Posts Tagged Gotham Comedy Club

Aries Spears Kills It At Gotham Comedy Club

Aries Spears’ website identifies him as “The Funniest Muther-F#*ker On The Planet” and I don’t think I’d argue with that. Most people tend to hype themselves, but in Aries’ case it’s true. I can see why he was a star on Mad TV. His characters, and ability to do dialects, are amazing. And Gotham Comedy Club was packed to capacity, which not all comics can do.

To give you an idea of how crowded it was, they had to put two strangers at my table, cause they were totally out of space! And I was cool with that! They happened to be nice people!

Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV with L.A. comic Aries Spears at Gotham Comedy Club!

Jimmy Failla was the MC and opened with a strong set. Opening a show the right way is so important. It gets the crowd in the mood to laugh. Jimmy just has that way about him, and coupled with strong material makes for a good host.

Jimmy Failla onstage at Gotham getting the audience in a good mood!

I always knew that hosting was difficult, but when I started doing it myself at The Comic Strip, I REALLY appreciated how much harder it is than just doing a regular spot. A few nights later, Jimmy and I got to perform together at Gotham on Alyse Kenny’s comedy show for the charity, “The Cure Is Now”! Alyse produces a once a month show at Gotham in the Vintage Lounge, each month benefitting a different charity.

Veronica Mosey took the stage next, … and refused to tell us where she put it! (LOL) That’s so silly, but it reminds me of the line, ” I’m a hard act to follow cause when I leave the stage, I take the mic with me!”

Veronica Mosey doing her comedy thing at Aries Spears’ show at Gotham!

Veronica is always funny, and in a male dominated world, manages to hold her own! She recently got married and was also just profiled on National Lampoon’s Interview Show, the week after I was. You can see her interview at www.nationallampoon.com

Areis did at least an hour seamlessly. Never at a loss for what to do next. He jokes about Blacks and Whites equally, and does an incredible imitation of a “White” voice! He says he uses that voice when he’s talking to a white girl, so that he feels white. As he tells that story he plays the classic Rick Springfield rock song in the background, ” Jessie’s Girl”.

He also does a variety of great ” Black” voices which answers the question that many white people have, whether Black people know that they talk a certain way! Not only do they know, but they can modify it and even “Black it up” when they feel they need to! (LOLOL)

Aries says, you know you’re a big star when you can sell out Africa!

He says that Maury Povich’s show is “Black ignorance at it’s finest!”, which may be the best summation I ever heard.

He said, ” You’ll never see Black people on shows like, ” When Animals Attack.” Black people are too smart for that, to mess with wild animals. You may however see them on shows like
“When Cops Attack!”

He jokes about Africans being so black, that he told one African guy, ” If you stood against a building you’d like like the entryway to an alley!”

He likes when Black people go out to a show and when the bill comes, one person inevitably says, ” Who ordered gratuity???”

The multi-talented Aries Spears making a point during his sold-out show at Gotham Comedy Club!

He wants to be a film star but he thinks he needs to lose some weight first. He says, “You know you have to lose weight when you have to catch your breath from breathing!”

He also does great Indian and English accents, and fantastic impressions of Arnold Schwartzeneggar, and Denzel Washington! (If I had just written “Denzel”, would you have known who I meant? LOL)

And then as a finale he does a rap song while imitating all the rappers like Snoop, DMX, Method Man, Biggie and Jay-Z. The man is an entertainment phenomenon, and if you get a chance to see him go for it!

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Alyse Kenny Brings Monthly Charity Shows To Gotham

Chris Mazzilli and Gotham are always supporting one charity or another. Now comic/actress Alyse Kenny is taking it up a notch by producing a once a month show there, the last Monday of every month called “Alyse Kenny Presents…It’s a Charity Thing!”

Funny ladies Rachel Feinstein (L) and Alyse Kenny at Alyse’s charity show at Gotham!

Each month will benefit a different charity. On the night I went down, the show was to benefit Rosie O’Donnell’s charity, Rosie’s Theater Kids.

It was a great line-up, with fun raffle prizes available to the audience, like VIP tickets to “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”, “The View” and “The Dr. Oz Show”!

The show was hosted by Jimmy Failla, Host of Off The Meter Radio, and I always give extra credit to anyone hosting. Now that I’m doing it on a regular basis, I see how much harder it is than just getting up to do a set, so I give Jimmy props for keeping the show moving smoothly.

