Dane Cook Show

So Dane Cook decided to grace Baltimore with his presence and perform some stand-up. Here's what fan Dominique Goldring had to say about the show:

1. What drew you to the show? Did you like him prior to the show, or did you take a chance?

I enjoy Dane Cook’s comedy and that’s what drew me to the show.

2. What was the ratio of new material compared to things already aired on TV?

All the material was material that wasn’t previously aired, which was awesome.

3. What was the overall response of the crowd?

The crowd was very pleased with the show. They loved him!

4. What was your favorite joke/part?

I really cannot pinpoint a certain part of the show. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

5. Would you like to see another Dane Cook show in the future?

Of course! It was great! He has amazing energy and a great comedic style.

Stoop Storytellers are Good Sports

The Stoop Storytellers are coming around to Centerstage again! The Storyteller shows consist of seven performers each get seven minutes to tell their individual story pertaining to the theme. The upcoming theme is "Good Sport: Stories about winning, losing, and everything in between."

I'm really looking forward to this event because these are true stories that the offical website describes as "no notes, no scripts, no actors--just true stories, artfully told."

My expectation is that these will be funny, heartfelt and warm, similar to a David Sedaris story. I think some of my classmates from literary journalism had some stories that might work in upcoming Stoop Storytelling events.

The website mentions that every show features a few audience members who can tell their own stories for three minutes. The group always welcomes new members and themes.

The "Good Sport" show will be at Centerstage on June 1 with a cocktail reception and live music before hand, if you're interested. Tickets go quick, so get them soon!

The Golden West Cafe

We all know how most comedy clubs or shows work. If your going to a club, more than likely, your paying a $17-20 admission fee, on top of a two drink minimum. This brings your total night to about $35, and that's the low end.

If the comedian your seeing is doing shows at venues like the Meyerhoff or the Lyric Opera House, for example, tickets are likely to run you about $35-50, no drink minimum of course.

That's why deals like the Golden West Cafe in Hampden are hard to pass up. The last Friday of every month, the Golden West features the Bar Bacon Fun Time Comedy Hour. At 11 p.m. the stand-up begins for $5, and as Metromix puts says "it's a pretty good way to avoid the assigned seating and drink minimums of local comedy clubs (though we know drink maximums are more your style)."

And yes, Golden West does have an impressive bar menu and well as an interesting and ecceltic dinner menu. You can't beat stand-up for $5, so go check it out.

Baltimore Improv Group

I went to check out my first improv show at Creative Alliance’s Patterson Theater last night. The show featured the Baltimore Improv Group know as BIG. For this performance, BIG featured three comedy troupes, Gus, the Moving Walkways, and special guests from the Philadelphia Improv Theater. As improv typically goes, the troupes took suggestions from the audience at the beginning of their set and built upon it based on reactions from the crowd.

I came in the middle of the Gus set, so I was pretty confused; although the audience enjoyed it very much. Their performance ended with a creepy scene set in a restaurant called “The House of 100 Eggs” and there was some weird sexual innuendo going on. Whoa. Next was the group from Philadelphia, a husband and wife team. Overall, their performance fell pretty flat, but I have to give them credit for having the guts to perform in front of strangers with no script prepared.

After a short intermission, I was wondering why I came to this thing and spent $12 on a Friday night! I live for weekends. I hit the bar hoping that the alcohol would help. However, it’s hard to get drunk in 10 minutes at a cash bar. Luckily, the Moving Walkways was actually pretty hilarious. They even made fun of Diane Rehm; it was so wrong, yet it worked.

Here’s a video featuring some of the members of the Moving Walkways:



Afterwards, the MC talked about the improv classes that they offer every Tuesday. It could be a great opportunity for someone thinking about comedy to improve on their skills and delivery.

Chatting with Mike Von - Part Two

In case you missed it, read part one.
As an inspiring 16-year-old comic, Von began performing at a club in Baltimore called the Five Seasons on open mic nights. How was the first night? “I completely bombed. It had me second guessing myself.” Von wasn’t anticipating that the 30 and over crowd at the club might have a different sense of humor than his high school classmates.

Instead of giving up, Von realized that something had to change. “It’s all about tweaking your jokes. Just because you have a different audience doesn’t mean the same jokes won’t work. You just have to be aware of the environment and make sure the delivery is right.” He also points out that your audience must always understand your joke. For example, just because you’re talking about a situation in school doesn’t mean an older crowd won’t find it funny. The difference is that they have to fully understand the background information. Talking to a classmate, you can throw out the professor’s name and then the joke. With strangers, you have to set up the scene. Who is this professor; what are some funny characteristics? A simple explanation can be the difference between a laugh and a head scratch.

Von decided to leave Baltimore and start advancing his career further. He currently lives in Chicago and says that it’s a great “training city” for young comedians. “You get to meet all the comedians from New York and L.A. because they all pass through here.” And when they come, there’s always a chance Von may be the act right before them. He already has a pretty impressive resume for his age; he’s opened for Tracie Morgan and David Allen Grier. Chicago is also home of the renowned Second City, which features a lot of famous comics, giving up and coming acts opportunities to network and learn. Von has met Tina Fey and Steve Carrell at Second City, just to name a few.

As far as social media, Von uses networking sites, mainly Facebook, to promote his talents. However, he is one comic that does not follow the trend of posting Youtube videos. “There’s a lot of comics that steal, and there’s no way to know most of the time.”

Von’s main goal is to host a late night talk show on HBO, something similar to the Arsenio Hall and Chris Rock shows. He admits that will take years of working in the industry and building a reputation, but he’s hopeful.

