the comic's comic

Todd Barry's favorite movies

MySpace asked Todd Barry 10 questions. He gave them 10 answers. This is all to help promote his new CD, which you can find out about and buy after reading my review of From Heaven. You can catch his stand-up live this weekend at the Arlington Drafthouse in Arlington, Va., and next weekend at Comix in NYC.

10 Questions for Todd Barry

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Miller gets Comix assist from fellow former Windy City comics

If you were wondering how TJ Miller would fare as a club headliner this weekend at Comix (why do I always say you when really I mean me, which means I mean I), then you may wonder less knowing that Miller will have his fellow ex-Chicago comedy friends supporting him in Pete Holmes and Kumail Nanjiani. The three amigos perform at Comix tonight and Saturday.

Related: Ben Kharakh talks Cloverfield with Miller. Miller also interviewed in AMNY.

Tonight on CCP: Jay Oakerson

Jay Oakerson -- no, make that Big Jay Oakerson -- makes his big Comedy Central Presents debut tonight. And here's a clip!

Another clip after the jump...

Live at Gotham 2008 hosts

Less than one week before a new crop of comedians get to add a Comedy Central TV credit to their bios as Live At Gotham tapes next week at Gotham Comedy Club. I'll have more info on who's performing when later. For now, though, I can tell you who'll be your hosts for the evenings.

March 6: Jeff Dunham; Jim Norton
March 7: Ralphie May; Tommy Davidson
March 8: Kevin Hart; Rich Vos
March 9: D.L. Hughley; Daniel Tosh

Tonight on CCP, and at Gotham: Joe Matarese

You can see Joe Matarese live or on TV tonight. Matarese headlines at Gotham Comedy Club tonight (Leap Day) and Saturday, March 1. His half-hour Comedy Central Presents also debuts tonight.

More of Matarese after the jump.

New links to D.C., L.A., Philly, S.F.

Always looking to improve upon my intention to be a definitive guide to comedy, I've added links to the regional comedy blog sites for Washington, D.C. (DC Comedy: 4 Now), Los Angeles (where The Coming claims it's making a comeback), Philadelphia (Comic Vs. Audience) and San Francisco (SF Standup). Be sure to check them out if you live there or planning to visit/gig there.

Am I missing a link to your city's comedy scene community? Please let me know and I'll fix that. Thanks.

Experiment: White on Black Comedy

If there's such a thing as alt-comedy, then can there also be such a thing as alt-black comedy? Elon James White thinks so. White and fellow New York comedian Baron Vaughn have been trying to educate audiences on the notion that there are many different types of black stand-up comedy, through their Shades of Black shows, their online site, The Black Comedy Project, and this weekend, their first full-on comedy fest, The Black Comedy Experiment. The "Experiment" debuts tonight and runs through Saturday night, with all shows at the two venues in The Tank.

Tonight's mainstage shows are Souled Out (featuring Walli Collins, Rick Younger, Leighann Lord, Dean Edwards, Mike Yard and Marc Theobold) and Desiree Burch's 52-Man Pickup. Other one-person shows include "The Oreo Kid" by Jordan Carlos (who auditioned last week for Saturday Night Live as a potential Barack Obama), "30 Years in Africa" by Michelle Buteau, Robin Cloud's "Bag O' Bitches," "Mystery Up at Negro Creek," by Baron Vaughn, and "2-Faced" by Erica Watson. There'll be special editions of Chicks and Giggles, Laughing Liberally and Shades of Black. And that's not all.

That SNL just got a lot of buzz over their search for a cast member to play Barack Obama only brought more attention to the plight of black comedians in getting the industry to notice them. "We couldn't ask for better timing, literally," White told me last night. That SNL didn't cast a black comedian for Obama didn't surprise White. That Jordan Carlos and Donald Glover got face time with Lorne Michaels pleased him, though. "I was happy that two of the three Obamas were on our festival. There's our buzz!"

