The Stand-Up Comedy Discussion Thread!

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Billy Gnosis: May 18, 2006; Now is the time for us to gather together and celebrate those things that we like and think are fun.

So I went to see the live Walking the Room today at SF Sketchfest, and I was wondering if this thread could explain a riff about another comedian that happened since everyone seems quite knowledgeable about random stories in the comedy world. (google didn't turn up anything) [Spoiler tag in case it was recorded and people want to be surprised by the riff]

Mitch Hedberg apparently had an untreated hole in his leg and almost lost it? Is that just a drug related joke?

Also they joked about Ralphie May's twitter feed showing a man who had one too many bad days and had gone over the edge also came up coincidently.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 04:03

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# ? May 22, 2024 15:10

Mescal: Jul 23, 2005

Out of the many Netflix standup specials I've watched recently, I've got to add more praise for Mulaney's Comeback Kid. It seemed enjoyable but not impressive at first, though the Back to the Future bit really tickled me. Then it kind of stuck with me for a while and I had to watch it again, which I rarely do with specials. The whole thing's really masterful. I could see part of the process at work where bits that were probably 2 minutes long at first were reduced to ten-word asides in the middle of another story. I wonder how long the performance was before editing--it appeared at least to be only lightly edited.

Contrast it with Aziz's bullshit thing at Madison Square Garden for watching a comedian work a large crowd versus a celebrity/comic/writer/actor mildly entertaining a large crowd.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 04:32

XIII: Feb 11, 2009

I say "Big rear end H" a lot since seeing Comeback Kid

# ? Jan 25, 2016 05:34

SpacePig: Apr 4, 2007; Hold that pose.
I've gotta get something.

Ches Neckbeard posted:

I know most people here give no fucks about Ralphie May but he's having a weird meltdown over the title of Chelsea Peretti's album title. There's tons of quoted tweets of him trying to justify it including announcing his IQ...yeah he's in a good place.

https://twitter.com/Ralphie_May/status/691220415255941120
https://twitter.com/Ralphie_May/status/691217383285886978

also including racism!
https://twitter.com/Ralphie_May/status/691225880832663552

Hahaha. i've always hated Ralphie Mays.
https://twitter.com/Ralphie_May/status/691300120453877760
I... I don't think he knows what those words mean, or else he's using them completely incorrectly. Jesus.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 06:21

sexpig by night: Sep 8, 2011; by Azathoth

I think if we're judging 'greats' we should defer to the wisdom of a legend of comedy who's hits include 'I'm a large fat man' and 'I'm from the south' and also I think a joke about pussy eating relating to being fat somehow?

# ? Jan 25, 2016 07:13

Illinois Smith: Nov 15, 2003; Ninety-one? There are ninety other "Tiger Drivers"? Do any involve actual tigers, or driving?

Billy Gnosis posted:

Mitch Hedberg apparently had an untreated hole in his leg and almost lost it? Is that just a drug related joke?

He did a shitload of drugs, including heroin, so whether that's true or just a Requiem For A Dream reference is anyone's guess. He did spend a few weeks in the hospital after he was arrested for heroin possession though.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 11:00

WerthersWay: Jul 21, 2009

Normally I'd laugh at Ralphie May because he's not funny and sounds crazy in his attack, but it sounds like he's going through a mental breakdown. He cancelled a late show a couple weeks back in VA and people at the 7pm show said he was full on crying at the end of his set.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 17:34

crazy cloud: Nov 7, 2012; by Cyrano4747; Lipstick Apathy

Mulaney rules and so does Chelsea, also yeah obviously Ralphie May is not and hasn't ever been OK in the head

# ? Jan 25, 2016 17:39

Dacap: Jul 8, 2008; I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower.

You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.

It's weird that he's calling her out now when that special has been on Netflix for months. Like he just saw it in his "recommended for you" section and flipped out.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 17:40

SpacePig: Apr 4, 2007; Hold that pose.
I've gotta get something.

Dacap posted:

It's weird that he's calling her out now when that special has been on Netflix for months. Like he just saw it in his "recommended for you" section and flipped out.

She had tweeted about it the day before, I think.

