Despite the pissing contest between Viamcom and DirecTV that has halted streaming of The Daily Show and The Cobert Report for the time being, there is a slew of exciting comedy content on the horizon and coming to a small screen near and/or on you soon: Continue Reading
Archives
All posts by Steve Birmingham
The Paramount Theatre’s 37th Annual Summer Classic Film Series lovingly screens all genres from indie art house to Golden Age epics and this week features a collection of bona fide comedy classics: the ensemble satires of Christopher Guest’s Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, the screwballs Bringing Up Baby and My Man Godfrey, the witty romantic comedies The Philadelphia Story and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the slapstick farce of Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man plus their second picture, Buck Privates, which launched them into the stratosphere.
Perhaps even more so than other film genres, comedies should optimally (hell, compulsorily) be watched with the communal experience of an audience. And of course, cinema is inherently sublime when seen in celluloid on the BIG screen of a movie palace listed in the National Register of Historic Places, where the house projectionist, John Stewart, has over four decades of craftsmanship, and a ticket is admittance for a double feature. But beating the heat here this week isn’t just grand entertainment— it’s practically doctor’s orders! Or so says the Mayo Clinic about the short and long-term health benefits of laughter (preposterously, the Paramount is still out-of-network for many insurance carriers). And cinephile-wise, The Huffington Post, The Criterion Collection, and USA Today have recently touted the Paramount’s summer motion picture tradition. Continue Reading
From Freckled Fanny Films: Nine years in the making and told with brazen humor, HAVE THONG WILL TRAVEL is a touching portrait of Albert Leslie Cochran, a 60-year-old cross-dressing, street person who became an Austin icon and an ambassador for keeping it weird. A social activist, mayoral candidate, and talk show host, Leslie arrived in Austin in 1996, walking and biking through the Texas city famous for its embrace of individuality and self-expression. The film follows Leslie, a one-man show in his own absurdist theater, as he survives on unforgiving streets – all while wearing a thong and a smile. HAVE THONG WILL TRAVEL chronicles his journey to find peace while exploring the demons that drove him, the wit that kept him sane, and his passion for bringing awareness to social injustice.
Leslie’s story unfolds as we travel the streets with him and learn what it’s like to be both a local celebrity and a pariah. To many, he’s a beloved folk hero who fights for respect, independence, and self-expressionism in a cookie-cutter world. To others, he’s a vagabond who enjoys a broken system. But to a dedicated few, he’s a beautiful spirit whose adventurous nature is punctuated by the pitfalls of self-sabotage and trauma. While Leslie searches for peace, we find ourselves looking at a new definition of home and the beauty of friendship. Throughout his life, Leslie managed to create and foster a dynamic and provocative community around him. Coupled with hilariously shocking footage of the “Queen of Austin,” HAVE THONG WILL TRAVEL presents Leslie Cochran as a troubled but beloved free spirit.
HAVE THONG WILL TRAVEL is co-directed & produced by Ruby C. Martin and Tracy Frazier with cinematography by Lee Daniels and editing by Nevie Owens. Austin Tighe is executive producer and Grammy-award winning artist Patty Griffin is included in the growing list of musicians who have come aboard to create a truly fantastic soundtrack. Continue Reading
Get tickets to both shows and/or add in a fresh, locally sourced Hickory Street dinner between events with unlimited soft drinks, cast meet & greet, and commemorative poster!
Featured on CONAN and NPR’s All Things Considered!
The Intergalactic Nemesis Live-Action Graphic Novel is a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that mashes up radio drama with comic-books. Three actors voice dozens of characters; one Foley artist creates hundreds of sound effects; one keyboardist performs a score of thousands (yes, thousands!) of notes; while we project more than 1,250 individual, full-color, hand-drawn, hi-res, blow-your-mind comic book images to tell the story visually. LIVE.
Inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, and the pulp serials of the 1930s, The Intergalactic Nemesis is a spectacle unlike any other and it’s for the kid in everyone.
The year is 1933. Are you ready for the adventure?
THE INTERGALACTIC NEMESIS
Live-Action Graphic Novel
Book One: Target Earth
Saturday, August 18th
Doors @ 2:00pm | Show @ 3:00pm
The Paramount Theatre
General On-Sale (Phone & Online): Friday, July 6th @ Noon
Purchase Tickets Online 0r (512) 474-1221 to purchase tickets by phone.
Get Premium Tickets
The best seats go to donors. Make a donation today for access to great seats.