In White's view, the fact remains that most audiences and Hollywood industry types think of only one type of comedian when they think of booking a black stand-up. They think of Def Jam, he said. "Everybody feels I'm harping on it," he said. It's not that Def Jam is evil or bad, he said, but rather that the great success of Def Jam created a model that everyone else has tried to duplicate without thinking or considering other forms or styles of comedy. That's been the pattern, White says, going back to Bill Cosby. When Richard Pryor emerged, "he kicked the door down," but then other comics tried to be Pryor, then tried to be Eddie Murphy, then tried to be the Wayans Brothers, and more recently, Def Jam. "It was just bravado. In your face," White said. "But it pigeonholed us for years." The opportunities simply aren't there, from SNL to HBO. "Dwayne Perkins might get to do Conan. But where's his HBO special?" White's online essay in October, "Did Def Jam Ruin Black Comedy?" sparked a furious back-and-forth debate with comedian Todd Lynn. "Todd Lynn says there ain't no thing as an 'Intelligent N----r' show. The fact is, though, he thinks there's one way of doing it, but in my opinion, there are many ways of climbing the ladder," White said.

He acknowledges that "the chitlin' circuit is strong in Harlem and the Bronx," and that New York City has lots of black comedians and black rooms, but wonders where the mainstream breakthroughs are for them. And White also knows that even though he's a Bed-Stuy Brooklyn native, he sounds like he's British and doesn't always fit in either an urban Def Jam scene or a white scene. "There are jokes I have that I can't tell in front of a white audience. It's because they just don't get it, nine times out of 10. They don't have the same life experience I have." So there has to be another way. "It was the same when the alt-comedy scene started. That's why I believe in alt-black," he said. "Some people argue I'm just putting another label on them and I understand that."

Like the comedians who formed an alternative to the club scene so they could work and build their own fan bases, White hopes to do the same for the many "shades of black" comedy. He's not against "urban or Def Jam" comedians who are good, saying Patrice Oneal is great and killed on that show. He's against black comedians who are hack about their blackness, such as the woman who threw her weave into the audience to get a standing ovation.

White still doesn't know if he and Vaughn and the experiment will succeed. "If we make enough ruckus, at least we'll be a footnote," White said.

Frog vs. Frog vs. Comedy Blog, part two

So...Prof. Dave Saldana sent me an email requesting me to "throttle back on the accusatory tone," because if I were to Google "killing frogs" (they do have Google in Iowa!), I would see (as would you) that no one else was using that term for a comedy blog. Indeed. Point made and scored! And no, Todd Jackson, aka Dead-Frog, "is hardly the sole proprietor of that analogy," as Saldana writes. True. Anyone can use a quote by E.B. White as the basis for a blog and tagline. In fact, two people do. Nothing wrong with that. Everything's silly about it, though.

The end of Invite Them Up

After six years, and after creating a new home for the so-called "alt-comedy" scene in New York City's East Village, Invite Them Up called it a night. Hosts Bobby Tisdale and Eugene Mirman will go their separate ways. And who knows what's next. Let's take a moment to reflect.

Invite Them Up RIP
Uploaded by thecomicscomic

Time of death: 11:51 p.m., Feb. 27. 2008.

Of course, all of the comedians who performed, from Tisdale and Mirman to Jim Gaffigan, Mike Birbiglia, Todd Barry, Demetri Martin, Jon Glaser, Jon Benjamin, Chelsea Peretti, Craig Baldo, Kristen Schaal, and everyone who performed Monday and Tuesday, will still be performing around NYC. And Rififi will still be open. But Invite Them Up is done. And comedians, bloggers, photographers and fans packed the joint, feeling a bit nostalgic already.

Frog vs. frog in comedy blog

Dave Saldana teaches journalism at Iowa State University. He also just launched a comedy blog called Killing Frogs. That's right. Killing Frogs. That sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it, Todd Jackson? Do they have Google in Iowa? What would Saldana's students think? And why must frogs die for comedy to thrive, anyhow? I never understood that. Especially when we still have truckloads of rubber chickens left over from yesteryear.

