STILL GOING STRONG -- Today, the Comedy Underground celebrates its 33rd birthday. Looking back over this last year, it was a very interesting one, starting with the return from Hollywood of local stand-out stand-up Drew Barth. It was great to get Drew back in the fold as we benefited during normally slow June from large groups of his old friends turning out to see his homecoming performances. But it was also bittersweet because Drews experience down south was just the latest disappointment that is shared by numerous local acts who have also traveled that trail of tears. In 2012, it was Rick Kunkler who returned. We have to ask, if guys like this cant make it in Hollywood with all their charisma and talent, who the heck can? On the plus side continues to be our burgeoning relationship with Uproar CD. Its owner, David Drozen, has picked the Comedy Underground as the perfect place to record his artists. During the last year, we hosted Uproar recording sessions for Felicia Michaels, Joe Klocek, Brendon Vestal, Matt McClowry and Tony Baker. Some of them were completely new faces to Seattle audiences. All were hilarious. Beyond that, we also hosted a TV shoot for Joe Larson where his father, Eliot Maxx, opened for him. Way cool. In July, Hari Kondabolu made what we fear may be his last appearance here. He was our top draw with his mild mannered poking fun at white culture and white people. It was amazing to see the Indian-American customers he attracted for the first time to the club. Of course, wed love for this to go on forever but as in the past with such comedy greats as Louis CK, Ellen DeGeneres and Jerry Seinfeld who all performed here on their way up, the time comes when they outgrow us. One thing that has irked us at times is when we bring in a new face to the northwest they end up being booked by numerous other clubs in the area thereafter. Our feeling is that if we are going to take a chance on a new talent, we want to be the sole beneficiary of for some amount of time. So, it was very gratifying to be able to negotiate with the powerful William Morris Agency for the exclusive regional rights to performances by the amazing Jared Logan. Jared, originally from West Virginia, has a very unique take and a rare ability to play off interaction with audience members that puts him in a class by himself. Look for his return here this fall. Still, the routine of the year had to have come from Michael Malone, the 2012 winner of the Seattle International Comedy Competition, who now returns here regularly. His bit on how his family members turned into vampires before his very eyes while telling him he was adopted is amazingly poignant, creative and, above all, hilarious. Moreover, it was exciting to have Sean Kent here to kick off 2014 while his TV series, Modern Dads, was actually airing. It was also amusing to watch Sean comport himself like a star during his shows short duration. For out and out creativity, though, the prize has to go to Tommy Savitt. Tommy completely set aside an act that KILLED once it was recorded for sale and replaced it with an entirely new 45 minute set. Thats an accomplishment that pretty much boggles the mind. Finally, thanks to all our other great headliners over the year: MIke Baldwin, Tyler Boeh, Dave Burleigh, Scott Capurro, Eliot Chang, Samuel J. Comroe, David Crowe, Billy Wayne Davis, Don Friesen, Sadiki Fuller, Matt Golightly, Andy Haynes, Paul Hooper, Eddie Ifft, Zoltan Kaszas, Darryl Lenox, Mo Mandel, Brooks McBeth, Brian Moote, Jen Murphy, Andrew Norelli, Sammy Obeid, Ralph Porter, Jason Resler, Brian Scolaro, Jim Short, Kris Tinkle, Damonde Tschritter, Brad Upton, Maronzio Vance, Ron Vaudry, Sheng Wang, Bengt Washburn and Alysia Wood. And a pox on Marcus for what you said to those ladies and Rodger Lizaola for your pathetic ranting about the 49ers from our stage. Kudos to locals about to break thru: Mitch Burrow, Brett Hamil and Kortney Shane Williams. Thirty three years ago, if one wanted to enjoy comedy, they pretty much had to go to a comedy club or perhaps listen to a limited number of albums by the likes of George Carliin and Richard Pryor. Today, comedy is available at ones fingertips. Add to that the fact some young people will actually pay to attend shows performed by three-minute sensations theyve seen on U-Tube or the equally disturbing fact that minor TV credits often seem to count more than actual talent in the minds of some patrons and its plain to see comedy clubs have their work cut out for them these days. We will continue to present comedians we believe are truly talented (and can afford) with confidence they will move on to bigger and better things. Thank you to all who have read this. Hope to see you at the club.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Jun 2014 22:09:13 +0000
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