Also, according to Wikipedia, his FEMALE COMEDIAN wife is filing for divorce and seeking custody of the kids, so I can see why he'd be a bit mentally off at this point in time.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 17:47

People Stew: Dec 5, 2003

He was on a podcast a few months ago (Joey Diaz I think) and sounded kind of messed up, talking about the divorce. It was pretty sad actually, and I think he's pretty much a mess these days. More so than usual.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 18:16

bango skank: Jan 15, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Man I just wanted to laugh at some rear end in a top hat being an idiot in public, not feel bad for a person going through a rough time.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 20:55

SpacePig: Apr 4, 2007; Hold that pose.
I've gotta get something.

bango skank posted:

Man I just wanted to laugh at some rear end in a top hat being an idiot in public, not feel bad for a person going through a rough time.

I mean, it's not exactly an excuse, if that helps. If you're going through a tough enough time in your life that someone sarcastically calling their special "One of the Greats" sets you off on Twitter, maybe you should make an effort to stay out of the public eye.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 21:19

jyrka: Jan 21, 2005; Potato Count: 2 small potatoes

He is right though. Chelsea Peretti is not one of the greats.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 21:22

bango skank: Jan 15, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

SpacePig posted:

I mean, it's not exactly an excuse, if that helps. If you're going through a tough enough time in your life that someone sarcastically calling their special "One of the Greats" sets you off on Twitter, maybe you should make an effort to stay out of the public eye.

For sure, going through some poo poo doesn't give you a "be a oval office for free" card but it definitely makes the outburst a little less hilarious.

jyrka posted:

He is right though. Chelsea Peretti is not one of the greats.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 21:40

Apoplexy: Mar 9, 2003; by Shine

jyrka posted:

He is right though. Chelsea Peretti is not one of the greats.

That's probably why her special includes crowd shots of black dudes gettin' it on with bitches and such.

# ? Jan 25, 2016 22:59

The Berzerker: Feb 24, 2006; treat me like a dog

I saw Beth Stelling last night, she was fantastic. Really funny set.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:49

Call Me Charlie: Dec 3, 2005; by Smythe

Billy Gnosis posted:

So I went to see the live Walking the Room today at SF Sketchfest, and I was wondering if this thread could explain a riff about another comedian that happened since everyone seems quite knowledgeable about random stories in the comedy world. (google didn't turn up anything) [Spoiler tag in case it was recorded and people want to be surprised by the riff]

Mitch Hedberg apparently had an untreated hole in his leg and almost lost it? Is that just a drug related joke?

quote:

Despite rumors of heavy drug use, Hedberg would arrive, perform, and leave audiences happy.

�Mitch was a live-and-let-live guy,� says Becky. �When we would talk about [the drug gossip] he would always say, �I�m fine, man. I�m writing jokes. I�m selling tickets. My fans love me.� He never would say, �I have a problem. I�m in trouble. I�m unhappy.� We always tried to get to the bottom of what he was doing and he kept saying �I�m fine, I�m fine, I�m fine.��

But the rumors were becoming too pervasive, too worrying. In the summer of 2002, Mary and Arne [his parents] tracked down the couple in Texas and confronted him about substance abuse. The conversation did not go well. �Lo and behold, they talked us out of it,� says Arne, with a shake of the head. ��This is all just a big myth. Here�s why and blah blah blah.� They teamed up on us. The truth is, they snookered us.�

Any pretense that the comedian was clean was shattered a year later. Hedberg had just wrapped up a series of shows at an Austin comedy club when he and Lynn were stopped at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. A federal officer opened up a red bag covered with white flowers that had Hedberg�s name on it. Inside was a Red Bull can with three syringes and a smudge of heroin on the bottom. When the officer searched Hedberg�s backpack he found a fistful of pills, Valium and Xanax, as it turned out that the comedian said he�d gotten from someone downtown. (He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge.)

Hedberg spent two nights in jail, where a routine examination showed that an infection had been festering in his right leg for months. He was shipped to a county hospital, and while he was there, doctors told Shawcroft the leg was in alarmingly bad shape. Mary and Arne arranged to have Mitch transported to a Houston hospital, where surgeons operated for 13 hours. The leg was saved though Hedberg would limp for the rest of his life. But after that nobody had any illusions that Hedberg was actually okay. In fact, everyone was scared to death. Everyone except Shawcroft. �To me it was a relief,� she says quietly. �I mean, when he got arrested it was very scary. But it got us to stop working for a couple of months and almost back to health. For a while.�

http://www.all-encompassingly.com/mitch-hedberg-comic-tragedy/

Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Feb 1, 2016

# ? Feb 1, 2016 01:08

ChickenArise: May 12, 2010; POWER
= MEAT +
OPPORTUNITY
= BATTLEWORMS

Shawcroft is reasonably nuts, assuming she even ever really got clean. I've only really briefly interacted with her when she came to a torrent site I was on that was hosting Los Enchiladas! back in the day. Doug Stanhope was ranting about her recently though; apparently she's sitting on tons of unreleased material.

