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.

I cruised down to The Ed Galvez Punk House on Wednesday in Santa Monica for some Westside comedy. The show is every Wednesday at 9pm at the Westside Comedy Theater (formerly the Westside Eclectic).

Right off the bat…I have to tell you…I enjoy comedy on the Westside. Straight shot down the 405 (no traffic because it was 8:30). $3 parking at the Promenade lots. Quick walk from Lot 3 to the venue. $8 ticket. No bullshit. Boom. Going to live comedy needs to be as easy as going to a movie. This definitely was.

I think this place and show have a ton of potential. Westsiders don’t like to leave the Westside (it’s one of the more annoying qualities of its residents)…so this place should be packed if the shows are quality. Where else can you see comedy over there. The venue itself is cool…nice small stage, lighting ability, good sound system. Plus, given it’s proximity to the Promenade, you can easily grab a bite to eat before a show. That’s a nice evening out. UCB for the Westside. Why not?

From Wednesday’s line-up, Dan Bialek stood out. I have to say…I love this guy. He has tons of energy, he’s super smart, and I enjoyed his story telling style. His stories about doing telemarketing right now for car warranties are hilarious. It’s strange to me how a guy who is this quick and talented would have to do telemarketing. Doesn’t seem fair really. But I have a feeling it’ll turn around. Because if you watch the clips of him doing the telemarketing, you’ll laugh your ass off. At minimum, there is a web series there.

Check out the one below and you can see the rest at THAT JERK DAN. They are all so good I didn’t know which one to pick. So definitely head over there when you get a chance.

Just some pick-up over the last week:

The 2nd Annual Birthday Comedy Show this past Saturday was a huge success once again. Red Rock was packed with some of my closest friends. Most of which don’t get out to see comedy that often. Which is the whole point…spread the gospel of laughter. Plus the comedians were excellent. Lachlan Patterson just crushed the room and Christina Pazsitzky once again showed she was a big timer. Matt Balaker and Geoff Lott showed they belong in the same room with anyone. Jason Gillearn is beyond professional and in my opinion borders genius. Dragon Boy Suede had a rough trip, I can’t lie. I’ll call it a Sarah Silverman moment. The guy is awesome, but something unexplainable happened where timing and follow through were rough. Ahh well…it happens. Corey Holcomb may have been a little dirty for the room but he got good laughs…and I love him. All in all, it was a great night and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Had a chance to catch a live taping of my favorite show tosh.0 last night. It was great. Daniel Tosh is awesome. If you can get down to a taping, I recommend it. They tape at the Tennis Channel in Culver City. Probably can get tickets via “On Camera Audiences”. There are only 3 shows left I think.

Finally, my time off has allowed me to explore some new ventures in the world of comedy. Not sure if they are fully flushed out yet to announce, but rest assure the best interests of comedians and spreading the gospel of laughter and live comedy are at the heart.

Right after I talked with Lachlan Patterson last week, I talked with Josh McDermitt. Yeah…I doubled up on podcasts in one day. That’s what happens when you aren’t working. You have time to do more podcasts with comedians.

Josh is a really funny guy. I had a great time talking with him. Who knew he scored a radio gig at 16 in Phoenix by just calling into the show? Plus he reads and supports this blog which I appreciate. It’s always cool to know people are listening and reading.

It’s fun getting to know these folks away from the stage. I hope people are sending these podcast to their friends in “the biz”. Often times, you can get a better sense of who these performers are by just listening to them chat.

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A few quick notes from Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge last night:

1. Matty Balaker’s writing continues to get better and better. He’s always topical and probably writes as much or more than any comedian out there. He only did 5 – 7 minutes last night but it was solid. Matty will be performing 15 minutes at my birthday show on the 18th at Red Rock, so I’m excited to see him do a longer set for the first time in a while. I know he has the goods.

2. Discovered 2 new comedians last night – Mark Daviau and Danny Bevins. I had not seen either. Mark was a funny dude. His joke about wearing a wig of an Italian artisan was very funny. I’ll get out to see him more. Danny Bevins had a tough set…not because his jokes were bad…but because the crowd seemed to deflate after Ari Shaffir got off stage. It’s a weird dynamic that happens at shows sometimes. Can’t really explain it. It must suck for a comedian. After the show, everyone said they really thought Bevins was a good comedian…but something happened to the crowd. Trying to make people laugh is rough sometimes.

3. Jacob Sirof really stood out to me. He has a lot of good jokes and solid presence on stage. You can tell the guy is a seasoned comedian. If you have a chance, get out and see this guy.

One last reminder…when you are at a live comedy show…and you are in the audience…keep your yapper shut. There was this douchebag in the front row that felt it was necessary to “assist” the comedians with their jokes. If you feel that urge…leave. You may be kinda funny at parties…but you are not a pro. You’re a dick. You might as well have a sign on that says, “I’m a douche.”

Good times as usual though.

OK folks…busy week for me in the comedy world (and technically I’m not even in the comedy world…maybe one day). In addition to podcasts with Josh McDermitt and Lachlan Patterson and a video interview with Bill Lucas of CandorTV, I’m headed out to the following shows. Join me if you can:

Tuesday – June 30th
8:00PM
Ice House – Pasadena
FREE
Paul Ogata and several other comedians are filming a special for Comedy.TV. Byron Allen’s new network. Email Paul for free tickets: paulogata@yahoo.com. Or you can pay $14 at the door. Your choice. Actually, don’t be a douche…just email Paul for the tickets. If you missed Paul’s podcast…when he was locked out of his house…it’s here.