Von’s advice to aspiring comedians is to have patience. He says, “Rappers can have one hit single, but a majority of popular comedians have had to work at it for years.” Also he stresses, “What sets you apart from the rest of the bunch?” It’s important to develop a unique style, not copy off of someone else’s success.

Von will be featured in a documentary about up and coming talent in Chicago and the life of a standup comic. The working title is “The art of laughter.” He will also be performing at the Baltimore Comedy Factory, along with his father, April 10 and 11.

Current Happenings in Baltimore

Exactly what is going on in the next couple months in the comedy scene? I’ll try to be a source for local comedy events, but, as always, if you something to add, please comment or email me. So far:

March 30 : There will be Stoop Storytelling at Centerstage. This performance features seven people who are given seven minutes to tell their stories and entertain. The theme is “You want fries with that?: Stories about jobs, careers and working for ‘the Man.’”

Centerstage is located at 700 N. Calvert Street. The show starts at 8 pm.

April 3: Lily Tomlin, an Oscar nominee and Tony and Grammy award winner, will be performing stand-up at the Lyric Opera House.

The Lyric Opera House is located at 140 W. Mount Royal Ave. The show starts at 8pm.

April 10-11: Mike Von, a Chicago-based, Baltimore born comedy doing stand-up back home at the Baltimore Comedy Factory.

The Baltimore Comedy Fatcory is located at 36 Light Street. April 10 shows: 8 pm, 10 pm and 12 pm. April 11 shows: 7 pm, 9 pm and 11 pm.

April 12: Comedian Alabama, manager of the Baltimore Comedy Factory, will be performing stand-up Easter Sunday at the club.

The address of the club is listed above. The show starts at 7 pm.

April 18 : Dave Attell, known for his show Insomniac, will be performing at Rams Head Live in the Power Plant downtown. -

Rams Head Live is located at 20 Market Place. The show starts at 8 pm.

Chatting with Comedian Alabama - Q & A Edition

Comedian Alabama not only does stand-up, he also manages the Baltimore Comedy Factory downtown. After a quick chat with him, here's what he had to say:

What is your real name? Are you originally from Alabama, and if so, what brought you to Baltimore?
Well my birth name is Deshawn Frazier, and I’m orginially from Talladega, Alabama, home of the world’s fastest NASCAR track in the world (my small city’s claim to fame). I moved to Baltimore in June 2001; my then wife was from B’more and I followed her up here.

When did you decide that you wanted to pursue comedy as a career?
I’ve been in this business for seven years and this is my world. I pursued stand-up prior to arriving here in Maryland. I went to open mics and began developing different routines. I also met veteran comedians who helped me out with advice and I took it all in. I developed my own comedy style.

What comedians inspire you? How did you develop your style?
I grew up watching Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Sinbad and many more. I studied comedian greats like Milton Berle and Redd Foxx, and I admired the way they’d get the crowd laughing and they never stopped laughing.

How has the Internet helped with your career or the club? Do you have any upcoming projects, events or shows you want me to mention?
The Internet is good for finding clubs and helping me to promote outside of the box. I have an Easter show, April 12th at 7 pm. I’ll be doing stand-up at the Baltimore Comedy Factory that day.

Chatting with Mike Von - Part One

As soon as Mike Von calls me back, I understand exactly why he's a comedian. Outgoing, comfortable, talkative, and of course, funny, are just a few of the characteristics that describe Von. I left a message on his machine Sunday night, and wasn't really expecting to hear from him until much later. I'll admit, I was a bit discouraged after what seemed like several blow-offs (things did eventually turn around). To my surprise, Von called me back within just a few hours and greeted me with a friendly and enthusiastic, "Hey Erica, what's up? It's Mike Von!" As he walked to his car after finishing up at school for the day, Von graciously granted me my first interview for the blog.

Von, 22, is a Chicago-based comedian who was born and raised in Baltimore. Although his myspace page states that he's been involved with comedy since the age of 16, Von says that his interest was initially spark at 14 years old from being "the funny guy" in school. Reciting hilarious anecdotes that entertained his peers was a talent that he discovered early on. Working at Wendy’s only helped; he had plenty of ridiculous stories to tell from his experiences there. If you ever worked in fast food, you know all too well. Some of Von's influences include Jamie foxx( who he wrote a paper on when he was a sophmore at Dunbar), Bill Behr, Craig Robinson, Eddie Murphy and Pablo Francisco. It also helped that his father was a comedian and comedy writer; if you're from Baltimore, you might now him from the "Kiss my bumper" commericals.



While most might think this was a career Von was encouraged to do, it wasn’t that way initially. “My parents weren’t really excited about me going into comedy. [My father] knew what a tough business it was.” Although he didn’t have their full support, Von was determined that his career was in comedy. So, what else was there to do but to start sneaking out at 16-years-old to perform at clubs?

Part two coming tomorrow...

The Baltimore Comedy Factory

It's great to watch stand-up comedians on Comedy Central and other networks, but the live experience is definitely a great way to spend an evening with your friends. Baltimore has plenty of opportunities to see comedy, and a lot of venues offer specials for certain nights.

One of the most notable comedy clubs locally is the Baltimore Comedy Factory. Here's the details: you must be 18 years old or over, admission is $17, and there's a two drink minimum. Keep this quick tip in mind though, if you sign up for their email list, they will send you tickets either waiving the entry fee or for unlimited drinks (the latter is my preference). Also, Burke's, the restaurant underneath the club, has great food and the servers are incredible. If you let them know that you’re going to see a show, they make sure to get you in and out, no matter how crowded it is.

The Baltimore Comedy Factory is located at the corner of Light Street and Lombard Street downtown, and there are shows every Thursday – Saturday nights. So when you’re looking for laugh on the weekends, keep the Comedy Factory in mind!