Former head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and 2-time NBA Champion Houston Rockets, and University of Michigan alum Rudy Tomjanovich was in the house last night for a stellar line-up for Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge at Red Rock. Other notables in the crowd included Brad Stewart from No Name Comics and my girlfriend ; ).

Alonzo Bodden is always incredible to watch at the Laugh Lounge because of how informal and intimate the setting is. He seems very comfortable with the audience. It’s the ultimate in live comedy. I’d love to see an All-Star Show at the Laugh Lounge…maybe for my birthday show (hint…hint). The rest of the line-up was great. I loved watching Keith Healy. He has improved so much…terrific to watch. Jen Murphy was dirtier than ever…and I loved it. Rebecca Michael nailed it. Patrick Keane…as Alonzo Bodden said…is an incredible joke writer. And Laura Hayden was awesome in her white jeans on the 28th day.

The crowd continues to grow…and I hope L.A. keeps supporting live comedy. See you around town…go laugh.

Buy Alonzo Bodden’s new CD – “The Bootleg”

Line-up:
Quinn Dahle
Josh Mullins
Matt Bronger
Jen Murphy
Sean Green
Daryl Wright
Dan Gabriel
Ian Bagg

Friday night…8pm…THE Hollywood Improv…that’s a prime time show. You know how many people were there…maybe 30…if we count the wait staff. Ian Bagg deserves better than that…in fact…stand-up comedy deserves better than that. Honestly…it makes me sad. The Improv needs to get their act together quickly…because they are getting lazy…not only with promotion of their shows…but with supplying a quality product, innovation, and creativity. If they don’t start applying fundamental business principles to the comedy business…they are going to go the way of the Comedy Store very quickly. You heard it here first. Look…the folks over at the Laugh Factory (with the exception of Brother Woods…great guy) are a bunch of douche bags. Jamie Masada and his staff treat patrons like shit…and I’ve heard worse about the comedians. But I can tell you this…he knows how to run a business. Friday and Saturday nights are packed there. He puts up the best comedians…during the prime time shows. You have to do that…for the good of the game. I’m going to get to the comedians now…but stay tuned for my blog on how the Improv can improve…I’m going to offer my suggestions because it’s by far my favorite club. I love it. And I don’t want it to become the Comedy Store.

Quinn Dahle
Quinn definitely brought it back around this time. He was faced with a small, tough crowd…and I felt like he did a good job loosening things up. Plus he didn’t say everyone was from Comedy Central when introducing them. Still would like to see more personal intros…but he did a great job. This is the great thing about comedy…I love watching improvement and struggle…and the process. It’s fascinating to me.

Josh Mullins
I guess Josh runs the room at Le Stats down in San Diego. A lot of my favorite comedians go down there…so it sounds like a good room. Josh is pretty low key and solid with his material. Nothing is popping for me…but he dealt with the small crowd well. This was a tough show folks…seriously.

Matt Bronger
I think I’m spelling his name wrong (PLEASE IMPROV…get a line-up card for every table…it’s a simple promotional tool that will help everyone…I promise). Matt was mostly clean. Started a little slow and all over the place…but I’ll tell ya’…the guy closed pretty strongly. I loved the joke about not being able to find your penis in freezing cold weather at a Chicago Bears game when you are in the bathroom…that’s a riot. Plus the owl stuff was very funny.

Jen Murphy
Jen was totally cute…sorry…I’m a dude…that’s the first thing I noticed. Not as hot as my girlfriend…but still (threw that in just in case…you know what I’m sayin’ fellas…). She said her vagina was sagging…hilarious!

Sean Green
Sean popped in for a quick 4 or 5…nothing is sticking with me.

Daryl Wright
There is nothing like discovering a new comedian who is really funny. It’s awesome. Daryl was great. He went up with the all important…”I don’t give a fuck attitude” and just had at it. His clan material was stellar. He’s really good…looking forward to seeing him again.

Dan Gabriel
Dan is very good. I love the jokes about having a baby in a week instead of 9 months…awesome. He’s polished…you can tell.

Ian Bagg
OK…let’s just say it right now…Ian Bagg is gifted. He is truely a gifted comedian and I don’t understand why he doesn’t have a show, a tour…something…christ. He goes up there…and just starts firing away with what almost seems like nothing. I’m not sure he has writting material. He uses the audience in a way that is more unique than anything I’ve seen before. Is there a better “crowd worker” in the business? If so…I haven’t seen him/her. I really love going to see him…and so should every other person who enjoys stand-up comedy…because he is one of the VERY few stand-up comedians who will give you a different show every time you see him. His skill level is incredible. At this show…some dude in the audience got served his divorce papers that night. Perfect. Ian tried to hook him up with some lady in the audience…just awesome!