A quick scan of the room at Bric-a-Brac Records in Logan Square reveals a row of action figures from the movie "Alien" (including one with his chest burst open), an old "Simpsons" arcade gam…
Ahh, Lakeview. Home to nearly 100,000 Chicagoans, mostly apartment dwellers who live tightly like sardines (albeit the kind of sardines who do shots of Jeppson's Malort at 4 a.m. bars) but a…
During the standup boom of the late 1980s and early '90s, my parents constantly dragged my older brother and me to comedy clubs around the country. I was awfully young at the time, but many …
During the standup boom of the late 1980s and early '90s, my parents constantly dragged my older brother and me to comedy clubs around the country. I was awfully young at the time, but many …
Chicagoans love to complain about winter and it seems their response to sub-zero temps is to stay home. But if winter is making us miserable, it would seem the panacea is a night of good jok…
It's a packed house at the"5th Annual New Year's Hangover Stand-Up Marathon" at the ComedySportz in Lakeview. Apparently Chicagoans have resolved to see more comedy in 2015, and what a smart…
At the NYCH Art Gallery in Pilsen, Sam Norton is pointing me toward five interconnected artworks tacked to a wall and created in marker, pencil and color pencil. In one image, there is a par…
Saturday turns out to be as good a day as any for a Chicago wedding. By mid-afternoon, temperatures have reached 48 degrees which is perfect since I am running late and not in any mood to br…
At the "Blind Bet" stand-up show at The Pony Inn, David Drake is trying out new jokes: "I'm covered in hair," says Drake. "I've got this thing called the creep," he says pointing to the body…
Comedian Monte LaMonte tells a terrific story about his effusive worship of '80s metal band Judas Priest and its now openly gay singer Rob Halford. Monte says he grew up with a gay uncle and…
At Uncharted Books in Logan Square, I am crammed in so tightly that my back is touching the spines of dozens of used books. I feel a dusty copy of L. Ron Hubbard's "Dianetics" poking into my…
It is alumni week in Chicago. At least, that is what I'm calling it. About a half dozen veterans of the city's stand-up comedy scene are back in town and manning the mic at the same clubs wh…
As soon as Maria Bamford bows and exits the stage at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago Thursday night where she is headlining, the stand-up comic veteran will " to use surfer language " "ride…
"Will it plays in Peoria?" This famous line " which hearkens back to the Vaudevillian era " is meant to ask the question of whether or not an act or performer has mainstream appeal, the impl…
"Stop me if you've heard this one," says comedian Sean White at Timothy O'Toole's last Saturday night. "So my brother is dying on the floor of Starbucks …" Lest you think we audience membe…
Drew Michael is staring out at the crowd at Zanies and describing us as a "sea of drunk silhouettes." From from where he's standing I imagine it to be a more or less an apt reading of the ro…
"Comedy is more personal than food," Jerry Seinfeld once said when asked whether he believed he was one of the top five comics that ever lived. "Somebody either hits you funny or they don't.…
Jeff Arcuri is a joke machine tonight. As the host of "This Week's Show" every Thursday at Bar Celona in Wrigleyville, it's his job to amp up the crowd, and he's doing it well. "I want to ge…
I was on my way to see a comedy show last week when I learned of the death of Robin Williams. You can say many things about the standup of Williams. His style was manic, intelligent, at time…
"A diphthong is a bathing suit used for short distances," says Adam Burke to medium laughter. "That one was just to take the level of the room," he says. "It's like a comedic Rorschach test.…
"I'm going to ditch my wife and marry Ian Abramson," I hear some dude say while filing out of the Upstairs Gallery in Andersonville Saturday night, where wide grins are etched across everyon…
In the suburbs no one can hear you scream — with laughter. One thing I know for sure about the vast and expansive Chicago area is that the folks who inhabit it don't always want to mak…
On Facebook this week, I see that a boatload of Chicago comedians are heading out Friday night to Diamond Jo’s casino in Dubuque, Iowa, to compete in the “Comedy 10K,” a na…
“It’s fine if you’re quiet,” says Renee Gauthier to a sparse crowd at the Lincoln Lodge on Friday night, “I have a therapist.” The enemy to Chicago standu…
“You guys, we’re all going to cry tonight, clap louder than that,” says Danielle Puterbaugh at a special “Entertaining Julia” at the Town Hall Pub on Sunday. Sh…