Jimmy Failla holding it down onstage at Gotham as the host of the show!

The show also featured comedians Rachel Feinstein, who never fails to make me laugh out loud, Nick Cobb, Matt Baetz, and Greer Barnes! And Alyse got up and did a set as well. She and the audience were thrilled when Jim Gaffigan dropped in unexpectedly and did a killer set, mostly on McDonalds.

Jim Gaffigan who dropped by to do a guest spot on Alyse Kenny’s show at Gotham!

Jim tends to use food and things relating to food as his subject. He’ll always be known for his “hot-pocket” material. This night he went into McDonald’s and their fries, specifically the loose “bonus fry” we’re always so happy to find hiding at the bottom of the bag.

He said we wouldn’t know when breakfast ended if it wasn’t for McDonalds, and he also said that eating fast food gives you a momentary pleasure, followed by intense guilt, followed by Cancer.

Jim Gaffigan killing it onstage at Gotham!

Jim just had his fourth child, so he said he’s trying to be healthy. He takes vitamins, … and puts them in a drawer!

Nick Cobb said ” you know you’re broke when you know exactly how much money you have.” He also wondered about the sexual activity known as “69”! Being 6’4″, he said it’s a short man’s game, and wondered why anyone would want to do it in the first place. He wondered, ( and I’m paraphrasing) … “Who’s that short on time, to take the two most pleasurable things in the world, and combine them? It makes more sense to do each one separately! And he’s right!

Nick Cobb, who claims to be too tall for “69”, onstage at Alyse Kenny’s charity show at Gotham!

Alyse Kenny is fairly new on the comedy scene, and is an actor on ABC’s “What Would You Do?” She is co-writing and starring in the television pilot, “Pryor Knowledge” with Richard Pryor Jr., who just happens to be an old friend of mine, and who I sponsored for membership in The Friars Club. I actually took a photo of him in front of the photo of his Dad, Richard Pryor Sr. that graces one of the upstairs rooms.

Richard Pryor Jr., Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, and Rain Pryor at the premiere of Paul Provenza’s The Green Room in NYC!

Alyse also just appeared in Eli Shapiro’s indie flick, “Ike Interviews God.” Her clean, fun brand of comedy showcases her skewed view of growing up the daughter of a shrink and cardiologist, her inter-faith marriage and many jobs working in television including as an Emmy Award-winning producer.

Alyse Kenny onstage performing at her charity show at Gotham!

She’s a go-getter and I’m excited about her, and even more excited that I will be performing on her next show on Monday Feb. 27th, which will benefit a charity called The Cure Is Now. You can read about them at www.thecureisnow.org

Come on out and support!

You can read more about Alyse on her website at www.alysekenny.com

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Comedy Seminar at Gotham Comedy Club

Andy Engel produces New Talent showcases at Gotham Comedy Club as he has been doing successfully for many years now. All you have to do is to look at the testimonials on his Manhattan Comedy School page to see how respected he is within the comedy community.
http://www.manhattancomedyschool.com/talent-shows/
This time he produced a comedy seminar open to the public, to anyone with an interest in comedy. I came by to “support”, and was not surprised to see a packed room, and I think the main room at Gotham holds over 300 people. I also saw lots of comedians I knew. The moderator was Gotham owner Chris Mazzilli, who I like to call “The Classiest Guy In Comedy.” Chris has been known to wear a suit and tie to the beach! (JK, … LOL)

Chris Mazzilli and Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV at a charity event at Gotham Comedy Club!

Also on the distinguished panel was JoAnn Grigioni, the talent executive from Comedy Central, who I had just seen earlier that day at Amy Schumer’s taping for her new Comedy Central pilot, Conan Smith former agent and now an executive at Apostle Entertainment which is Dennis Leary’s production company, and loved and respected comic Ted Alexandro.

(L-R_ The distinguished panel of Ted Alexandro, Conan Smith, JoAnn Grigioni, and Chris Mazzilli for Andy Engel’s comedy seminar at Gotham!

It was a question and answer session and people got the opportunity to ask whatever they wanted. Questions ranged from how to behave on the road, to how much money you could expect to make as a comic starting out! Ted said he doesn’t think he got paid anything at all the first three years he was performing.

