The Bastion

Proposed Ordinance Could Kill Chicago Comedy Scene - Protest Now

2008-05-12T17:30:00Z

A proposed ordinance, for which there has been almost no public discourse, is going to vote on Wednesday, and could cripple Chicago's nightlife, including the comedy and music scenes.

Chapter 4-157 of Title IV of the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago (posted here in its entirety) would levy huge licensing fees on all promoters of live events, including small comedy shows like those at the Playground Theater, the Hideout, the Beat Kitchen, Schubas, the Lincoln Lodge, the Cornservatory, and pretty much everywhere else you go to see comedy throughout the city.

According to the ordinance, any event promoter would need a license from the city of Chicago (ranging in price from $500 to $2,000) and liability insurance of $300,000.

Time Out Chicago is hosting some videos from promoters explaining how this ordinance would "put them out of business."

Go here to sign the online petition, which will "be presented to the City Council and to all Chicago Aldermen prior to Wednesday’s vote."

No kidding, folks, go now and sign the online petition, or music and comedy in Chicago will no longer exist in their current form.

Edited to add: it wouldn't hurt to send an email to your alderman either, as did Chicago Underground Comedy producer Dan Telfer. Dan allowed us to reprint this letter he sent to his alderman:

Dear Mr. Tunney,

My name is Dan Telfer. I have been performing in various theater and comedy companies in Chicago for 12 years. During much of that time I have produced my own plays, sketch revues, and stand-up showcases. I have lived here my entire life.

The promoter's ordinance on the table would completely destroy 90% of the live performance in this city. It is easy for those outside our community to believe that the bigger the audience, the more important the work. However, almost all of the music and performance here is done without any sort of insurance on the producer's part, usually because the venue has their own insurance. We rely on venues to allow us rentals based on appreciation for what we do.

More importantly, there is no budget in any promoter's spreadsheet for this. It's not just that we have never had to shell out money to the city for this sort of thing, it's that there simply isn't revenue to balance it out. Many shows make just enough to pay rent, and the performers work for free. And again, I cannot possibly state this enough, when I say many I mean MANY shows. I mean that I have actively been involved in the community for a long time, and I know being incorporated or a non-profit allows for sponsors and grants. Those production companies are already asked by their renters to get insurance if they hope to perform in a space long-term. But the fight for those grants and sponsors, particularly in this desperate economy, is more work than any start-up company (comprised of a handful of people with full-time day jobs that barely pay their residential rent) can bear. This ordinance would destroy the gap between an up and coming young group of performers and a professional one with years of experience and money to spend.

We must not only stop this from being passed, we must never allow one like it again. For every $500 - $2000 bill the city earns from this, dozens of people will leave the city in frustration because their artistic outlet is banished. To do this to venues only under 500 in capacity is even more insulting. It's the sort of looking-out-for-the-rich logic that makes me fear the direction this country is going.

Please join the rest of your community on this,

Dan Telfer
Producer and Performer of Blewt Productions (blewt.com)
Company Member of Theater Oobleck (theateroobleck.com)
Producer and Performer of Chicago Underground Comedy (chicagoundergroundcomedy.com)
dantelfer@gmail.com
dan@blewt.com
dan@chicagoundergroundcomedy.com

Stand Uppity at Lakeshore Tonight: Eugene Mirman, Marc Maron, Andy Kindler

2008-05-09T17:00:00Z

There's some big deal, top notch comedy on the menu for this Chicago night. Don't punish yourself later, check out Stand-uppity tonight at the Lakeshore Theater. The sterling lineup includes Andy Kindler, Eugene Mirman, and Marc Maron.

Kindler, a frequent guest and correspondent for The Late Show with David Letterman, offers some idea of what to expect from tonight's chucklefest: “Marc Maron is a man who’s angry at himself, he’s angry at other people, he’s angry at the crowd, he’s angry at the city he lives in. Eugene’s kind of wacky. He’s off the wall. You know he has emotional problems but he’s comfortable with them. I am the anchor of the show in the sense that I’m going to drag us all to the bottom.”

