Tomorrow the various comedians from the Chelsea Lately Round Table begin a 4 week mini-series of their own called the Comedians of Chelsea Lately. They have been performing together in Los Angeles for a few months now (presumably in preparation for this show…I don’t know when they taped it). First at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge, then at the Improv, and then a few big shows at the Nokia Theater at L.A. Live. I think it’s pretty awesome that these folks are getting a chance to showcase their stand-up talent on national TV.

Our buddy Chris Franjola’s episode airs on September 4th, so be sure to tune into that one (Josh Wolf and Jen Kirkman in that one as well). But I’ve seen all of them live (except Whitney Cummings and Heather McDonald) and they are all really good. I am bummed that Brody Stevens isn’t in the mix, though. Anyway, set your Tivo’s. Jo Koy, Sarah Colonna, and Guy Branum get things going.

Iliza Shlesinger and Jo Koy for your weekend comedy pleasure in Los Angeles. I’ll be at Iliza’s 9:30pm show at the Hollywood Improv. Give a shout, tweet a twit…do something to let me know you’re there and I’ll say hi.

Friday – 2/20
Jo Koy/Ice House – Pasadena/8:30pm and 10:30pm/$20
Dude rocks.

Saturday – 2/21
Iliza Shlesinger/Hollywood Improv/7:30pm and 9:30pm/Free + Service Fee (Promo Code:HAHA at Improv.com)
She’s funny and has nice boobs (I keep saying this by the way…because you’d be shocked at how much traffic this site gets because of Google searches for Iliza’s boobs. I’m trying to get SEO traffic really).

I have a new favorite comedy club – The Ice House in Pasadena. The Ice House combines all the best features of the Improv, Laugh Factory, and Comedy Store…plus it throws in ample parking. I absolutely loved my first visit to the Ice House. The venue was well-designed, the staff was friendly and on top of their game, the show was spectacular, and it’s reasonably priced. It was the little things though that I dug the most:

1. All the chairs in the main room faced the stage.
2. The staff took both your drink orders at the same time at the beginning of the show (as not to interrupt you during the show).
3. Every seat is within 30 feet of the stage.
4. The main room was tiered.

The list really goes on and on. The highest complement that I can pay the Ice House is to say that I would like to hold my 30th birthday here coming up in July. We are building a killer line-up of my favorite comedians for the event and I want it to be here.

The line-up was amazing: Frazier Smith, Steve Flye, Jason Collins, Kenny Johnson, and Jo Koy.

Everyone was terrific. Jo Koy went for about an hour and a half. He did new material on the 405 and his son. But amazingly, the crowded requested jokes…and he did them. It was simply the greatest thing I have ever seen in stand-up comedy. Right there…that’s what live comedy is all about.

The comedian of the night however was Steve Flye. We expect Jo Koy to be amazing…and he was. But I love seeing new comedians just kill it. Steve had a joke about child support that was off the charts. Seeing Steve was like seeing Ryan Sickler or Christina P. or Chris Franjola or Tom Segura for the first…he has the goods – you can just tell. It’s an exciting feeling for a comedy dork like me. Check out his VideoShot of Steve.

…and definitely check out the Ice House…I’ll be there all summer checking out the comedians.

I’ll be making my first trip to the Ice House tonight to see a special performance featuring the incredible Jo Koy. Jo kills every time. I suspect tickets are still available. Show starts at 7pm.

Line-Up:
Paul Ogata
KT Tatara
Shane Wang
Kevin Schea
Edwin San Juan
Jo Koy

Slanted Comedy made it’s way to the Hollywood Improv…and I was able to catch it for the first time. I haven’t seen Jo Koy in almost a year so it was good to see him. Big crowd…I’m not gonna lie to you…the Asian themed shows always draw a big crowd at the comedy clubs…whether it’s PK’s show at the Laugh Factory or Edwin’s show…they draw a crowd. On to the comedians:

Paul Ogata -
This was my first time seeing Paul and he was a fantastic host. He had great jokes to warm up the crowd…knew all the comedians in the line-up personally…didn’t mess up their intros…and you never got the sense that he was trying to step on their time. He set-up each comedian so you were excited to see them. Plus Paul had his own great material. His iBoner joke is stellar. Definitely will see him again.

KT Tatara -
KT comes with an agressive style of comedy. And he’s dirty…which I like. I like this line, “I was with this girl in her bedroom…and I came across her bible. Which made me feel awkward because I meant to come on her face.” HA! Good stuff from KT. Plus I like how promoted his site and iPod promotion at the end of his set. If the host and the venue aren’t going to do…which should be priority number one in this business…then the comedians have to.

Shane Wang -
I don’t think Shang was supposed to be in the line-up but he stopped down from SF…which was cool. Smooth, deep voice style…his best joke of the night was about a girl he was dating…and his roommate thought he could do “better”. Shane said, “Yeah, I could do “Better”…but “Better” wasn’t trying to do me. “Better” was trying to fuck “Best”. So I’ll just stick with “OK”. Awesome!

Kevin Schea -
Kevin Schea is always stellar…I’ve seen him probably 4 times. I need to check out his DVD “Kim’s of Comedy”. He definitely didn’t disappoint tonight though. He has a very non-chalant style…like he’s half drunk…in fact he may be…but it totally works on stage. I’m always happy to see him in a line-up.

Edwin San Juan -
First time seeing Edwin…he rocked. His Asian stereo-type jokes were actually good. Especially the Filippino accent’s. He puts on a great show.

Jo Koy -
I love Jo…great guy…and just out of this world funny. His fighting joke is top 5 jokes of all time as far as I’m concerned. And he added a shitting joke that actually had me nervous that I wasn’t going to breathe again. Plus his Filippino Mother jokes are amazing. I’m happy that he just landed a show Comedy Central…I’m looking forward to it.