Click here for details.
THE SEQUEL. The creators have taken the artwork from an original comic-book story, removed the word balloons, and then project that art panel-by-panel while three actors voice all the characters, one performer creates all the sound-effects, and a keyboardist performs the score. LIVE.
The year is 1933. When the robot emissary Elbee-Dee-Oh disappears in deep space, it’s up to Molly Sloan to rescue him. If only it were that simple. Because at that same time, and unbeknownst to her, her former fiancé Dr. Lawrence Webster has miraculously arrived on Robonovia, the Cerebretron is malfunctioning, Timmy has only just begun to master his telekinetic powers, a sinister robot named Alphatron is up to something terribly nefarious, and the duplicitous Soviet spy Natasha Zorokov has followed Dr. Webster through the Galactascope. Will it all get sorted out? Or is there another, more evil, thread to this complex tapestry?
For the kid in everyone!
THE INTERGALACTIC NEMESIS
Live-Action Graphic Novel
Book Two: Robot Planet Rising
Saturday, August 18th
Doors @ 6:30pm | Show @ 7:30pm
The Paramount Theatre
General On-Sale (Phone & Online): Friday, July 6th @ Noon
Purchase Tickets Online 0r (512) 474-1221 to purchase tickets by phone.
Get Premium Tickets
The best seats go to donors. Make a donation today for access to great seats.
Click here for details.
YouTube is accepting applications through Friday, July 13th, 2012, from individual comedians for a chance to be one of sixteen participants for their “Next Comic” program. Chosen recipients will receive $10K in Google Display Advertising, $5K in video production equipment, training via Google+ Hangout workshops, and mentoring from “YouTube star comedians and other industry leaders.” Continue Reading
Paramount Theatre & Moontower Comedy present writer, producer, director, actor, and hilarious stand-up comic Jeff Garlin. Garlin, a Second City Theatre alumnus, both co-stars and executive produces the award-winning HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, starring Seinfeld creator Larry David — who has yet to rule out a ninth season. Garlin’s first book, My Footprint, was released by Simon Spotlight in 2010 and was published in paperback earlier this year as Curbing It. He directed, wrote, produced, and starred in 2006′s critically acclaimed film I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (co-starring Sarah Silverman and Bonnie Hunt and released by IFC & The Weinstein Company). Jeff also greatly enjoys working with Disney-Pixar Animation Studios where he most notably voiced the role of The Captain in WALL-E and Buttercup in Toy Story 3.
Paramount Theatre and Moontower Comedy present
JEFF GARLIN
Saturday, October 13th
Shows @ 7:00pm & 9:30pm
Stateside at the Paramount
Tickets Go On Sale
Friday, June 29th @ 10am
Purchase Tickets Online
Or (512) 474-1221 to purchase tickets by phone.
Follow Jeff Garlin on Twitter
Fergus Falls, Minnesota-based comedian Chad Daniels had a pretty super Tuesday this past week. He released his second CD, “You’re the Best” (Stand Up! Records), appeared on Conan, and released a free, professionally shot, and uncensored one-hour special (“As Is”) via the venerable stand-up news & views site, Laughspin.com. Daniels is a seasoned comic and a captivating live performer. He’s had a Comedy Central Presents special, he’s appeared at prestigious festivals, on The Late Late Show, and was one of the select few comedians to be on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. So, to all outward appearances, Chad Daniels isn’t someone who has to give it away for free. Massively popular comics like Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan, and Aziz Ansari have rejiggered the model of heretofore-televised specials and DVD distribution by nixing middlemen with the fan/artist win-win of direct online sales, and “As Is” is an exciting gatekeeper end run extrapolation that allows Daniels to (re)introduce his work to untold English-understanding Earthlings. Daniels recently told Patrick Strait of Minneapolis’ City Pages that “… My goal is to just get my stuff in front of more people, and hopefully use the special as a way to get some more attention on the album… by putting it online instead of cable everyone has access to it, which is what I really wanted.” Comedy Moontower hopes the free release of “As Is” proves to be a financially sustainable enterprise not just because Chad Daniels is worthy of greater attention, he is, but the prospect of enticing other artists to follow suit and also potentially raising the cachet of the still-relatively niche comedy “album” is just such a rousing possibility.