# ? Feb 1, 2016 15:57

XIII: Feb 11, 2009

Rewatched Bill Burr's I'm Sorry You Feel That Way special and, goddamn, I love his act outs and mic work. So excited to see him on the 12th!

ChickenArise posted:

Shawcroft is reasonably nuts, assuming she even ever really got clean. I've only really briefly interacted with her when she came to a torrent site I was on that was hosting Los Enchiladas! back in the day. Doug Stanhope was ranting about her recently though; apparently she's sitting on tons of unreleased material.

If what Doug said was true, I can kind of understanding her reasoning. She doesn't want to release it because she's afraid it would tarnish Mitch's legacy. Sure, diehard fans would love to hear bootleg recordings of him working out new material and things that he cut or never got quite right for a special, but other people would be like, "Oh, man, I thought this guy was good."

# ? Feb 1, 2016 16:36

PassTheRemote: Mar 15, 2007; Number 6 holds The Village record in Duck Hunt.

The first one to kill wins.

XIII posted:

Rewatched Bill Burr's I'm Sorry You Feel That Way special and, goddamn, I love his act outs and mic work. So excited to see him on the 12th!

If what Doug said was true, I can kind of understanding her reasoning. She doesn't want to release it because she's afraid it would tarnish Mitch's legacy. Sure, diehard fans would love to hear bootleg recordings of him working out new material and things that he cut or never got quite right for a special, but other people would be like, "Oh, man, I thought this guy was good."

Besides, we already got one posthumous CD, I think that's more than enough.

# ? Feb 1, 2016 18:24

WerthersWay: Jul 21, 2009

Mr. Warmth, the Don Rickles documentary on Netflix is amazing. It was originally made around his 80th birthday but now he's almost 90 and still still going strong on the late night circuit.

# ? Feb 2, 2016 01:09

The Berzerker: Feb 24, 2006; treat me like a dog

I saw Jackie Kashian do an hour last night, she was great.

# ? Feb 27, 2016 16:58

Copper Vein: Mar 14, 2007; ...and we liked it that way.

First I ever saw of Jackie was when she went on a late night show like Conan in '99 or whatever and doing 5 minutes that was mostly about videogames and talking to a 90's studio audience about Lethal Enforcers.

# ? Feb 28, 2016 01:28

The Berzerker: Feb 24, 2006; treat me like a dog

She had a pretty solid bit about her game designer husband going to a strip club and not understanding 'the game' and disliking the 'in game purchases' etc. that was pretty funny. She is a giant nerd.

# ? Feb 28, 2016 20:57

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

I've been thinking about trying out to do an open mic night here at a local club. Anyone here ever tried it? Can you offer any pointers? I don't have a lot to lose just giving it a shot but I'd hate to get up there and bomb.

# ? Feb 28, 2016 22:27

Illinois Smith: Nov 15, 2003; Ninety-one? There are ninety other "Tiger Drivers"? Do any involve actual tigers, or driving?

you probably will bomb though

# ? Feb 28, 2016 22:41

Carthag Tuek: Oct 15, 2005; Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
sl�gt skal f�lge sl�gters gang

you should hella do it
but also you will bomb big time

idk but i am told the more you bomb, the better you get. unless you fight the audience. dont fight.

thats the natutre~

# ? Feb 28, 2016 22:58

Carthag Tuek: Oct 15, 2005; Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
sl�gt skal f�lge sl�gters gang

im fat and drunk

but heres a good early set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlaTVf5suZk

# ? Feb 28, 2016 22:59

Mescal: Jul 23, 2005

Illinois Smith posted:

you probably will bomb though

Statistically, yeah. The first few times are generally at little painful.

My advice: spend a week or two writing jokes, choose your favorites, go up and have fun. If you're having fun so will they. Tell them it's your first time, people are always supportive of a first timer. Stay away from the offensive stuff at first, you won't be able to pull it off. Don't get mad at the audience, if they don't laugh at a punchline just say "I think that's funny" and move on.

