My podcasting career is up to a whopping 7 interviews now. I have really enjoyed each one of them and appreciate the time the comedians have given me. On Tuesday, 5 of the 7 people who I have interviewed were at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge…either performing or playing DJ (Matty Ballgame…yeah…he’s a hedge fund manager, a comedian, and a DJ). And I think the lesson for the night was pretty clear…I have talked with some damn funny people.

Ritchie Angeles was a special guest host for the evening. He just has a special way of bringing the excitement of a sports announcer to the comedy show. Gives you those little goosebumps you get at a ballgame.

Rebecca Michael did all new material for the crowd…and I thought she was great. I felt it was time for Rebecca to push herself past her old material and take the next step…and she shined. As a newer comedian, this is a difficult but necessary step. Can’t wait to see her continue the development of her new jokes.

Chris Franjola from Chelsea Lately closed the show with a stellar set of crowd work. Essentially, he went up on stage not really wanting to do material – this is actually when Franjola is at his best. He’s relaxed and off the cuff. Luckily he hit comedy gold…a group of 4 girls in their early 20’s sitting in row two…and a dude with a puffy vest jacket in row one. It doesn’t get much better than that people. He went back and forth with these folks…and it killed.

I normally don’t like to categorize comedians…male, female, black, Asian…because funny is funny. Who cares? But people do it all the time. So I want to make this very easy to read for everyone. Christina Pazsitzky cemented herself as the best female comedian in the city. The mark of a great comedian is continual development of great material. It’s about writing. I’ve seen CP (or Pezz if you’re nasty) perform almost 10 times. She continues to make me laugh over and over again with great, new material. She’s dirty, she’s cute, and I’m pretty sure she’s smarter than most of us. She told a joke about her husband’s obsessive grabbing of his crotch that had me screaming. Get off your ass and go see her…she’s in town for the summer.

Finally a big shout out to Patrick Keane. He’s hilarious. He tells a joke about Kane and Abel that is one of the best jokes I’ve heard. Definitely check him out when you get a chance.

“Sorry…I like to party…” – if you were at the show…you know what that means. Actually…I was there and still don’t know what it means…but Franjola had a field day with it. Thanks to the ladies in row 2.

LIVE at The Comedy District

L.A. comedian Ritchie Angeles is the best host of a comedy show in the city. He is dedicated to helping show producers and fellow comedians put on a great show for the crowd. It’s rare to find that unselfishness and willingness to put the show first. As a fan of comedy, I appreciate his efforts, so I wanted to chat with him about his career and comedy.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY (RIGHT CLICK TO DOWNLOAD)

One of the best guys in comedy, Ritchie Angeles, is part of a DVD taping Wednesday, November 12th at the Improv Lab. It’s a free show and the line-up is solid. Raj Desai is killer. If you have not been to the Improv Lab…it’s directly next door to the Hollywood Improv where Second City used to perform. Doesn’t feel like they have figured out what to do with this room yet…but in the mean time, they are running one off shows. I’d love to see it become a plush, intimate show room for high end performers. Line-out the door. Guaranteed.

Nitrous Comedy 8pm Hollywood Improv Lab

Ritchie Angeles
Pat Mellon
Roy Cruz
Jenny Mckenna
Raj Desai
Matt Champagne
Robert Yasamura

Let’s pretend for a minute you have a date. And let’s say you’re still getting to know this person…meaning…no weekend dates yet (don’t make that mistake).  You don’t want to spend a lot of money yet because you aren’t too sure where things are going. You know what I’m talking about. So what are your options…drinks…coffee…nope…dumb. Go with comedy. Trust me on this one. I submit to you the ultimate cheap date…the best stand-up comedy show in the city…Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge. No cover…no drink minimum…and just a great time. Guaranteed action folks.

Last night’s show was stellar. Tight sets from everyone. The place was packed! Let’s check the line-up and see what happened:

Ritchie Angeles: ProfileShot
Chris Edwards: ProfileShot
Adam Gropman: ProfileShot
Scott Nelson: ProfileShot
Matt Dwyer: ProfileShot
Mike O’Connell: ProfileShot
Chris Franjola: ProfileShot

Ritchie Angeles was an incredible host. He was exactly what you look for in a host of a stand-up comedy show. Funny, professional, and dialed into the intros. He set aside his ego (not that he has one – but we all do in one way or another) for the good of the show. His introductions were stellar…made everyone in the audience look forward to the comedians when they came up. I hope every comedian thanked him at the end of the show. And if you are a comedian who has a good host at your show…make sure to thank him or her.

Chris Edwards was great also. It was his first time at Red Rock and it was my first time seeing him. He led off with a joke about a woman calling him a Todd Bridges and Carlton Banks look-a-like. Hilarious! Because it was true.

Adam Gropman was off the charts last night. Adam’s last performance at Red Rock was tough…but I knew he could bring it back around…and he nailed it last night. The jokes about dating an older woman had me screaming. So good. Awesome to watch the process and how slight changes in the routine can make such a big difference.

Scott Nelson crushed it too. He has a joke about pens that was the joke of the night. I hate to compare but to help you out a bit…he has a little Seinfeld flare to him. Good show.

Matt Dwyer is a sick bastard…and I love it…and think everyone else does too. After gulping down his wine…he just rattles off some sick stuff that had the crowd rolling. His existential outlook is funny.

Mike O’Connell was out of place. He’s a very talented guy…but his guitar…one man show routine was not stand-up. I don’t want to judge…because performance is performance…but I’m a purest when it comes to stand-up. I also think he went on too long…but that’s not my call. I have to admit though…the Asian Baby song was funny.  Great actor…great performer…

Chris Franjola is off the charts funny. He brought some new material…which I always appreciate. I actually think Franjola is the funniest when he just does off the cuff material…crowd work. His older stuff was great too. His joke about watching his buddy’s video tapes will never get old.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again…Franjola is one of the top comedians in our city. I don’t know what I have to do…but everyone needs to go see him. I will call him out on one thing though…he talked a little trash about the “line-up card”. I don’t think Chris knows I invented the “line-up” card so people know who to search when they get home from the show. Instead of typing in Chris Granola…or Chris Frijoles…in the Google search box…they’ll search for Franjola (not too often you can use a comedians joke against him – if you were there…you’ll get it!). It’s all about organic search engine optimization folks.

Folks…Los Angeles stand-up comedy rocks!