Here's a recent clip of Mirman putting a comedic smack down on Scientology:

Chicago Comedy Gets More Press

2008-05-08T17:00:00Z

Hannibal Buress in the Tribune: "Comedian Hannibal Buress is on his way...Buress' 'Live at Gotham' set was an emphatic success, another rung up the ladder for this native of Galewood on Chicago's West Side, who appeared last fall on CBS' "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson."

"Funny Ladies" in Centerstage Chicago: "These young, up-and-coming female comedians are shaping Chicago's underground scene...Chicago has no shortage of talented, funny ladies, but you gotta know where to find 'em in the male-dominated comedy scene." The piece mentions Sarah King (whose "Good Crazy/Bad Crazy" was reviewed in TOC), Cameron Esposito, Jena Friedman, the Puterbaugh Sisters, and Fay Canale.

"Peter Deadpan" - Michael Palascak in Time Out Chicago: "Michael Palascak’s career is taking off, and fast: At last year’s Las Vegas Comedy Festival, he won a stand-up contest that secured meetings with top Los Angeles talent managers (though he admits he doesn’t know what managers 'do')..."

We also got word that Pimprov had a Tribune reporter tagging along at their show last weekend, and will be the subject of a story in the near future.

New Video Wednesday: Addition

2008-05-07T20:12:50Z

Dan Cooper (of The Gentlemen's Club), got some video of Robin Williams dropping in to the Town Hall Pub for the Entertaining Julia show this past Sunday:

Chicagoist has a nice write-up to go with the vid.

Thanks Dan and Margaret!

New Video Wednesday

2008-05-07T17:00:00Z

"Book Club" by Collars Up, featuring Mackenzie Condon:

Hey You Millionaires: The Phone Call...(LIVE at Chicago Sketchfest 08)

Highlights from Chicago Underground Comedy, April 29, 2008, Featuring Prescott Tolk, Sean Flannery, CJ Sullivan, Dan Polydoris, Money Kids, and James Vickery:

Dan Polydoris at Chicago Underground Comedy, April 29, 2008:

Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell at The Lincoln Lodge:

Batch285, "Surprise":

Inside With: Michael Palascak

2008-05-06T17:00:00Z

The Bastion recently got a chance to chat with stand-up comedian Michael Palascak, who seems to be everywhere we turn these days. Take a break this afternoon to catch up with the frenetic activity of one of the city's power hitters.

When and how did you get started with comedy in Chicago, and was it always your plan to pursue stand-up?

The first time I ever performed stand-up comedy in the Chicagoland area was July of 2002 at Bill Brady's Barrel of Laughs Comedy Club in Oak Lawn, IL. I met some really talented comedians there -- Denise Ramsden, Brian Hicks, Ken Schultz, Brian Aldridge, Todd Glover, etc. They really helped guide me and helped me get work over the next couple years. All the shows I ever got were because of connections they made for me. That summer I also took Level A of improv at Second City.

As for was it a plan to pursue stand-up? I knew I wanted to do comedy/acting/writing -- The winter/spring of '02 down at college, I did my first play and sketch/improv show and I really enjoyed it and wanted to do it for a job. So when I came home for the summer I enrolled in the class at Second City. And then one night that summer I was at Borders and saw a book on stand-up, bought it, and did my first set a couple weeks later. And I realized that was something that I really wanted to succeed at. Then when I finished college and moved home, I realized how hard it was to get on stage as an actor/improviser -- like you had to audition and be good. But as a stand-up, you didn't have to be good. You just had to show up and you got to go on stage. And if you were a decent person, or even just not committing felonies on site, then the next time you came back, you got to do it again. And I really liked that. Like having the control to get on stage and grow as a comedian. So I realized while I may do other things, I would always try to keep getting better at stand-up.

How would you describe your style of stand-up?

I would describe my style of stand-up as "really funny."

What's a typical week's schedule of performing like for you?

Hopefully at a booked show Thurs-Saturday. And then at open mics the other nights. Or at showcases like Comedians You Should Know or Chicago Underground Comedy, if they'll have me. And then Sunday late nights there's an open mic in my living room. It's a nice non-comic my mom crowd.

What sort of representation do you have right now, and what steps did you take to get different representation?

