Masters of Comedy w/Carol Burnett & Tim Conway + checking in w/ Sarah Silverman, Aqua Teen Hunger Force & more (April/2010)

Master of Comedy with a wide variety of comedians from the past, present & future.

Sarah Silverman – April 16th – The Coronet – Los Angeles, CA

I didn’t know exactly where the Coronet was, and didn’t know what time Sarah Silverman was going on. I had just learned about the show this morning. Apparently her and her friends do a monthly, intimate, really low-fi gig at this very small theater (holds about 60) what seemed like a live rehearsal, or just a place to try out new material. I got there after the show had already started and quietly made my way to my seat, and thankfully Sarah hadn’t gone on yet. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I knew that this wasn’t some full-blown performance and even when I saw her in NYC she only did just under an hour.
I saw a couple of comedians first, this one Jewish girl, I can’t remember her name was really funny and I would go see her again if I could remember her name. Then Sarah comes out, and seems really uncomfortable and uptight. She settled in and had some good stuff, but she fucked up this one bit, but you wouldn’t have known it, if she didn’t tell you and she was outspoken about it. It gave the feeling that she were in her dressing room and she wanted to run it by you first and felt free to curse and break character when it didn’t go as planned. She was still really funny and looked fantastic :

She only did about 20 mins, and I was a bit disappointed by that, but still I had a feeling that it would be about that length. Two more comedians came on after them and they were really good too, fun show and am glad that I went. As a testament to its casual atmosphere after the show in the courtyard that separates the club, she was just hanging out like everyone else. Not in a, “do you want your book signed?” way, but just a part of the crowd. So much so that when I finished smoking she was sitting in the corner by herself with no one else around. Now, I know that I am a big dork and she is my ultimate celebrity crush (and I know how lame it is to admit even having one of those) but I was trying to get myself to leave and not make a fool out of myself.
Those attempts were unsuccessful, as I contemplated, and second-guessed I finally went over there and said hello and started to talk to her. We did share a laugh, and it was just cool to talk to her, so I made it brief and got the fuck out of there.

An Evening with Carol Burnett and Tim Conway – April 27th Saban Theater – Los Angeles, CA

Ok so for the first time in Los Angeles, comedy legend Carol Burnett and co-star Tim Conway appeared on a public stage together. They engaged in a conversation about Carol’s new book, This Time Together – Laughter and Reflection and took questions from the audience. Several things stuck me about this affair while I was there: For one, the event, given the buildup and pageantry, was entirely too short. The second thing is that the average age of audience member was over 60. What do those two things have in common? Well I was waaay at the top of the theater, and as I was leaving, it took me so long to get back down because of the elderly crowd that I joked that it took longer to exit than the entire show. (the show was about an hour).

That’s not to say, that it wasn’t time well spent, because it was actually really great. Tim Conway is still one of the most brilliant and naturally funny people on the planet and he actually threatened to steal the show, as Carol Burnett seemed to have that disposition that I hear alot of comedians have is that, they just don’t feel the need to be funny when not working. And technically though she wasn’t performing she was still onstage, and when they both sat down, Conway came out guns-a-blazing, but she really didn’t come out her shell until the Q&A at the end. Conway seemed to make alot of jokes because of her quietness, and he killed every time. I was literally crying laughing at times.
After the conversation Burnett answered some questions from the audience,and this stuff always embarrasses me because people can be so embarrassing. One guy wanted a kiss, the other wanted her to do her signature Tarzan yell etc. One lady in particular I’ll give a pass to (sorta) as apparently she had waited a long time for this moment to deliver something to Burnett. She was clutching a framed photo that she passed to Burnett and told a story about the guy in the picture. Apparently it was her brother and as children they lived across the street from Burnett. You could tell she expected a huge reaction from Burnett, but she didn’t really sell it at all. She did acknowledge that she knew the person in the picture (which I’m sure was worth the validation). Burnett was still funny and charming and it was a great thrill just to see her in person.
(later than evening) Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live – El Rey Theater – Los Angeles, CASo I didn’t really get this, admittedly, I’m barely a casual fan of the TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but I feel like even if I was, (and maybe even more so) I would think this was pretty lame. The evening included mini-sketches, songs, videos, a ton of audience participation, a couple Squidbillies interludes (including a whole episode), a Meatwad impression contest, a guy who looked a lot like Carl eating cheesesteaks and too few/too underwhelming puppetry moments.

Now, I will give them credit for packing the show with content, as I missed the first 30 mins (and sadly Schooly D’s entrance) but the thing still carried on for another two hours. The whole thing still felt more like a cash grab than anything really inspired, and its existence is completely unnecessary and does nothing to extend the brand in my opinion, and really hold nothing for its core audience. If you like the show, do you automatically like variety shows with puppets and musicals? Even if their in the likeness of? Too long and too lame.

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