Recorded in one take at Acme Comedy in Minneapolis, “As Is” already stands as a harbinger of the death knell for de facto language censorship, but (also evidenced on “You’re the Best”) Daniels use of shock imbues his act with a somewhat niggling unevenness. A performer who walks the edge is inherently going to cross it with explicitness, button pushing, taboos, and/or audience comfort level— and Daniels is indeed “edgy.” My calculus is that a joke or a bit’s cleverness needs to trump its crassness but my opinion also comes from the totality of payoffs from this nexus. On Track 8, “Environmental Science,” which some could regard as needlessly misogynistic (or outrageously hilarious, or both), Daniels addresses this very juncture by stating that “a skill that a good comedy crowd has to have” is the ability to “individualize jokes.” He adds, “If you didn’t like that joke, I get it. Put it in the `I don’t like it pile’ and let’s move on. I don’t want that to ruin the rest of the show for you. That’s the same with life. If you get cut off on the way to work and you’re still mad when you’re cooking dinner, maybe you’re an asshole.” Or maybe Daniels isn’t your cup of tea. Continue Reading

UPDATE: The show has sold out.
Wow! The great Dave Chappelle has announced a show for this evening, Tuesday, June 19th, at the Paramount Theatre. Amazing! Good luck! Thank you!
DAVE CHAPPELLE
Tuesday, June 19th
Doors @ 7:00pm | Show @ 8:00pm
The Paramount Theatre
Purchase Tickets Online
Or (512) 474-1221 to purchase tickets by phone.
Comedian, writer, actor, author, and social critic Paul Mooney’s impact on contemporary stand-up comedy and sketch television cannot be overstated. Mooney’s singular point of view, his groundbreaking originality, utter fearlessness, and manifest funniness continues to directly influence generations of comics— many of whom became household names like Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle, which is not to mention the many names who’ve outright cribbed Mooney’s act. Yet, Paul Mooney is the perfect example for fame not being the harbinger of artistic greatness.
For many people, Mooney first landed on their radar in the Aughts from his “Negrodamus” and “Ask a Black Dude” segments on Comedy Central’s Chappelle’s Show. However, as Richard Pryor’s writer, collaborator, and best friend, Paul Mooney was the man behind the man, the brilliance behind brilliance, but always an esteemed stand-up in his own right. Mooney has said he’s “too black for Hollywood,” but comedy-wise he’s the most relevant septuagenarian. So it is understandable, gentle reader, if you have yet to become familiar with Mooney’s distinguished body of work— he did perform in Austin for the first time in the summer of ‘09 but it is essentially Comedy Moontower heresy to miss a rare opportunity to catch Paul Mooney live.
Mooney’s unvarnished commentary on race, politics, history, and popular culture can prove challenging for a small segment of Caucasians. For sure, his aim is to make everyone think and laugh and Mooney certainly doesn’t hold back on black-on-black criticism, however his insight still has the power to make some white folks get utterly batshit infuriated. Being able to witness Mooney perform (usually closing) the Comedy Store on a near-nightly basis for over two years is one of my great joys, along with telling the (mostly Orange County) walkouts “No Refunds.” These were people (with “the complexion for protection”) who never ever once considered why white nostalgia doesn’t truck with African-Americans (especially those who lived under Jim Crow laws). How dare Mooney not revel in the beloved Back to the Future movie and not think that the ‘50s were anything but neat-o? Can you imagine why The Help could seem, at best, quaint, in the 21st Century? Part of Mooney’s genius is riffing on current events, one of the reasons comedians always stuck around or came for his set, and I’ll never forget the night Mooney had the Store’s OR room absolutely howling by mercilessly mocking Disney’s just-released “The Adventures of Huck Finn.” This is not to say Mooney has no respect for Mark Twain (he calls Pryor “Dark Twain”), but he took great umbrage with the Disney-ification of slavery. I couldn’t possibly do his routine justice but let’s just say Mooney envisioned Jim as not being particularly fond of Huck, whom Mooney imagined falling off the raft and drowning… to Jim’s great delight. Just Jim’s feigned rescue attempt with the sunny-side line, “But I got his shoe, boss,” still makes me beam. Mooney tells jokes and trades in satire. No one with a modicum of purity in his or her heart should feel “attacked” during a Paul Mooney performance. Continue Reading
Comedian, author, eponymous comedy festival impresario, filmmaker, voice of Gene on Fox’s animated Bob’s Burgers, hero, and Hampshire College alumnus Eugene Mirman gave the keynote address at the 2012 graduating class commencement ceremony on May 19, 2012. Hilarity and sage advice ensued.