Apostle’s Conan Smith giving a thoughtful answer during the seminar at Gotham Comedy Club!

Comedy Central’s JoAnn Grigioni and Gotham’s Chris Mazzilli listening to Ted Alexandro make a point!

They all agreed that you don’t go into comedy for the money, but that money follows success. Talent finds a home and if you’ve got it, eventually someone’s bound to see it!

Everyone’s answers were honest and insightful. It was a great panel covering all aspects of the comedy world.

I think the seminar was a great idea, people learned a lot and really enjoyed it, and I have a feeling that there will be more of them! Are you listening Andy??? (LOL)

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Third Anniversary of Anthony Anderson’s Comedy Mixtape Show

Third Anniversary of Anthony Anderson’s Comedy Mixtape Show

Anthony Anderson’s third anniversary of his Mixtape Comedy Show was as good as I expected it to be. I just couldn’t believe it’s been 3 years already since he and his partner in crime Royale Watkins have been bringing the funny to Gotham Comedy Club, the third Sunday of each and every month.

Royale Watkins and Anthony Anderson bantering with each other onstage at the Mixtape Comedy Show at Gotham in NYC!

The show mixes comedy and hip-hop, most of the time with a great DJ, DJ Diamond, who really gets the crowd pumped up! Then there’s a freestyle rap battle which still amazes me how these street MC’s can spit beats on the spot like that. It’s such an incredible talent. Even the ones who lose are admirable just for being able to do it at all. I was glad to see that Royale is just as amazed by it as I am, which he says in the video below.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Tracy Morgan at a previous Mixtape Comedy Show!

You never know in advance who’s gonna be on the show, but it doesn’t matter cause I haven’t seen a weak show yet! The idea is that if you’re coming to see Mixtape Comedy, it doesn’t matter who’s advertised, because you’re coming for the brand. And the brand is hot!!! Plus you never know who’s gonna stop by to do a surprise guest spot. Tracy Morgan is a big fan of the show, and I’ve seen him perform, but this night he just came to watch!

It’s produced by Kristen J. Eddy and Byron Ward and the show is U-Streamed to people all over the United States, and internationally too! They don’t allow profanity which is a nice change. Some of the comics are taken by surprise by that rule. Kurt Metzger told me he was a little nervous that something inappropriate might slip out since he’s not used to working squeaky clean. Fortunately it didn’t and he killed it as he always does.

Because I knew it would be a special show, I came prepared to shoot a little video for Comedy Matters TV. Harris Stanton was the first comic to perform. Harris was also a good friend of Patrice Oneal, who we unfortunately lost very recently, at only 41 years old, due to an untimely stroke.

Harris Stanton, Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, and Patrice Oneal at the taping of Patrice’s last special for Comedy Central at The Skirball Center in NYC!

Harris is very funny and talks about having been a security guard, with nothing to protect himself but a piece of paper. Then he goes into what I would call “papercut” material, which I thought was very funny, and very true. You can get a nasty cut from a piece of paper, but if a guy had a knife, I wouldn’t want to have to defend myself with a piece of paper!

Harris Stanton doing his thing onstage at Mixtape Comedy Show at Gotham!

He does a really funny bit about a homeless guy who is missing the center part of his nose. The piece of skin that separates your two nostrils. He says in all seriousness, ” You’re never not supposed to have that part of your nose.”

In between acts, Anthony takes the stage to do some comedy, and often gets on Royale for not having things to his liking. They have a little “faux-argument”, and then he apologizes to the white people in the audience for having to witness something like that at a comedy show! (LOL)

Mark Viera was next on the bill and this man is a riot! I love seeing Mark perform, and was very glad to hear that he just signed a deal with Fox to develop his own show, cause he really deserves it! George Lopez is the Exec. Producer of the show, and you can hear the details in the video below. Of course I asked him if I could be on his show, and he of course agreed, … since we’re both from The Bronx and us Bronx boys have to stick together! (LOL)

Mark Viera showing the Mixtape audience why he deserves his own show on Fox!

Sherri Shepherd from “The View” was next and left the audience weak from laughing so hard.

Rising star Kurt Metzger onstage at Gotham for the 3rd anniversary of the Mixtape Comedy Show!

