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If it’s the stand-up’s responsibility to uncover the overlooked humor in our ever-frantic daily lives, Owen Benjamin is fulfilling his obligations. The New York State-based stand-up has a knack for lightheartedly illuminating the peculiar situations in his life that reek of absurdity, like the “Peanuts” theme song being played the precise moment a friend starts to have a serious conversation with him, or the crushing letdown that ensues when people find out that, even with his six-foot-six stature, he sucks at basketball. His “Owen Benjamin Presents” series on Crackle.com takes that principle and applies it to several “how to” lessons, including “How to be ‘the man’ at a BBQ” (open beers without a bottle opener), “How to fake talent” (wear a beret) and “How to look rich” (use an umbrella when it’s not raining). Benjamin appears as part of the MySpace Secret Show series, so, um, don’t tell anyone I told you. (Andy Seifert)

July 8 at Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, (773)472-3492.

David Cross and Bob Odenkirk

By Andy Seifert

Chicago may be an improv town, but Chicago also likes a little one-on-one action every once in a while, as in the audience versus the entertainer, one guy or gal throwing out his or her material in the hopes that it will produce a moments worth of euphoria in a crowd of onlookers and they can reap all the glory. That’s stand-up comedy for you, and it’s the format that will dominate the “Just for Laughs” Festival, which makes its American debut after twenty-seven years in Canada.

Legitimate Hollywood stars, alt-comedy favorites, Comedy Central stand-bys, Chicago theater troupes, and fresh-looking up-and-comers (yet to be chewed up and spit out by the industry) will converge in the Second City between June 17-21, meaning a ton of talent and a number of borderline personality disorders will be on full display. Spanning twelve venues throughout the city and including a fluid, diverse lineup of about forty shows, the Just for Laughs festival should appeal to a wide range of audiences and, like any festival, has its share of both immensely exciting shows and left-field head-scratchers. Read the rest of this entry »

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You know how the saying goes, “when life gives you cerebral palsy, achieve fame as a comedian by poking fun at your disability.” At least that’s the proverb for Denver’s Josh Blue, the winner of Last Comic Standing Season 4, who has turned his lifelong cerebral palsy into an immensely likable stand-up act, one that lightheartedly narrates life with the disability while refuting any preconceived stereotypes. The Paralympic-soccer-player-turned-comedian uses his unconventional body movement as a starting off point for his quips, then, once the jokes bring the house down, tells his audience that “you’ll all be going to hell for laughing at me.” Blue’s material is more than novelty, his self-deprecation is creative, unique and—dare I say it—heartwarming. “I was walking downtown and the drunk-tank stopped and picked me up,” he says. “I was like, ‘uh-oh.’ I was like, ‘Wait a minute fellas, there’s a misunderstanding, I’m not drunk, I have cerebral palsy.’ They’re like, ‘That’s a pretty big word for a drunk ass.’” (Andy Seifert)

June 11 at Zanies, 1548 N. Wells, (312)337-4027, at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. $25.

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If there’s one thing L.A.-based stand-up comedienne Melinda Hill has mastered, it’s the art of humorous incongruity. Watch her act on TV with the sound off, and you’ll see an attractive blonde, sweetly speaking and constantly smiling. But her outward appearances are deceiving. Her actual material is anything but sweet and innocent—it’s slyly sarcastic, self-deprecating and downright scathing. “I just had a surprise birthday party,” she says in one of her prototypical jokes. “I have to say, it wasn’t much of a party, it was just everyone I know getting together to tell me I drink too much.” Never one to shriek or go “Andrew Dice Clay” on everyone, Hill maintains a steady deadpan delivery style while occasionally including a couple of clever subtle touches. “I never ever have sex on the first date, unless I am raped,” she quips, with a bounce in her voice, as if she was joking about candy and ice cream. (Andy Seifert)

June 4-6 at Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, (773)472-3492. $15.

Is Todd Barry merely a comedian? Nay! Todd Barry is an incoming juggernaut, a megastar on the rise, a future inductee to People Magazine’s 50 most beautiful stars. If George Clooney balks at “Ocean’s 14,” who do you think they’ll be calling to replace him? That’s right, Todd Barry, who, by the way, is poised to put the bongos back on the musical map. Yes, Todd Barry is a big deal. He says it himself on the opening track of his newest album, “From Heaven,” after he thanks the opening comics: “It must be exciting for those young comics to work with me, it’s kind of exciting, not be an asshole or anything, but I’m semi-famous.”