Wednesday – July 1st
8:00PM
UCB – Los Angeles
$5
The Birthday Boys and A Kiss from Daddy hit the stage for some sketch comedy. I definitely don’t see enough sketch comedy, so it’ll be cool to get out and see these two groups. They are both supposed to be awesome. Plus Neil Campbell is in A Kiss from Daddy…I interviewed him for the podcast here.

Thursday – July 2nd
8:00PM
Laugh Factory – Hollywood
FREE or $20
Ryan Sickler is performing at the Laugh Factory at Tom Arnold’s weekly show. Sickler kills and Tom is the man. Both did interviews for LCLA here and here. You can get in for free if you are currently without employment. Otherwise it’s $20. You’d almost rather be unemployed at that price. Why is their pricing so out of whack? Not Tom’s fault…or Sickler’s for that matter. Holla at Mr. Masada on that one. He owns the joint.

Anyway, that’s the lowdown on the showdown for the week. Join me if you can. Hit me up on Twitter and we’ll try to connect if you are going to be out and about: twitter.com/livecomedyla

I talked with L.A. comedian Paul Ogata this week for the podcast. Literally, right when I called, he got locked out of his house. But, like a pro, he powered through our chat. Paul is probably the most professional comedian I have met. From arriving early to shows, to his communication via email, to his website, he just knows what it means to conduct himself in a professional manner. He’s also flat out funny. There is a portion of the interview where Paul has to click over and talk to the locksmith and I am on by myself. Don’t leave…he comes back. I just talk to myself in the downtime. You do it too…don’t lie.

He will be taping a show at the Ice House next Tuesday, June 30th. If you want free tickets, email Paul at paulogata@yahoo.com or hit him up on Twitter – twitter.com/paulogata. Hope you enjoy the interview.

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If you haven’t experienced a stand-up comedy show in the middle of a Thai restaurant, I suggest going one time. Just once though. That’s all you’ll need.

I went to “What’s Up Tiger Lily” for the first time last night at its temporary location – Pattaya Thai Restaurant. Mostly, I went to see Dana Min Goodman because I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hear her say “Titties in the house!”, while elderly Thai folks slurp down Tom Yum Goong. It’s priceless really.

Dana was excellent. Brett Gelman, who I hadn’t seen before, was also very funny. But two strange things about the evening stand out (as if random Thai folks being bombarded by stand-up wasn’t enough).

1. Natasha Leggero had trouble getting through her set because a table of Thai people kept talking during their dinner. Crazy…I know. Talking during dinner. Look…when you’re at a comedy show…you should keep your yapper shut and let the comedians do their work. But when a comedy show comes to a Thai restaurant, a block from Thaitown…all bets are off. You just have to power through that action. Lesson…don’t hold your comedy show in the middle of a restaurant.

2. Comedian Greg Barris from New York used the term “CAIDS” in a joke. Now…the only other comedian I’ve heard use CAIDS is Ryan Sickler. It’s one of my favorite jokes ever. He’s performed it for years and he’s performed it on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham”. I was curious, so I asked Greg about it. He said he’s been using the term in his joke for 6 years and it has to do with the pinky slipping when typing in AIDS (his joke was about IM’ing a doctor). Not the combination of cancer and AIDS in Sickler’s joke. He also said he never heard of Sickler.

I don’t know what to think here because I don’t want to accuse Barris of joke stealing if he didn’t. According to Urban Dictionary, CAIDS was first defined on the site in 2005 as a combination of cancer and AIDS. So there is some frame of reference. Even if Greg Barris never heard Sickler do the joke, you would think the proper thing to do would be to change his wording from CAIDS to something else because Sickler has performed it on television. That would seem like the professional move to me. But who am I?

Any thoughts or precedents on this?

Good times all around though. I will definitely check the show out again at its normal location which is at Cuba De Oro.

Geoff Lott is relatively new to the L.A. comedy scene. He made the journey down to Hollywood from Seattle like several others before him about a year ago. I saw Geoff for the first time a few months ago and really loved his writing skills. He’s just a smart dude who works hard at his craft. You have to respect a guy like that. I think Geoff would be a great writer for a show because that’s what he is at the core. Although, if you check out the video above (and there are a few more on his Myspace page), you get the feeling he could be really good as the sarcastic best friend or neighbor in a sitcom or commercial. Anyway, hope you enjoy the conversation. And make sure to check out Geoff at the Westwood Brew Co. this Tuesday night. Show usually starts at 9pm I think. But call the Brew Co. to double check.

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Neil Campbell is the Artistic Director at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. I spoke with him a few weeks ago about what his duties are all about and how he decides which shows get to go up and which shows don’t. After visiting UCB last night for another stellar Ronna and Beverly show, I thought I would put up Neil’s interview instead of doing the same old review of the show. Because what can you say about Ronna and Beverly except that they are unreal. Hope you enjoy.

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P.S. I am having some issues with the iTunes feed. Feel free to download the episode directly from the link above in the mean time to listen on your iPod or other MP3 player.