Then Kurt Metzger, who I think is hysterical talked about how every young Black person shot accidentally by stray bullets, is usually on their way to greatness before they were prematurely cut down. His advice is ” If you’re Black and have a scholarship of some kind, my advice is to buy a bulletproof vest. Gangs always shoot at other gangs and miss, killing some Black nerd who was on his way to a life of success.” Sad but true! You read it every day!

Tom Papa, host of The Marriage Ref on NBC, onstage for the Mixtape Comedy Show 3rd anniversary!

And then Tom Papa took the stage with his own particular brand of humor that is so relatable, and on the money, every word out of his mouth brought huge laughs from the audience. His comedy speaks to everyone, like when he marvels at children, ” Your hands are so little”, and wonders why they need pockets in their clothing. “What are you gonna put in there, … your marble??? Check out Tom in the video below as well.

We wish Anthony and Royale, ( and Kristen, and Byron of course!), many more years of success with Mixtape Comedy Show!

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Christian Finnegan Packs ‘Em In At Gotham

Christian Finnegan spends a lot of time on the road, so when I heard he was headlining at Gotham I made sure to check out his show. Vic Henley was the host/MC and he does that so easily he could probably do it in his sleep, … which a very unusual phrase, that is supposed to mean that something is very simple for a person to do! I would think even the easiest thing would be hard to do in your sleep, but that’s just me!

Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV with Christian Finnegan at his sold-out show at Gotham Comedy Club!

Jesse Joyce was also on the show and he’s always good. I ran into Jesse down in San Antonio Texas last year, when I stopped by to cover the San Antonio comedy scene, and he happened to be headlining the club I walked into. He describes himself as looking like a version of Hugh Laurie who plays Dr. House, … and he does! It’s funny that several comics, ( including me!) have lines telling the audience who they look like, and the audience loves it!

Jesse Joyce onstage at Gotham, and he DOES look a lot like Hugh Laurie!

Jesse was also very close to Greg Giraldo, and wrote material for him for his iconic Roast appearances!

Wali Collins was up next, and he told a story of being a kid and asking his Dad if he could drive their new car. His Dad said, ” You can! All you have to do is take the “F” out of “Way”. And Wali said, ” There’s no “F” in “Way”! And his father said, ” Exactly!” Great joke!

Wali, (not Wally) Collins onstage at Gotham making the people laugh!

Before I knew his name was Wali, I thought it was Wally, like short for Walter. Come to think of it, I don’t think Walter is a popular name in the Black community! I like Wali better!

He also talked about being responsible for his actions in his wife’s dreams. One morning he woke up and his wife was angry at him for not helping her when that “pig monkey” was chasing her! (LOL)

Then Christian took the stage, and the room was packed for him. He comments right away on the fact that people think he looks gay. I knew him from years ago, when he was a lot heavier, but since he lost so much weight he has a very chiseled look. He’s like, ” I’m married. Sorry fellas! I know I give off a certain high school drama teacher vibe!”

Christian Finnegan onstage at his sold out show at Gotham Comedy Club!

He wore a cardigan sweater with a tie as did Wali Collins so he commented that they looked like photographic negatives, and then faux-complained that it was supposed to be a one cardigan show!

Among many other topics he commented on how hard it is to get your first drug dealer to score weed from, when you’re 38 years old. It’s awkward asking young people who they use. Maybe it’s because I still refer to them as “drug dealers”, and not just simply ask ” who’s your guy “, he opined! Very funny show!

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Gotham Holiday Party A Smash

Gotham Comedy Club keeps the holiday season alive by always having it’s holiday party after the holidays, which is a very cool idea. Like every year, it was packed with who’s who in comedy. Chris and Steve Mazzilli the owners of Gotham, and two of the nicest guys in the biz, threw this great party, and were actually dressed very casually which is rare for them, especially Chris who’s been known to wear a suit and tie on the beach! (LOL)

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Chris Mazzilli of Gotham Comedy Club at the Laugh For Sight charity event, one of the many charity events that Chris holds throughout the year!

There was a real assortment of new and established entertainers, with a live band, plenty of good food, and a dance thing downstairs where the DJ was none other than Jim David. I asked him for some hip-hop and he looked at me like I had insulted his parents! (LOL)

I managed to dance anyway, but missed my chance to dance with Marina Franklin, who was occupied dancing with someone else! Some of the people there were Jordan Rock, who came with his Mom, Rose Rock, the matriarch of the Rock comedy dynasty, featuring brothers Chris, Tony, and now young Jordan, who was just 21.