Breaking News: Borelli can't handle the tooth!

EXCLUSIVE!!! The Comic's Comic has learned that comedian Patrick Borelli will have to cancel his Thursday night performance at Gabe & Jenny's New Experience due to a root canal scheduled for 3 p.m. tomorrow. Borelli told me last night that the best dental experts have targeted Tooth #19 for the invasive surgical procedure. He's unsure when he'll be able to perform again. But certainly not Thursday night. Donations are not necessary at this time, although friends ask that you keep Borelli and his teeth in your prayers.

UPDATED! We've also obtained this exclusive X-ray of Tooth #19*

George Carlin live on HBO March 1

George Carlin's evolution from family-friendly comedian to maverick to renegade to cantankerous hoot continues this Saturday, March 1, when his 14th HBO special airs live at 10 p.m. Eastern, broadcast from Santa Rosa, Calif. (at the same time, Louis CK is taping his upcoming special in Boston...discuss). Here's the HBO ad:

Related: Carlin gave a recent interview to the AP chronicling his mood shift.

Fred Simmons in The Foot Fist Way

In case you were wondering about the Fred Simmons appearance last night on Conan O'Brien, here are some clues to unlock the mystery for you. First, the video.

If the YouTube clip doesn't work, you also can watch the segment and the full episode online via NBC, and by doing so, you're supporting the writers. Did you know that? Now you know.

Fred Simmons, aka Danny McBride, aka Danny R. McBride, is the star of the movie, The Foot Fist Way (you saw the film's Web address displayed in the Conan clip), which debuted at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival, and gets a limited release nationally this April 11. Here was the Variety review from 2006. McBride also has roles in three other 2008 film comedies, Drillbit Taylor, Pineapple Express (those two both penned by McBride's friend in dumb comedy, Seth Rogen) and Tropic Thunder.

Interesting to see Conan welcoming a character comedian sketch onto a show that already had Will Ferrell performing a sketch, made even more interesting as the camera cuts to Conan and Will during McBride's bit to gauge their reactions.

Related: Fred Simmons on MySpace.

Todd Barry on Conan tonight

Todd Barry, last seen filling in on drums for Yo La Tengo on night two of the three-night Invite Them Up finale at Rififi, will perform on Conan tonight. Thanks for uploading your photo on Flickr, Marianne Ways, even though you told me last night you'd wait! (insert :) here) In slightly related news, Barry has a new CD coming out next week, From Heaven. I've got a review of it here. And in even more slightly related news, Barry will headline Comix next weekend.

And if you like that news, then you'll probably want to pre-order his new CD, which you can do via this handy Amazon.com link!

Reluctantly linking

Jerry Seinfeld's lawyers are arguing that Seinfeld essentially botched a joke about the woman who's suing his wife for plaigarism. What's the deal with that?

Seth Rogen, late to a party, and slightly gay about? Who'd ever guess that? And no, I won't embed this video.

Apparently, the comic strip Garfield is funnier if you alter it in any way. Watch your back, Family Circus. Too soon? No. Too late.

Colbert's first 2008 Word: Good Bad Journalism

Apparently, the New York Times has some learning to do. Last night, The Colbert Report released its first post-strike edition of "The Word." And it was good. Though, technically, the word was: Good Bad Journalism. Writers on writers. Yay.

Tim Minchin returns to NYC for extended run

Remember when Tim Minchin told me in November how much he loved his first visit to New York City and would love to return in 2008 for an extended run and write a new show? Well. Minchin will make good on that, starting Monday. He'll perform a 90-minute show at New World Stages, Mondays-Saturdays, from March 3 through April 12. Info here.

Review: Todd Barry, "From Heaven"

Todd Barry's third comedy CD, "From Heaven," comes out next Tuesday. Perhaps you've heard that. But you're wondering more. What's on the CD? Is it funny? Should I buy it? All good questions, yes. First, though, how about making sure you're in the know.

