Garfunkel and Oates performed their new song “This Party Took a Turn for the Douche” for the first time live last night at Tom Arnold’s weekly show at the Laugh Factory. Per usual, G and O killed it. They are so interesting and cute and funny and clever, you can’t help but love them. Musical comedy acts are mostly cheesy crap. But these girls are definitely must see live comedy. The video doesn’t do them justice. Kind of like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. They’re just so much better in person. Can someone please get them on stage with Dragon Boy Suede, so we can figure out who the best comedy rappers are in game?

The rest of the line-up was spectacular. It actually ended up being a super big line-up, which I rail against constantly, but I didn’t mind last night. Comedians may have gotten antsy…but whattaya gonna do?

Tom Arnold’s set up-front was really, really good. I’ve seen this show 3 or 4 times now and this was his best performance. Pretty amazing how stand-up comedy is one of those crafts where you can constantly improve. I’d still like to see him shorten up the in between parts.

What can you say about Tom Segura? Really. I just saw him at Ballgame’s and I still laughed. Dude just writes and writes and writes. He’s hilarious. His new joke about staring at the dudes bulge is great.

Tim Allen stopped in for a guest spot. He was funny. He was. But I hope one day all comedians can feel what it’s like to get laughs based on who you are. That’s when you know you’ve made it. The crowd just laughed harder because they knew it was Tim Allen. They put a little extra umph in the laugh.

Duncan Trussell, Greg Fitzsimmons, and Bobby Lee were great as always.

Finally, I really enjoyed watching 20-year old Alex Edelman and Scotsman Danny Bhoy. Edelmans scarcasm and poise on-stage was solid. And at 20, you can expect big things if he sticks with it and works hard. He ran out of steam with out 2 minutes to go in his routine, but he was good. Check him out if you can before he heads back to film school in NY. Bhoy was very relaxed and told some great jokes about the Irish (I’m Irish…and I still loved them). I can imagine people go crazy for those jokes in the UK. He’s only been in L.A. 2 weeks but I expect you’ll hear more from him.

The Hangover’s Brody Stevens (err…Steven Brody Stevens…he played the cop) hit the Laugh Lounge last night along with the great Tom Segura, a killer set from Tom Clark, and a newcomer who I really enjoyed, Jon Tomashefsky.

Brody is by far the most unique comedian in the city. He doesn’t do jokes so much. He just talks. But it’s the way he talks. His cadence. His mannerisms. They’re hilarious. And he just says off the wall shit. Last night he said, “My family is from New Mexico. Pioneering Jews of the Southwest!”. In classic Brody style, he did his set from the middle of the room. Also, if you love Los Angeles like I do…no other comedian incorporates the city in his routine more than Brody. It’s cool. You have to see it to appreciate it. And it may take you a few times to appreciate him…but eventually you will.

Segura is always great. I’m happy he’s been on the road with Rogan lately. Clearly big things are going to happen for him. I hate to say I told you so…but…get ready.

I got to see Tom Clark and Jon Tomashefsky for the first time. Clark was awesome. He has a quick, off the wall style. And Tomashefsky seems very comfortable on-stage. Very conversational. It puts the audience at ease.

Good times at Ballgame’s again. Matty actually called me an Editor-in-Chief. Makes me laugh. But I dig it.

UPDATE:
When I wrote this post last night I was remiss in mentioning Keith Ernst. He continues to be a very consistent comedian. There is a natural tendency to compare him to Bret, which may or may not suck for Keith…I don’t know. But really, he’s good. Anyway, that’s all I got this morning.

Cutman, the short film written by L.A. comedians Ryan Sickler and Tom Segura, will debut on Atom TV on Comedy Central on Monday, January 26th at 2:30am.

Originally a 23 minute short, Sickler re-edited Cutman to 10 3-minute webisodes that will appear on Atom.com and Comedy Central. New shows will be released every Monday.

If you ever watched the original airing of the HBO boxing series 24/7 with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya, you’ll remember the unintentional comedy that came from cutman and trainer Roger Maymayweather and his brother Floyd Mayweather, Sr. was unmatched by any show in the history of sports television. Basically, this is what Cutman is like. It’s hilarious. I’m a huge boxing fan, so I loved it. But I think dudes my age who like sports will dig it also. In fact, I thought it would make for a great show on HBO. I have a feeling people will be talking about Harvelle Jenkins and Teddy Loons.

Atom will be setting up a dedicated channel on their website for Cutman that will have all 10 webisodes as they are released. No need to remember to DVR it or stay up till 2:30am.