Jordan Rock with his young-looking Mom Rose, the matriarch of the Rock comedy clan, that spawned Chris, Tony, and now Jordan! And no surprise, she has a great sense of humor!

I also saw Todd Barry, Ted Alexandro, Mike Yard, Carmen Lynch, Helen Hong, or was it Herren Hong, (both of whom are moving to LA very shortly), Angelo Lozada, Dan Naturman, Kyle Grooms, Greer Barnes, Yonah Grossman who runs the open mics with Jessica Kirson, Marion Grodin, Madison Malloy, Andrew Schwartztol, Jordan Ferber, Jamie Rosen, Mike Vecchione, and so many more that it was probably a silly idea for me to try and name them since I probably left out hundreds of people I was talking to.

“Brothas” in comedy Angelo Lozada and Mike Yard jus’ chillin’ at the Gotham Comedy Holiday party!

Brothers in comedy, Todd Barry and Ted Alexandro just chilling, at the Gotham Comedy Holiday party! (Get it??? Compare this photo caption to the one above, and let me know if you get it! LOLOL )

The people from The Syndicate, Matt Kleinschmidt, Chris Elles, and Tracey Zucatti, were there too, which was very cool, since it’s always nice to meet people in person who you talk to online. The Syndicate reps some very heavy hitters.

When I left by around 10:30 to host the Monday night show at The Comic Strip, the party was still going strong! Good job Chris and Steve, … as always!!!

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Steve Byrne Packs ‘Em In At Gotham Comedy Club

When I heard that Steve Byrne would be performing at Gotham Comedy Club I made sure to get over there and catch his show. He was always a favorite of mine and I was wondering why I hadn’t run into him for a while. When he told me he had moved to LA back in 2004, it all made sense to me! (LOL) That must have been the last time I saw him!

Jefrfey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Steve Byrne at Luna Lounge back in 2004, before his move to LA!

Steve has an interesting background, being half Korean and half Irish. I want to say I first met him when I was judging an Asian comedy contest, many years back, but that could be wrong. All I know is that he endeared himself to me because when I saw him at Gotham he told me I hadn’t changed a bit from the last time we saw each other, and that was seven years ago! (LOL)

Steve now performs all over the world, and has even opened for musical superstars like Kanye West and Mariah Carey.

One of his half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials was voted as one of the best specials of all time in the Comedy Central Standup Showdown. His hilarious standup has been seen on NBC’s The Tonight Show, The Jay Leno Show, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, CBS’s The Late Late Show and BET’s Comic View.

As a big supporter of the US troops, Steve also headlined several USO tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, Japan and Guam. On the big screen, Byrne appeared in the recent hit comedy blockbuster Couples Retreat, which I absolutely MUST see because I understand my dear friend, gorgeous Kali Hawk is one of the stars in that film as well, plus Steve was in Four Christmases opposite Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, and The Goods: The Don Ready Story alongside Jeremy Piven.

This night at Gotham, Steve had one of the strongest closes of any comic I’ve seen. He chose five guys from the audience to be a “boy band” and dance for one girl who he also chose from the audience. He gave them each very bizarre names which they had to answer to, and they each had to give the chosen woman kind of a lap dance. It was HYSTERICAL and the audience loved it.

Steve Byrne coaching his “boy-band” on stage at Gotham Comedy Club! Colin Jost, whose boy-band name I can’t recall, is 2nd from right!

One of the five guys happened to be talented comic Colin Jost who was one of Steve’s opening acts, and who writes for SNL, and also appears a lot at The Comic Strip.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Colin Jost of SNL fame, who opened for Steve Byrne, and wound up as part of his “close” as well!

I hope it isn’t as long before I get to see Steve Byrne again. He’s a real crowd pleaser, and a heck of a nice guy!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Steve Byrne at Gotham Comedy Club for one of Steve’s sold-out shows!

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Nick Cannon Stranded in Hospital In Aspen

Black Planet reports that Nick Cannon is recuperating from mild kidney failure in a hospital in Aspen. Fortunately his wife , Mariah Carey is at his side and not leaving, even when doctors asked her to. She said that Nick was there for HER when she was hospitalized while having twins Moroccan and Monroe, so now when the situation is reversed, she’s not leaving HIM! Good girl Mariah!