I'm with Ambassador and Iris Talent for on-camera. I'm with Bass-Schuler for colleges. I got my on-camera agents by sending/dropping off headshots/resumes and then an audition. In the Ambassador audition, they really liked it when I performed my various farm animal noises for them, that's totally what got me in with them. And then with Iris, I had to audition with a monologue. So I put together a character monologue using my stand-up material about graduating college and it went well. Like I didn't do them as jokes as a stand-up, I did them as if it were a character in a play.

As for Bass-Schuler, my friend Stolie, a very talented singer songwriter, check out her music open mics -- www.stolie.com -- recommended me. So one of the agents and some interns came out to see me at a Mikey O Show and that went well and then they came again to Comedy Central Open Mic Fight Showcase at Zanies and brought one of the co-owners -- Chris Schuler of Bass-Schuler, and that went well. They really liked that I was funny, clean and relate-able to college kids. And they started booking shows for me a couple months later.

I just got a manager. I met a couple different managers at The Comedy Festival in Vegas in November. I stayed in contact with them and got feedback on some of my writing samples from them. Then a couple of them saw me at Gotham in March. And then when I went to LA -- as a part of winning the Lucky 21, Rachel Rusch and JP Buck from HBO set up a bunch of meetings for me with studios, casting people, and managers in L.A. -- I met with all of the managers I was interested in and picked one of them.

You've been kicking ass with the online comedy contests. Can you tell us about the Lucky 21 jackpot, that big bag of money you got, and what your secret strategy is for success with contests?

As a prize I won money, and they set up meetings for me in L.A., and I got a TV spot -- I think that was Gotham but I'm not sure. As for the money, well, according to my parents, I need to buy a new car, but I think they're biased. The one I'm driving right now works fine but I think they want it back soon.

I don't know really how I won. I think it was the result of me being really nice to people for 25 years. I know for the first round of Lucky 21, my parents voted a lot. Especially my dad. I also had a lot of help from friends and relatives and friends of friends and relatives of relatives. And then for the final round Ryan and Kevin Manno from The Manno Program at Q101 invited me to come on their radio show and promote it and that really put me over the top.

Local figures like Zanies' Bert Haas have high praise for you, and seem to expect good things from you. What would you like to do over the next, say, five years?

The next five years? Well, this Thursday May 8th I'm having a staged reading of my sitcom pilot: The Michael Palascak (Pal-a-sack) Show. The reading is at the iO Theater (ImprovOlympic) in the Del Close Theater at 7 pm. iO is at 3541 N. Clark St. in Chicago. Right by Wrigley Field but there's no Cubs game that night so parking should be available around the theater. Everyone is invited -- It's free! I'd love to hear what you guys think! And anyone coming to the reading is welcome to stay for the other improv shows at iO at 8 and 9 pm upstairs and downstairs for free, so come on out! So, yeah, one goal would be to have the reading go really really well and have it turn into a TV show on NBC in between The Office and ER or whatever medical drama exists at the time. But that's just like a short-term small goal. Five years from now I want to host a talk show on Jupiter, the planet. Ten year plan -- intergalactic. Fifteen year plan -- I want to be a really good stand-up and write novels in a house I own.

Elizabeth McQuern

Robin Williams Chills With Chicago Comedians at Lakeshore Theater

2008-05-05T19:30:00Z

Robin Williams was in town to make an appearance on the special Chicago set of the Ellen Degeneres Show (not "Helen," Mayor Daley), and while he was here he popped into the Lakeshore Theater Friday and Saturday night, where he performed and caught sets by Chicago comics including Hannibal Buress, Carrie Callahan, Cameron Esposito, Jena Friedman, Adam Burke, and Prescott Tolk.

Jena Friedman told us Williams also tagged along to Sunday night's Entertaining Julia show at the Town Hall Pub, where he was "mind-blowing."

Carrie Callahan reported that "I actually barely got to talk to him, but he seemed very gracious and nice. On Saturday he had an incredibly dirty set, and the audience loved it."

Prescott Tolk was impressed with Williams' trademark manic energy: "It was a big thrill to watch a standard showcase night at the Lakeshore Theater transform into a major event. As word got out that he was in the house, the theater went from a quarter full to sold out within 45 minutes. He was friendly and gracious from the moment he walked in the green room. It was great to watch him work. The guy transcends age when he steps on stage. All energy, all the time. I get the feeling that the Lakeshore will be privy to more 'pop-in' performances in the future."