Per usual, I’ll be at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge at Red Rock. The line-up is particularly good though. Chris Franjola, Tom Segura, and Dana Min Goodman…three of my favorites and three of the best in Los Angeles…will be in the house. I’ll be in the back having a Coke. Say hi.

Red Rock Bar and Eater
Sunset Blvd.
8:30PM
Upstairs Lounge
FREE

At the end of the day, it’s all about the line-up. And Chris Millhouse put up a good line-up on Thursday night at his “Comedy Abuse” show at the Comedy Store. Anytime you have Tom Papa, Tom Segura, and Sam Tripoli, you’re good to go. Plus, some how Chris got a bunch of hot girls there. I would say there were 40 people in the crowd. 12 – 15 were hot girls. That’s stunning.

Tom Papa is an terrific, seasoned comedian that everyone should really go see. I’ve talked about Segura so many times. Always great. But the set of the night was Tripoli’s. He can be so entertaining because of how much he feeds off the crowd. He’s so good with the audience. On Thursday, he wrangled a dorky Asian guy and a hot Persian girl on-stage to help the guy learn how to pick-up girls. Just awesome. If you’re a TV exec, don’t give Tripoli a script…just turn him loose. Your show will be 10 times better. A live sports show maybe. Why aren’t they giving comedians more sports jobs. Comedians, sports, and smokin’ hot chicks…the trifecta of success. That doesn’t get old…ever. HBO needs a filler for Inside the NFL. Let’s do this.

The other comedians did well. I thought Chris Millhouse was very good. Adam Ray and Mark Serritella did their thing. I didn’t appreciate Brian Swinehart going on stage higher than a kite, though. Maybe it’s me. Do what you want when you are home or writing but be professional. Your performance suffers. The audience comes first – that should be your mantra. I can’t go to my job lit…neither should comedians. The only comedian that might be able to pull this off is Rogan…but he can handle an isolation tank.

Fun times were had though. I’ll keep you in the loop on when the next Comedy Abuse show goes up.

In my opinion (sometimes it’s humble…sometimes it’s not), Tom Segura understands what stand-up comedy is all about. No subject is off limits and there is no “line”…so to speak. That’s stand-up comedy. It’s the one place you are allowed to say anything you want and the audience is allowed to laugh. Very few comedians take advantage of that power and freedom like Segura.

One of the most prolific writers of comedy in Los Angeles, Segura’s jokes are racial, sexual, and most importantly intelligent. I have seen Segura perform 8 – 10 times in the last year or so and he consistently delivers new material every time. Two of my favorite jokes are “Guys with ponytails” and “Men who wear tank tops”. You can check out the videos below.

Segura is no doubt on the cusp of going big. He is currently headlining shows across the country and performing along side the likes of Jay Mohr. Also, you can catch him as Teddy Loons in “Cutman”, which he co-wrote with Ryan Sickler.

Of course, I say check him out live:

Comedy Store – Main Room
Comedy Abuse Show (Send Chris Millhouse a note for 1/2 off = $5)
Thursday, September 11
8:30pm

Videos provided by the good folks at Rooftop Comedy – they understand what stand-up is all about also.

Variety Magazine came out with a list of “Top 10 Comics to Watch”. No disrespect to Variety or the 10 comedians they chose, but I have a different definition of “watch”. Their definition is “to keep an eye on in the media and movies”. My definition is “to go see in a club and laugh your ass off”. To each his own. I happen to think my list can and will accomplish both feats. But what do I know.

So here is the “10 Really Good Comedians that You Should Go Watch in a Club to Laugh Your Ass Off” list.

1. Ryan Sickler
2. Dana Min Goodman
3. Tom Segura
4. Christina Pazsitzky
5. Jason Gillearn
6. Chris Franjola
7. Steve Flye
8. Andrew Norelli
9. Sam Tripoli
10.The Unknown Comedian

Starting on Monday, we will spotlight each of these comedians. I guarantee…if you go see any of these comedians live…it’ll be a good night.

Last night, I went to Dan Bialek’s new show “Twelve Shiny Nickels” at The Gardner Theaters. It’s a new concept show where 12 comedians do their best 5 minutes of material so that the audience is in and out in one hour. Sounded interesting given that I think stand-up comedy line-ups should have no more than 6 or 7 comedians at the absolute maximum because no one benefits from a long show with a lot of comedians. No one. Dan’s idea was intriguing because he was going to get us in and out in 1 hour.

