it…do you really need to spend $15/ticket at the ArcLight or the Grove on “Jumper” when you have those loans to payoff.

Bill Burr is definitely one of the top comedians out there…and now that he has moved to Los Angeles to do stand-up comedy (instead of NY)…we are lucky to get to see him quite frequently at places like the Hollywood Improv. He has a joke about the exploding population that had me screaming like a 12-year old girl…let’s hope he tells it tonight or tomorrow. Take a look at this VideoShot and check the details below on how to get FREE tickets to see him this weekend.

Click Here to go to the Improv website…pick a show…and purchase tickets.
Upon check out…input PROMO CODE: BIL (yes…one “L”)…and create an account. There will be a $3 service charge for each ticket…which is actually $0.50 more than before…but still a solid price to see Bill Burr.  You can get up to 4 tickets.  If this doesn’t work…call the Improv and give them the code over the phone…that usually works also.  My suggestion…get there early and have the tortilla soup and the spicy chicken fingers…then you’ll get the reserved seats.  But that’s just how I do it.

Hottie comedian…Aisha Tyler…is performing at the Hollywood Improv tomorrow night – Friday, January 25th at 8pm. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing her in person unfortunately (just to look at her or see her do stand-up)…but I think she’s smokin’…and would very much like to get her…Sarah Silverman…and my girlfriend…all in the same room. Whoa…did I just write that out loud?

You can get free tickets here by using the promo code: SOUP

Looks like Joey Diaz (VideoShot) is taping a DVD tonight at 3 Clubs – no cover charge. I don’t know what the rest of the line-up is like…but Joey is solid. He’s part of Joe Rogan’s crew. 3 Clubs is a fantastic venue for comedy. Brian Swinehart runs this show. He’s a really nice guy…but he puts entirely too many comedians in the line-up. If he would cut back to 6 quality comedians…he’d have a show that would be right up there with Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge at Red Rock and No Name Comics at Room 5.