According to Cameron Esposito, Williams had no entourage, hung out like any other comic, snuck behind the curtain to watch Hannibal perform, and "giggled like mad." She confirms that his Saturday set was crowd-pleasingly filthy, and said backstage he was friendly and approachable and asked Chicago's comics about the scene here. "My lovely girlfriend was with me," Esposito went on, "and she said something about a joke he made on stage, and he laughed heartily and said that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. With Robin Williams' approval, I am going to spend more time ripping off jokes from my non-comic girl."

Adam Burke was disappointed to have missed Williams on Friday night but bumped into him Saturday night, almost literally: "He arrived just as I was due to go on stage; I almost knocked him over on my way out of the dressing room. That would have been unfortunate. It was a great night for all the performers as the audience was fairly buzzing with excitement. (Unlike the night before, where apparently half the crowd were completely blindsided by his appearance, I think the cat was largely out of the bag by Saturday.) The place went nuts when he finally came out on stage and he did an electric and utterly filthy set. He confirmed my belief an audience does have to get the references in a joke to find it funny, such as the time he mentioned both Gabby Hayes and Walter Brennan in a bit about John Wayne porno movies. I'm pretty sure 90 percent of the audience had no idea who they are but they all busted a gut anyways. All in all it was a fantastic night."

Edited to add: we just heard from Hannibal on the weekend's excitement: "I actually was in the audience watching the show. I knew that Robin had performed the night before. Jena Friedman was telling him about me. He found out that my name is Hannibal and he couldn't believe that there was a comic named Hannibal and he had to see it. That's how I got to perform on the show. The crowd's energy was excellent and the show was a lot of fun. He was really complimentary and said that he enjoyed my set. It was great to watch him work. I also went to the Town Hall Pub Sunday. Watching him in a small venue like that was really exciting. "

-Elizabeth McQuern

Pride Comedy Show 4 de Mayo!

2008-05-03T18:32:12Z

Bill Cruz headlines and Cameron Esposito features for this special Mikey O Production, presented by Same Side of the Fence. Get out to Joes on Weed and fill the joint with your love tomorrow night! 940 W. Weed, doors at 7:30 p.m., $12.

On the Scene: Chemically Imbalanced Comedy

2008-05-03T18:27:45Z

Tha' Weave, 4.30.08

Photo by Krystle Gemnich

Schadenbits for You This Weekend

2008-05-02T16:00:00Z

Mornin'/Afternoon! As per usual, our pals in Schadenfreude are continuing to take over the known universe, in celebration of their ten years of bringin' the hilarity. From 6 to 7 p.m. tonight you can catch them as part of Looptopia, where they will be doing some street performance in front of the Fine Arts Building. They will also appear on local radio station WLUW 88.7, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday morning at 9 p.m. Saturday's broadcast is part of "Live from the Heartland", a live show from Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park. They will be discussing the third show in their six-week run, happening Saturday night at the Red Line Tap, 7006 N.Glenwood, 9 p.m. The show will feature acoustic-punk band Even in Blackouts, a select crew of mega-talented former Neo-Futurists, local stand-up heavyhitter Hannibal Buress (featured in today's Chicago Tribune!), and Second City alum Patrick McKenna performs.

To get amped for the show, check out this clip from the paparazzi, who covered opening night's gala event at the Gallery Cabaret two weeks ago:

Dive Bar! from Adam Witt on Vimeo.

We'll be there, so come say hi!

Chicagoans at New Aspen Comedy Festival This Month

2008-05-01T17:00:00Z

As our blog pal Ben Bass lamented, the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival (also known as the "USCAF" or the "Aspen Comedy Festival") is no more, but an upstart has sprung up in its place, and at least one Chicago comedian will be there to show off his best funny.

The Aspen RooftopComedy Festival, as the new endeavor is known, will be May 30 and 31, and Chicago's Robert Buscemi will be there to "share the spotlight with some fantastic talent, including Isaac Witty, Jimmy Dore, Tig Nataro, Robert Hawkins, and others I've admired for a while."

