JEREMIAH WATKINS / DADDY
I’ve been a big Jeremiah Watkins fan since I first saw him fronting the Kill Tony band at The Comedy Store. Changing up his costumes every week. Having nothing but fun up there with Tony and the other comics. I always thought he was a key ingredient to the looniness of the show. He’s just got a great face and a wiry body, with way about him that tells you he’s going to be funny. It’s a given, so just take it in.
DADDY
So good to see him doing a full set. You can see a lot of his stand-up on his Stand-up on the spot shows, and there’s a couple fun crowd work specials he has, all up on his YouTube Channel
This is a full hour stand-up set and it’s just released and a lot of laughs, which you know damn well you need. Enjoy.
If you’re in L.A. on APRIL 8,
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ERICA RHODES – SAD LEMON
Erica Rhodes has her album Sad Lemon, which came out awhile back, up now on Youtube, I guess as a special. (It’s one -camera, shot in Portland, not really a special. Not an album. But it’s really, really, funny.
TRUE STAGE PRESENCE
She’s actually really special herself. I love her look. She’s like a cross between a young Joan Rivers and early Susan St. James. A fresh style that makes her a throwback to another time. She writes very heady jokes, then tells them like she’s on a local television stations talent show. She’s calm and confident on stage while clearly laying out how terrified and unconfident she is about her life, where it is, isn’t, and where it’s going.
Great jokes in a Steven Wright, Mitch Hedberg sort of way, yet, not really one-liners. Almost little haiku poems or something. Short paragraphs that make strong points that you wish you wrote. Make you wish you thought that way.
This hour long album/ special/ whatever, lays out so simply and so flawlessly that you start to feel like she’s already a major star and you’re just late to the party.
Here’s the special if you want watch it. I recommend it. She’s great.
Okay, and if you’re too busy, or still not convinced, I cut four or five of my favorite bits from the album/special or whatever it is. Like the Cliff Notes or something, but it’s a mistake. Watch the whole damn thing.
https://vimeo.com/810722984
A comic friend saw the cover of the piece on the site and said to me, ‘She’s too cute to be really funny.’ I said, ‘Wait, you haven’t heard her voice yet.’ Which is a joke. She makes fun of her voice. I think it suits her. I just never heard anyone ever say someone was ‘too cute to be funny’, other than a comic.
‘He’s too tall to shoot hoops.’ ‘She knows too much about science to be a scientist. ‘, Cute and funny is a pretty potent combo. It’s working for John Mulaney. Worked for Seinfeld. Worked for Kevin Hart.
By the way, my friend, the comic, sells shoes at Foot Locker during the day. Shrug.
Watch her stuff. She’ll make you laugh. You need to laugh.
ALSO, IF YOU’RE IN L.A, on APRIL 8, Come out to the ICE HOUSE in Pasadena for a great show. One of America’s best comedy clubs, now beautifully remodeled.
Some surprise guests!
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BERT KREISHER- RAZZLE DAZZLE
I love Bert Kreisher. And I love his new special, I think it’s his best of the five. I’m into his whole deal. He reminds me more than any of the comics working today of my buddy, Adam Sandler. He’s totally different, but he’s just that genuine. He’s got another set of tools then Adam, but like Adam, his key is he’s so likeable and authentic. There’s a loveable playfulness about him that will wear well. A softside that the snappy snarl that of a lot of modern day comics sport, and who will see the end of the sidewalk come up to meet them much faster than anyone expects. I’ve seen it before, and I’ve seen Adam’s longevity, surprise everyone too. I also predict ‘The Machine’ is going to be a monster hit. ‘Ace Ventura’ all over again.’ Ace Ventura’, ‘Billy Madison’. I think it’ll bring on a big movie career and a Happy Madison kind of control. Watch. The world is ready for it, and Bert Kreisher, on top of everything else, is a marketing genius. As good as he is on stage, as great a character as he’s built and works on, some of his biggest assets are his marketing chops.
He’s in a world of his own in that department. He could of been an ad man and had a major marketing company. Worth hundreds of millions. (He may have had to sober up a small tad in that sector, but maybe not. Who knows?) Don’t believe me? Look at some of his social media stuff he’s done for his tours. Look at his buses. Yes. Buses. Find his marching band clip. It’s off the charts brilliant!
RAZZLE DAZZLE IS A PERFECT PIVOT
His new special is also a snazzy piece of marketing and branding. Riotously funny, yes. Shirt off Bert, on target all the way, but it’s also subtly, very smartly, hitting new notes. Family, life, husband, being the dad of teenage girls, all done organically spot on and true to form while showing that softer and gentler Bert without really having to. Without doing an actual pivot. Without losing a scintilla of edge. It’s insane how much sense it makes. And it’s so easy because it’s real. He’s just using what he has and is savvy enough to know it to do it. To know his audience will want him to show them the 360.
It really is a fucking great special. Just a lot of fun. Diane and I watched it and laughed our butts off. Having two kids helps, but that’s not it. He’s just very authentic. He’s who he is and he’s got it down. He knows how to make you laugh. A true entertainer. Loves his work. That’s what I like about comedians. There’s a lot of shit I don’t like. They get hard to take sometimes, but damn, when they’re on, they’re on. I do think a lot of this guy. Maybe because my dad’s name was Burt, my son’s name was Burt and my best friend from high school is Bert. I just have a soft spot for Bert’s. It’s more than that though. I love a smart guy that plays it down. Sandler does that too.
The funniest thing Bert did to me though was when I interviewed him for the Comedy Store doc for two hours and he totally forgot it when he was on JRE and started talking about how someone should do a Comedy Store Doc and Rogan and Ari and Segura called him on it. Here it is;
Also, here’s the trailer for The Machine, which I’m telling you, is a monster. It’s out I think in May, and it’s going to re-ignite studio comedies in a big way. Watch! This is just the start for this guy.
MEANTIME; COME CHECK OUT THIS GREAT SHOW IN PASADENA THIS THURS NIGHT AT 10 PM
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