If you don't know how to write jokes yet, just tell a funny anecdote from your life in which you're the victim. (And not, for example, a funny story about how your ex was a bitch.) When you're doing anecdotal, you don't have to worry about choking on the memorization part.

If it's not exciting, pat yourself on the back for trying something new. If you find you like that microphone feeling, congrats: you're a comedian now. You're stuck. Good luck.

# ? Feb 28, 2016 23:04

Beef Jerky Robot: Sep 20, 2009; "And the DICK?"

Be sure to troll the audience

# ? Feb 28, 2016 23:30

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

Mescal posted:

If you don't know how to write jokes yet, just tell a funny anecdote from your life in which you're the victim.

This is why I think I can do it because this won't be hard. My life is basically one big joke anyway and I'm always the victim. My therapist actually recommended that I give it a shot. Have any of you guys ever tried it?

edit:

Snapchat A Titty posted:

im fat and drunk

but heres a good early set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlaTVf5suZk

Not bad.

# ? Feb 29, 2016 02:53

crazy cloud: Nov 7, 2012; by Cyrano4747; Lipstick Apathy

Get a new therapist, but also go open mic.

# ? Feb 29, 2016 03:02

Animal-Mother: Feb 14, 2012; RABBIT RABBIT
RABBIT RABBIT

BiggerBoat posted:

My therapist actually recommended that I give it a shot.

Open with this and find out if your therapist is the real comedian. :rimshot:

# ? Feb 29, 2016 08:55

DR FRASIER KRANG: Feb 4, 2005; "Are you forgetting that just this afternoon I was punched in the face by a turtle now dead?

As a fellow mic'er, there's so much advice I could give (and take) but for a first timer:

-clear the mic stand if you're going to hold the mic
-try to have a punch line or pregnant pause every 20-30 seconds
-don't apologize or make fun of the fact that you're not funny
-don't worry if no one laughs because chances are the audience is 95% comics waiting to go up

So what that means is that while you're waiting to go up you should watch the other comics and laugh at their jokes. It will make you less nervous about your set and maybe have a positive effect on the room.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 09:04

XIII: Feb 11, 2009

HEY NONG MAN posted:

As a fellow mic'er, there's so much advice I could give (and take) but for a first timer:

-clear the mic stand if you're going to hold the mic
-try to have a punch line or pregnant pause every 20-30 seconds
-don't apologize or make fun of the fact that you're not funny
-don't worry if no one laughs because chances are the audience is 95% comics waiting to go up

So what that means is that while you're waiting to go up you should watch the other comics and laugh at their jokes. It will make you less nervous about your set and maybe have a positive effect on the room.

All good points. I would add:

- don't fumble with the mic cord, it's a dead giveaway that you're pant-shittingly nervous

# ? Mar 2, 2016 16:43

Haverchuck: May 6, 2005; the coolest

I dont know if there is a consensus on this but if a comedian is doing three days in a row at one club, is one show considered superior? Its thurs fri sat so what is the best night to go? Im leaning towards thursday to save myself weekend traffic

# ? Mar 13, 2016 20:47

crazy cloud: Nov 7, 2012; by Cyrano4747; Lipstick Apathy

Depends on the venue / town / comedian, Thursday could be better if it means the crowd is %15 less wasted because it's a weeknight.

# ? Mar 13, 2016 21:21

Ches Neckbeard: Dec 3, 2005; You're all garbage, back up the truck BACK IT UP!

Has anyone gotten Proops new album yet? I have the feeling it's just the podcast that I've fallen way out of love with.

# ? Mar 14, 2016 01:43

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# ? May 22, 2024 15:10

The Berzerker: Feb 24, 2006; treat me like a dog

Haverchuck posted:

I dont know if there is a consensus on this but if a comedian is doing three days in a row at one club, is one show considered superior? Its thurs fri sat so what is the best night to go? Im leaning towards thursday to save myself weekend traffic

My strategy is usually Thursday. If I can't make that, I'll go Friday to the earlier show (I am assuming the comic is doing two shows on Fri/Sat? that's how it usually is here). Late shows tend to have more drunk idiots being a bad crowd, Saturdays bring in out of towners who are sometimes also a bad crowd. But that's just my opinion

# ? Mar 14, 2016 02:27

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