She tweeted this pic from Nick’s hospital room!

According to Black Planet, Mariah Carey tweeted this photo of her in hubby Nick Cannon’s hospital bed! What better nurse could he ask for???

I only had the pleasure of meeting Mariah once at a charity event at The Whitney Museum, to raise money for Operation Smile, a charity that provides poverty stricken children with facial defects like cleft lip and cleft palate, the opportunity of having corrective surgery.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, with Mariah Carey at a charity event for Operation Smile, at The Whitney Museum!

I know that Nick has a tour coming up on Jan. 12th, called the “Still Standing” Tour with Mike Epps and Nick’s new 18 year old protege Pete Davidson. It’s supposed to kick off at the San Manuel Casino in Highland, California.

So let’s keep Nick in our prayers, and hope that he has a speedy recovery. He’s one of the nicest guys in the biz and at 31 years old has lots of wonderful things to look forward to. Get well quick Nick!!!

A healthy Nick Cannon with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at Nick’s New Faces Show at Gotham Comedy Club.

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Anthony Anderson’s Mixtape Show at Gotham Strikes Again

Once a month, Gotham Comedy Club is the home of Anthony Anderson’s fabulous Mixtape show. He and his partner Royale Watkins put on such a fantastic show, mixing comedy and hip-hop, with a cool DJ, usually DJ Diamond, a free-style rap battle which never ceases to amaze me, how these guys can “spit” beats right on the spot, and then a musical guest. This month it was Full Force from Staten Island.

DJ Diamond on the “ones-and twos” for Anthony Anderson’s Mixtape Show at Gotham!

Some month’s Anthony’s not able to fly in but the show still rocks. Last night’s was no exception. Bow Legged Lou, and his brother Paul Anthony opened the show and introduced Royale to the packed house. Royale is a great MC, funny in his own right, and keeps things moving along well. He always makes sure to give his wife plenty of shout-outs during the show. He must be making up for a lot of past mistakes, LOL, which he alludes to constantly! I think Royale had at one time been a very bad boy! (LOLOL)

Royale Watkins onstage at Gotham warming up the crowd for his fabulous Mixtape Show!

Marshall Brandon was the first comic up and he was a real crowd pleaser. Then Tom Van Horne, or Thomas Edward Van Horne IV, ( IV means “the fourth, not that he’s on an IV, you dopes!!! LOL ) took the stage, and hit a home run. I liked when he described the difference between being single and being married. “When you’re single, you have to go out and try and convince a drunk woman who doesn’t know you to have sex with you. When you’re married, you have to try and convince a sober woman, who DOES know you, to have sex with you!” Very clever, … and very true!!!

Tom Van Horne onstage at Gotham, doing his thing at Anthony Anderson’s Mixtape Show!

Then Vanessa Hollingshead got up, and she always does well. I love when she imitates a drunk French woman, who doesn’t know she’s drunk. The audience loved it too! People love impressions. Too bad I can’t do ANY! Maybe I can do two Greek men meeting in the street, mispronouncing words as numbers ” How are you today my friend?” Five thank you, and how are you? Not too good. I feel a little six! Really you don’t look six. You look just five to me!” If you try that in a Greek accent it comes out very funny!

Mike Yard was the closing comic and he totally killed it. He told how Black people with no insurance go to the clinic and sit till someone with insurance comes in with the same symptoms. Then when they come out from seeing the doctor, they say, ” Well, what’s wrong with us? What medication did he give us?”

Mike Yard “doin’ what he do”, at Gotham, for Anthony Anderson’s Mixtape Show!

He talked about how kids these days can call in a report on their parents on 911 if they feel they’re being mistreated. In his day, with a rotary phone you could never do that. By the time the nine came around, his mother already caught it and hung up!

But when he did an impression of the first Latino President, with a heavy Latino accent, the crowd laughed so hard, they were gasping for air.

The rap battle was astonishing as always. It’s like magic. You just can’t figure out how they do it!

Next show is Sunday January 15th! Don’t miss it!

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Sebastian Maniscalco With Sold Out Show at Gotham

The packed room that came to see Sebastian Maniscalco last night at Gotham Comedy Club got an extra little treat, a surprise performance by Jim Gaffigan. After MC Buddy Fitzpatrick’s great warming up of the crowd, which is a rare talent as anyone who’s ever had to warm up a cold crowd can attest to, Jim came on and killed it for ten minutes.