Buscemi will be performing in the "Best and Brightest" showcase along with Nathan Trenholm and Matt Braunger, who Buscemi describes as"two of the best comics ever to emerge from Chicago," and Buscemi credits his association with Chicago Underground Comedy and Rooftop Comedy for bringing him to the attention of the festival's producers.

Chicago's Hey You Millionaires and Steve Gadlin Play Whirlyball with Kids in the Hall

2008-04-30T16:00:00Z

The headline pretty much says it all. From Steve Gadlin's blog (photoset here):

"Well, my week is off to an incredibly surreal and unexpected start. I got to be the 5th Beatle for the sketch group Hey You Millionaires last night as they faced off against the Canadian sketch kings Kids in the Hall in a couple matches of Whirlyball.

I’m still not entirely clear on the context of the match, but it’s part of an article for Time Out Chicago. The group Hey You Millionaires (at right) took their name from the first line uttered in the first episode of Kids in the Hall’s HBO series, so Time Out thought it’d be nice for them to square off.

I arrived at Whirlyball very early, and sat around watching a baseball game waiting for everyone else to show up. I was still a little suspicious that this entire thing was a big prank, so when about fifteen 9-year olds ran in through the entrance screaming, I thought, “oh, nice guys. Kids. In a hall. Har har.” But soon after the little kids, Hey You Millionaires walked in… and the four of us nervously split a pitcher waiting for the super mega famous people to arrive.

They arrived, and we played two rounds of Whirlyball. I scored two of our three total goals. We lost the first match, we won the second match. This epic battle between the US and Canada ended in a tie. I was defended by Kevin McDonald. I scored on him twice. How cool is that? I was doing pretty well at keeping my cool until I scored my first goal. But that had nothing to do with Kids in the Hall. I’ve just never scored at Whirlyball before."

New Video Wednesday!

2008-04-30T14:00:00Z

Comedy.com's "Grand Theft Auto IV" report, starring Renee Gauthier and Mike Bridenstine:

Promo for the upcoming sketch show Stimulus Package:

Chicago Underground Comedy - DC Comedy Fest Audition Showcase Highlight Reel, from April 22, 2008. Featuring Adam Burke, Fay Canale, Brendan McGowan, Dan Telfer, Carrie Callahan, Chad Briggs, Steve O. Harvey, Team Submarine, Brady Novak, and Nick Vatterott. Individual sets can be seen here.

Carrie Callahan at Chicago Underground Comedy's DC Comedy Fest Audition Showcase, April 22, 2008:

Adam Burke at Chicago Underground Comedy's DC Comedy Fest Audition Showcase, April 22, 2008:

Brendan McGowan at Chicago Underground Comedy's DC Comedy Fest Audition Showcase, April 22, 2008:

Nick Vatterott at Chicago Underground Comedy's DC Comedy Fest Audition Showcase, April 22, 2008:

$$Money Kids$$ (Lauren Lapkus and Candy Lawrence) at Chicago Underground Comedy April 29 2008:

"Good Crazy/Bad Crazy" Fundraiser Tomorrow Night

2008-04-29T17:30:00Z

T's bar (at 5025 N. Clark) is hosting a raffle and fund-raiser for Flashlite productions "Good Crazy/Bad Crazy" on Wednesday the 30th from 8:00 p.m. until closing time (2:00 a.m.) for its run at the Apollo Studio. Get in on the fun of date auctions, a kissing booth, raffles and prizes and drink specials. "Good Crazy/Bad Crazy" written and performed by Sarah King (pictured at right), is a Time Out Chicago Critic's Pick.

Charna's Real World Party at iO

2008-04-29T17:00:00Z

Show up at iO at 8:30 on Wednesday, April 30 for pizza and snacks with Charna Halpern, as well as a screening of the Real World episode featuring Charna trying to impart some improv concepts to a houseful of oversexed Real World partyers.

"...I spent the last three months of 2007 being the mentor and “the job” for the cast of the 20th season of The Real World. What an amazing experience. Its one thing to teach beginning improvisers who come here. They love the work, they’ve seen it and they want in. But these kids came from a different perspective. They approached it with raised eyebrows and were pretty scared. And partying was foremost on their minds."