The show was scheduled to start at 11pm. It didn’t start till about 11:40pm. Really? 40 minutes late? I would have skipped the audience interviews and went right to the show once I saw the clock hit 11:15pm.

In general, starting 40 minutes late will pretty much kill the experience for anyone who is a casual fan of live comedy and just wanted to go laugh on a Friday night after a long week at work. I normally try to be very forgiving with how a show is run, especially the first time a show is put on like this one…things happen. Mics go out, speakers go bad, people put on plays before your show…it happens. However, it’s just not a good practice to make an audience wait 40 minutes past the scheduled start time. In general, underground shows like this (and I mean literally underground – like basement time – might be cool?), are not for casual comedy fans.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you if the 12 comics in one hour thing is a good idea. I only made it through the first 4. I wanted to hang on to see the great Tom Segura (even the greats do the small shows), but I was tired. I work all week like regular people. I would venture to guess that it’s probably a better idea to keep the line-ups smaller. Also, if you are choosing shows to go to, go to the ones with 6 comedians or less, you’ll appreciate the experience more.

I will go back to this show soon to see if it has improved. There may be good comedians, but it’s important to experience good comedians at a well run show. Otherwise, you won’t appreciate their talent.

A packed house at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge last night saw one of the best line-ups in the show’s history. Chris Franjola, Christina Pazsitzky, Tom Segura, and Sarah Colona are 4 of the best stand-up comedians in the city and probably the country – and we got to see all of them in one show. It’s a really a tribute to the great job that Matty “Ballgame” Balaker has done. I would also like to give a shout out to the management at Red Rock for giving the show such great support. Prior management was not as supportive, but the new guys have really worked hard to help Matt. They understand what a great asset comedy can be to the establishment.

A few highlights:
- Christina Pazsitzky’s performance last night proves that the judges on Last Comic Standing do not choose the funniest people. I find it impossible…and I mean impossible…to believe that there are even 10 people in any city funnier than her. America got to see maybe :30-seconds of her act. Not fair. She’s unreal. She has reached a point in her comedy career that being on stage is second nature. She doesn’t have to think. Choosing to pursue stand-up comedy full time was a great decision. Please…for the love of holy hell…go see her live.

- Tom Segura did 20 minutes of new material that I have never heard before and it was incredible. I have seen Tom about 7 or 8 times. To do that much material…and for me to never have seen it…means he’s a great writer.

- When Sarah Colona performs…I feel like I’m getting a raw look into her life…and it’s so amazing. She is why stand-up comedy is so cool. When she jokes about her age and the number of men she slept with and her “roofy girlfriend”…it’s real…and it’s hilarious.

- Chris Franjola did the impossible last night…he dealt with a ridiculous heckler…and still pulled off a terrific set. I love Franjola. He’s a pro. Plus…he mentions my website on stage. He said, “Live Comedy L.A…what the fuck is that”? Genius…if you ask me.

- Chris Millhouse and Jessica Glassberg also performed. I think both had great stage presence. Especially Chris…he was very cool up on stage. With some material development…he’ll be solid.

Great time again at the Laugh Lounge.

HEY…make sure to check out Sarah Colona on Chelsea Lately on E! on Thursday night. Tivo that action so you know who I’m talking about.

I asked a few of my favorite L.A.-based comedians a simple question – if you have the night off and feel like going to laugh, who are you going to see? One stipulation…it must be another L.A.-based comedian so that our readers can go see them. Here are the answers I got:

Greg Fitzsimmons – Greg Proops Chat Show at Largo
Tom Segura – Bert Kreischer
Brian Scolaro – Ben Gleib, Bobby Lee, Elon Gold, Ian Edwards
Matty “Ballgame” Balaker – Bert Kreischer
Dana Min Goodman – Sarah Silverman, Tig Notaro, Greg Fitzsimmons
Jason Gillearn – Ian Edwards
Ryan Sickler – Zach Galifiniakis
Chris Franjola – Jason Gillearn, Brody Stevens, Tom Segura
Duncan Trussell – Brian Holtzman
Andrew Norelli – Brent Weinbach
Bob Bledsoe – Zach Galifiniakis

Comedy is very subjective…so you are going to have to get out there and see these guys and gals yourself. But make no mistake about it, comedians are a tough crowd folks. I watch comedians in the back of the room during shows…when the audience is cracking up…they are not laughing. So when they say a comedian is funny, chances are, he/she is bringin’ the goods. Hope you find some new comedians to see from this list – I know I have. A quick search on Myspace or Google will help you find these comedians…or subscribe to our page…we’ll let you know where they are performing in L.A.