Hit up Largo at the Coronet last night for the first time since the venue moved locations to see Sarah Silverman and Friends. If you are familiar with Largo when it was located on Fairfax, the new La Cienaga location has the same vibe even in the bigger theater – dark colors, intimate lighting. Overall, I think the comedy experience here is excellent. The theater is not huge (280 seats) so all the seats are still close and there is no pressure to buy drinks. I am actually looking forward to when they put in a bar so that I can go early and hang out before the show. Traditional comedy clubs should grasp this concept – create an environment that people want to spend time and invariably they will spend money without being forced to do so.

Steve Agee, Sarah Silverman, and Todd Glass left the biggest impressions on me. This was my first time seeing Agee and he was hilarious. His joke about “Balls at 12″ was the joke of the night. I would love to see him do a longer set and will definitely hit up his 40th birthday show in February. Sarah Silverman was hilarious as always and Todd Glass was great. Glass has this interesting thing he does on stage where he is constantly taking the pulse of the audience. It works really well.

Nick Swordson was supposed to be in the line-up but apparently he missed his flight from Hawaii. I got word he was at the Improv though sometime that evening…so I’m not sure what the deal was there.

If you get a chance, head on over to Largo at the Coronet. I’ll probably be recommending the Steve Agee 40th Birthday show in Weekly Picks, so stay tuned.

2009 Comedy Season Totals
Show Count: 6. Total Ticket Cost: $38. Total Min. Drink Cost: $12

Largo is moving to the Coronet Theater in a few months according to Soundboard at the L.A. Times. The new theater includes a 280 seat theater and a smaller 90 seat theater located on La Cienega. The question remains, what portion of the programming will be dedicated to live comedy? However, it’s quite possible that a bigger Largo with two rooms will put more pressure on the other major clubs in the city – Laugh Factory, Improv, and Comedy Store – to step-up their game in the form of promotion, quality of product, and innovation i.e. getting on the Web 2.0 bandwagon. Additionally, the right amount of crossover promotion by Largo between its music shows and comedy shows will no doubt drive more fans to live comedy – at least from an awareness perspective. If I’m a stand-up comedian, I’m contacting owner Mark Flanagan right now about helping him promote his comedy shows. Have to imagine that if you put the foot work in, you’ll get the time. Take advantage of the cross-promotional opportunities that Largo offers.

Sarah Silverman and her friends are back at Largo tomorrow night (Monday Feb. 25th). I’m assuming that reservations are booked for dinner already. The best thing to do is head down early…show starts at 9pm…get there around 8pm…and get in line. $5 cover and you can stand back by the bar. You may be able to get a seat at the bar…if you’re lucky…a seat sometimes pops open. Check out largo-la.com for more great stand-up comedy.

Tig Notaro (far right in the picture) puts on her monthly variety, music, and stand-up comedy show this Monday, February 4th at Largo. You are going to love Tig…no doubt. I just saw her do a full stand-up set for the first time on Monday and she was off the charts…so I have to recommend checking her out at Largo. This show sounds pretty cool. Her blog says there will be some stand-up comedy, some music, some videos, a celebrity interview…sounds kinda tight. And look…she’s friends with Sarah Silverman…so you just might get a bonus shot if you go.

Call Largo and make a reservation so that you get a table for dinner. This would be a cool date.

Show: Sarah Silverman and Friends
Cost: $5 cover
Line-Up:
Nick Thune: ProfileShot
Morgan Murphy: ProfileShot
Mookie Blaylock
Tig Notaro: ProfileShot – VideoShot
Sarah Silverman: WikiShot – VideoShot
Todd Glass: ProfileShot – VideoShot

Largo is a very cool place to see stand-up comedy in Los Angeles. If you want a very cheap night of comedy, pay the $5 cover and stand at the bar. But that’s for the die hard live comedy fans. I suggest saving a weekend night out for one of their Monday night shows…and having dinner there. You still pay the $5 cover…and there is a $15 minimum per person at the table…but you get a good show. $20…dinner…great comedy…in Los Angeles…pretty rare. Everyone should understand what you are getting however…the comedians are very loose here…they use their notes…and they try out new material. If you want polished…go to the clubs…if you want very good comedians grinding out good stuff…this is a cool spot.

Thune was a very good host…he was enthusiastic and I appreciated his work. I’m still blown away by the fact that there is a comedian named Mookie Blaylock…and he’s not the retired point guard from the Atlanta Hawks. Odd. Tig Notaro definitely delivered the set of the night. She is simply an amazing stand-up comedian…and totally clean. She’s so cool…and calm…I love her. Sarah Silverman was on-point as well…which was great…because the last few times she literally has forgotten her set. When she’s on…she’s one of the best. Todd Glass was great too. I really would like to see a polished set from him as well. It’s fun seeing him work out material though.

BTW…just chillin’ tonight…didn’t go see a show. I’ll keep you updated on the other shows during LIVE COMEDY WEEK.

Sarah Silverman, Todd Glass, and Tig Notaro anchor a solid line-up tonight at Largo and will kick off LIVE COMEDY WEEK here at Live Comedy L.A. (Say hi if you see my girlfriend and I at the bar). The show starts at 9pm. Doors at 8pm. Reservations for dinner are already booked so you have to head down early and get a spot at the bar. It’s worth it for $5. Grab a spot in line…on the “non-reservation” side…and you’ll be fine.

If for some reason you don’t want to go to Largo tonight…Live Comedy L.A. favorites Ryan Sickler and Dana Min Goodman are performing at Westwood Brewco at 9:30pm. They’re stellar performers…and I’ll be catching them later in the week at the Improv. Sickler will be laying down his classic material in prep for some big time coverage…and Dana is the dirtiest player in the game…you won’t believe what comes out of her mouth. It’s the goods.

Update: Sickler had to reschedule the Brewco for next Monday.

Largo is one of my favorite places to see comedy. They usually have a great comedy show on Monday nights. Either call and reserve a table for dinner (great date) or head on down before the show and stand at the bar for $5. If you don’t have a table reservation, get there early because the line forms around 8:15pm. Definitely worth it. I love the atmosphere. You’ll see comedians here who don’t do the big clubs that often…more of an “alternative” stand-up comedian…”they” say. I just say they are good. I’ve seen Jim Gaffigan, Sarah Silverman, Doug Benson, and Greg Fitzsimmons do their thing here. Food is pretty good too.

A lot of people don’t like swearing and dirty humor…fair enough. Here are some really great clean comedians in L.A. that I recommend.

Bone Hampton
Kerri Pomarolli
Ron McGehee
Bernadette Balagtas
Michael Batts

Visit their pages…they are really funny and cool people. Being a clean comedian is the most difficult thing to do in stand-up comedy. I have a huge amount of respect for these people. It’s easy to get a laugh by simply saying “fuck”. But to get people to laugh without swearing…those are what I call “mic skills”. You’ll be listening to these comedians…and about 5 minutes in…you’ll realize…they have not said a curse word once…but you are still laughing like crazy. It’s amazing.

On a side note…the best clean comedian in the country is Jim Gaffigan. HE’S UNREAL! I’ve seen him do 7 minutes on bacon at Largo.