
Originally written for and published by Texas Lifestyle Magazine đ
This past rainy week in Austin served up some of the most amazing comedic performancesâwere you able to catch a show? If not, make sure you get a ticket (or fan badge) next yearâyou wonât be sorry. Four days, ten venues, and over 90 performersâwow.
Headlining this week at the Paramount Theatre was Martin Short, Maya Rudolph, Anjelah Johnson, Kevin Smith, and David Cross. The big-timers sold out pretty quickly but were still a steal at about $40 per ticket on average.
I was more interested in the smaller venuesâI wanted to sit as close as possible to the laugh-creators and honestly, Iâve found that less-advertised performances are usually the most amazing experiences. That definitely proved to be true.
First up was Stars in Bars at Antoneâs Nightclub on East 6th Street. Local comedian Matt Bearden hosted, and the night started off strong with Martha Kelly, also Austin-based, whoâs known for the FX show âBaskets.â Her dark, hilarious anecdotes about her beloved cats passing away were perfect.
Jon Rudnitsky, whoâs new to the SNL cast, added not one, but two âdance routinesâ to his stand-up. If you love Chipotle, youâll love his burrito-maker moves. Another SNL cast member, Colin Jost, wasnât on the original line-up, but decided to make a guest appearance I guess! His and Jonâs eight to ten minutes were way too short for me, but Iâm not 100% sure if thatâs because they were terrific (they were) or if they were both drop dead gorgeous. Something to consider.
Brendan Walsh, Greg Liedtke, and Dana Gould added their own quirky witticismsâthe entire night was honestly a blur of sidesplitting laughter, including the closing act, The Sklar Brothers (Wild Hogs, Entourageâtrust me, you know these hysterical twins).
But the person who absolutely killed it? Arden Mylin, known for her many panelist contributions to the Chelsea Lately roundtable. She SLAYED (and I would usually never use that word, because it reminds me of the students I teach, but it works here). I especially loved when she called out the obnoxious couple in front of me (who sits in the first row if theyâre going to loudly talk the whole time?) and lamented about wearing Spanx. Then she commented on my Instagram post. Then she quoted my tweet. Ok, Iâll stop gushing now.
Next was the Goddamn Comedy Jam at The Parish on Dirty 6th, a place I tend to avoid, but Iâm glad I didnât that night! Josh Adam Meyers hosted, and might I add, made his entrance by grabbing a man in the front row and kissing him, rocking out with the two âroadiesâ (whose job all night was just to jam out and get the crowd pumped), and forcing another man in the third row to admit what race he hated the most. Quite the first three minutes.
Goddamn Comedy Jam is all about mixing comedy with musicâwhich is genius, especially since this is the Live Music Capital of the World. Each comedian has to perform their stand-up and then perform a song of their choosing! Such an amazing idea. Joe DeRosa sang the hell out of a Queen song and Janeane Garofalo went with The Monkeesâboth were more than âfunnyâ beforehand as well of course.
Matteo Lane stole the show for meâhis jests about being gay, Italian-Mexican, and single in New York were hilarious. Plus, he sang WhitneyâŠin the original key!
Brad Williams was the headliner for a reasonâhe absolutely won me over (I stereotypically thought at first that all his jokes were going to be about being a little personâŠI know, Iâm the worst). You may know him from Comedy Central, but now Iâll forever know him as astounding an entire venue with his sex advice and Kid Rock performance. After Williamsâ killer version of âBawitdaba,â Meyers made all the comics come back on stage to do a final performance togetherââHey Jude.â
As you can see by my overflowing enthusiasm about this past week, Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival is something you simply canât miss next year. Iâll be smiling about these shows for weeks to come.