I wrote about this a little bit back in June, when I had yet to perform any stand up in front of actual people (but the shampoo bottles in my shower were very entertained). It’s been a weird five months since then, but I did finally get on stage and had a really great time of it. I tried my best to be myself; to act like I was having a casual conversation with the audience. This is kind of hard to do however with lights in your face when you’re making jokes about your own penis into a machine that amplifies your nervousness. From what people tell me though, the comfort level comes with time. It’ll be open mics for me for a while.
In the meantime though, I wanted to talk about a bunch of comedians that are a little under the radar who are really hilarious. Most of us are familiar with people like Louis CK, Mike Birbiglia, Maria Bamford, Brian Regan, Eugene Mirman and Zach Galifianakis. These are some of my favorite comedians, and they’ve all hit it pretty big of late. If you haven’t heard of these guys, obviously, look them up. Instead of these guys though, here’s a bunch of comedians you may not have heard of:
Pete Holmes – This man is a big ball of joy. I saw him perform a while back at Union Hall in Brooklyn during a show called Tearing the Veil of Maya. A lot of comedians are angry, jaded people who seem to have a vendetta against the world. Pete Holmes is more the kind of guy you want to play a round of mini-golf with, while eating cotton candy.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf2-MNuoyJY[/youtube]
Max Silvestri – There’s a show in Williamsburg every Wednesday called The Big Terrific, and it’s no misnomer you guys. It’s big and terrific. Max Silvestri is one of the hosts. I unfortunately couldn’t find any of his stand up online, but here’s a really hilarious video he did for 23/6.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1KT09J2qlE[/youtube]
Gabe Liedman – Gabe is another host at Big Terrific. He has a lot of great videos with Jenny Slate, who was on SNL last season. This is one of them.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k61PcVwLNgE[/youtube]
T.J. Miller – This guy has been in some movies of late, including She’s Out of Your League, Get Him to the Greek and the upcoming Yogi Bear. Below is an audition tape he sent in where he tries to read lines with a real bear.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnOHz1U6xNs[/youtube]
Tig Notaro – I think Tig Notaro has been around for a really long time. She makes me laugh and she makes me feel uncomfortable.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beO_bXTXsJc[/youtube]
Nate Bargatze – I just saw this guy perform for the first time last night. I hope to see him again soon.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yca5D_SKNHY[/youtube]
Kumail Nanjiani – Another incredibly funny guy who I saw perform at Eugene Mirman’s comedy festival this year.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVBXn-owyAE[/youtube]
Anyway, those are just a few people that you should see if they come to your area. I hope they gave you some good Friday giggles.
Andrew, I look forward to checking these out over the course of the day, so thanks, but do you understand that what we want to see is a video of YOU performing? That’s right–YOU. Also, R[REDACTED]B[REDACTED]. Those are the two up-and-coming standeruppers who interest me.
Okay, I’ve watched them all (can you tell I have Fridays off?) and I vote for Tig Notaro and Kumail Nanjiani (discussing race and the OC, he really has an in with me), I only vote for them, however, in the absence of clips from Andrew Kelley and R[REDACTED]B[REDACTED]. Let the record show.
Hooray for a Friday off! Glad you got to watch all of them. Tig Notaro and Kumail Nanjiani are awesome. I’ve sadly never seen Tig perform, but Kumail told this one story about how John Mayer showed up to a comedy club and demanded to do a 20 minute set. It’s hilarious. I’ve never seen R(REDACTED)B(REDACTED) before, but I’m definitely going to check that out.
My clip is here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrVOzcAG6q8). Please be kind as it was my first time ever performing and I was very nervous, and I flubbed up a bunch of lines at the end. I’m going to post the other one on youtube once I get it, which I think is a lot better. Oh and watch it with full volume, because I believe there are actually a few laughs.
Andrew, that was great! My roommate and I were cracking up.
Thanks Dave!
A friend of mine wound up hanging out with Tig Notaro last week. He found her comically abrasive in conversation, but uncharacteristically gentle with him. “Why are you being so nice to me,” he asked. “Because I love the way you dress,” she said. “I always wanted to look like a cowboy professor.”
That is awesome. Here’s another really uncomfortable video where she interviews Zach Galifianakis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkn8m0OgfhM