Sebastian Maniscalco destroying the audience on stage at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC!

I’ll never forget when I interviewed Jim for my book, he told me he suffered with severe stage fright for the first six years of his career. You’d certainly never know it and I think of that a lot before I go on stage when I’m feeling a little anxious! You never know what you say to someone that resonates with them and has an affect on their lives.

Jim’s favorite topic seems to revolve around food, and he did a lot of material about McDonalds. Like about how good McDonald’s fries are, but if you try and reheat them in the microwave they become packing peanuts! He even comments on that one loose fry it’s so exciting to find at the bottom of the bag. He calls it “the bonus fry!” It’s always long and you find yourself wondering, ” How did I miss you?”

(L-R) Sebastian Maniscalco, Jim Gaffigan and Gotham owner Chris Mazzilli at Gotham Comedy Club!

He commented on hotels providing stationery, because like me, the moment he checks into a hotel the first thing he likes to do is write a letter!

Next up was Rajiv Satyal, an Indian comic from LA. Russell Peters gave a lot of Indian guys the courage to show they can be funny! (LOL) Rajiv talked about how different ethnicities mispronounce certain sounds in English, like the Asians with “R’s” and “L’s” and the Indians with “V’s” and “W’s”. He went into a Subway looking for a healthy sandwich and the Indian guy behind the counter offered him a “Weggie”, ( pronounced Wedgie!) I think I laughed out loud at that one! Great visual of a guy behind the counter grabbing a customer by the underwear!

Rajiv Satyal on stage at Gotham proving more than one Indian guy can be funny!

Then Sebastian took the stage. The first time I met him was on the Kandy Kruise from LA to Mexico. Five hundred guys and 1500 girls all from Maxim, Playboy and Penthouse. It was sick. and he was one of the “Playboy comics”. Just to get people just to show up for the show at all was a big accomplishment when there’s that many gorgeous girls to look at!

I saw him again this past July in Montreal when he was on Russell Peters’ show “Best of the Fest”, which Russell described as just another night of comedy in LA! (LOL) We were hanging out backstage after the show, where I took the photo below.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Sebastian Maniscalco backstage with Russell Peters in Montreal!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage with Russell Peters at his show in Montreal, “Best of the Fest”!

The thing about Sebastian is that he makes comedy “hip”! Some comics play off their “lameness”, but Sebastian is cool. He slips into his Jersey Shore Italian voice, when he’s talking about the dancing and meeting girls on the club scene, and almost becomes Vinnie Barbarino, for those of you who remember John Travolta in those days. he’s so relaxed, and very physical which I never expect him to be. He dances around and often acts out his material, which is great! Most of the time, I stand there like I’m nailed to the stage! (LOL)

He started out talking about Customer Service at the airport, and how the people who work there look upset that you even showed up to fly. And what if your bag happens to be four pounds over the weight limit? They make you take four pounds of clothing out? And where are you supposed to put it? In your carry-on! It’s still going on the plane!!!

That actually happened to me, but it was about ten pounds I had to take out. Unlike most people, I don’t often travel with a clothing scale, so I’m guessing on the weight of each thing while people are walking by and I’m frantically grabbing things out of my bag and mentally weighing them! Trust me, it’s only funny afterwards!

He’s always busy, so he wonders about these people that have the time to demonstrate in the street, or to show up every day to follow a trial like the Michael Jackson trial. ” Whatta youse people do when there’s no trial? You got nothin’ else to do?

He even talks about “kids these days” without sounding like a comic from the Ed Sullivan days. If his father took him and his family out to eat there was no such thing as saying you didn’t like the food. “Chicken and broccoli? One look from his father and he’d be like, ” Don’t worry, I’ll get it down.” These days kids complain they don’t like the menu, and a Mom might say something like, “Timmy, is that a good choice?”

But when he talked about his Dad not being too tech savvy and he was trying to guide him onto the internet over the phone, that was hysterical! Especially when his Dad asked what to do with the foot pedal! He had put the mouse on the floor trying to work it with his foot! Sebastian had to tell him, ” It’s not a sewing machine Dad, it’s a computer!”

I hope I get to see him again soon! He was really great!

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