For those who haven't heard or seen Todd Barry, you may need to hear/see him a few times to get used to his delivery. Barry's onstage voice and his regular speaking voice force you to pay attention to what he's saying, lacking the typical changes in volume and inflection that would normally act as listening cues. That said, it also, at least in his live sets recently, helps play into his humor. Barry does not have the voice of a braggard, yet he's often telling audiences he's the best comedian they've ever seen. One joke on the CD has Barry going to the zoo to see panda bears but loving the prairie dogs more, then realizing that's how audiences must feel when they see Barry as the opening act for another comic. Talk like that might make you think that "From Heaven," really could be subtitled, "From the Mouth of Todd." On this CD, though, hearing him and laughing along with him are not at issue. The crowd at the Comedy Studio in Cambridge, Mass., where Barry recorded these sets last year, laughed loud and often. The CD certainly wins comedy points for accuracy in track listings. It reads like the bullet point list of bits that you'd find on every stand-up comedian who's about to take to the stage. Many times, CD listings attempt to give witty titles to each track, but in doing so, overlook some of the other jokes and bits in that track. Not so here.

Track listings for "From Heaven"...1) Working With Me, 2) Leak, Looking For Apartment, 3) Guy Who Needs Help, Been to NYC?, Driving With Friend, 4) Preachy Singer, English Washer, Alabama, Pittsburgh, 5) Birthdays, Challenge, Cambridge, Noodle Gift, 6) Prairie Dogs, Sweet Soap, 7) MySpace, Unbelievable Questions, Guy Who Reads Email, UF, 8) Chipotle, Trader Joe's, 9) Old Navy, Short Shop, 10) Todd's Address, Stay With Todd, Limo, Container Store, 11) Anal, Set An Alarm, 12) Amex, Pastry Chef, 13) Nurse's T-shirt, Kid's T-shirt, 14) Selling CDs, Springsteen at Bar, Moore at Party, Gawker, 15) Potter, Chinese Restaurant Conversation, 16) Fridge, Audience Member's Tab, Best Celebrity Sighting.

Fans will note that Barry does change his accent a couple of times for "impersonations" of Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen. Sort of. He plays on the silly nature of Gawker Stalker. And for a few minutes, he pretends that he has reached an absurd level of success, and how he'd thusly live absurdly.

Much of "From Heaven" follows a simpler thematic premise. Here are some crazy/silly/stupid/odd things people have said or written in my presence, and here are my actual and potential responses to them, expanding exponentially to their comedic limits. One example you may have heard if you've heard Barry in the past year: "Chipotle's delicious. Can you believe they were started by McDonald's?" More examples are posted after the jump (in case you feel that'd be some sort of spoiler).

David Steinberg hired by Interview mag

Women's Wear Daily reported today that Interview magazine has hired David Steinberg to be its comedy editor. Why didn't I know this job was even open? At any rate. Last I'd seen of Steinberg, he was on the TV interviewing stand-up comedians for the TV Land show Sit Down Comedy, so I guess those interviews made sense for Interview. That said, Steinberg's online home news page is a year old. What have you done for us lately? Get to work!

Paul Scheer's success impedes Human Giant tour

Developing: Paul Scheer of Human Giant writes to announce that he has gotten a part "in the new Jack Black/Michael Cera film Year One and due to a scheduling conflict, we must change/cancel some tour dates." What's that mean? The guys report that, for now, it means...and I'm quoting them here:

San Francisco - Rob and Aziz will do the show without Paul.

Portland - CANCELLED

Seattle - CANCELLED

Cambridge - Being rescheduled for April hopefully…

DC - Being rescheduled for April hopefully…

Philadelphia - Being rescheduled for April hopefully…

Williamsburg - Being rescheduled for April hopefully…

NY (Paley Center/Museum of TV and Radio) - Being rescheduled for April hopefully…

ALL SXSW SHOWS - Good to go!