Of course, he’s joking, but it’s worth noting that Todd Barry’s built the foundation of his career on a very sly, crafty bit of self-deprecation. Bald, 45 years old, and a king of tongue-in-cheek cockiness, Barry says near the end of “From Heaven” that “time flies when you’re seeing the best show you’ve ever seen in your life.” It’s a really perfectly delivered line, and there’s some truth to it: the fifty-minute “From Heaven” breezes by all too quickly, and while Barry may not be biggest draw in the comedy world, he’s certainly not low-profile anymore.

“I have a nice level of recognizability,” Barry says via email. “I get approached several times a week, but people are usually nice, and I can still ride the bus and shop at Kmart without causing a mob scene.”

His celebrity status may get a nice bump from recent stints, having played Mickey Rourke’s jackass boss in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” and having briefly filled the role of “third Conchord,” a.k.a Todd the unwelcome bongo player, on HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords.”

“We had a brief discussion about getting me one bongo lesson, but that never panned out,” Barry says of his popular “Conchords” part. “It probably made it funnier that I didn’t completely know what I was doing.”

While Barry appeared to hint that he may have a TV engagement on the way (“way too early to talk about it”), it appears he’ll delay certain stardom for the time being to concentrate on stand-up shows and, in much more serious matters, a “colossal update to his Web site.” (Andy Seifert)

May 15-16 at Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, (773)472-3492, 7:30pm and 10pm. $20.

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She may not claim to have coined the phrase “you fat fuck,” but New York stand-up/actress Susie Essman certainly popularized it. As the bat-shit-insane wife of Jeff Garlin’s character on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Essman has pulled out nearly every scathing combination of profanities in the English language in order to deride the completely whipped Garlin and his partner-in-crime, Larry David. For a show that builds its comedic foundation on unscripted arguments, Essman has proven to be a bulldog that’s escaped from its leash, willing to tear apart Garlin and David for the audience’s continued amusement. Aside from “Curb,” Essman’s been touring the stand-up circuit for a couple of decades, and while a lot of her routine is still very much insult-driven, much of the act fixates on her Jewish heritage, replete with many rousing impressions of her family that remind heavily of the old Mike Myers’ “Coffee Talk with Linda Richman” SNL skit. (Andy Seifert)

May 17 at Zanies, 1548 N. Wells, (312)337-4027, at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. $30.

RECOMMENDED

In terms of a “number of words” to “fits of laughter” ratio, is there anyone more efficient than Boston comedic legend Steven Wright? The guy rarely wastes a line for a setup, but instead unleashes an unrelenting assault of slowly delivered, melancholy one-liners, sometimes only requiring three or four words for a joke to payoff (example: “I’m addicted to placebos”). Perhaps the best in the biz at balancing comedic delivery with quick witticisms, Wright probably owes much of his fame to his immediately recognizable croaking monotone (cleverly employed on “Dr. Katz” and “Reservoir Dogs”), which lends itself perfectly to the absurdity and irony he pushes (case in point, I couldn’t imagine “I’m addicted to placebos” working for the convulsive stylings of Dane Cook). Wright’s brevity means a typical set consists of hundreds and hundreds of jokes, and a night full of nonsensical wit. A personal favorite: “Lately I’ve been trying to feel healthier, so I eat a lot of vitamins, but I don’t know. Do you know how many vitamins you have to eat to be full? One good thing though, the color of my urine is a-ma-zing. It’s like going to a laser show.” (Andy Seifert)

May 15 at Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield, (773)472-0366, 8pm. $35.

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Stories like Bo Burnham’s either warm your heart or make you puke: riding a tidal wave of popularity from his amusing YouTube music videos (bemoaning his overwhelming awkwardness at parties and the underlying feeling that his family thinks he’s gay), the 18-year old Massachusetts comedian/teenager already has two records and a Comedy Central special under his belt, as well as a deal to write an upcoming Judd Apatow “anti-High School Musical” movie. That’s well and good for him, but I just wish it didn’t make the rest of us feel like we’ve massively underachieved with our lives. Regardless, Burnham’s clearly a wickedly talented kid with a ton of potential, and his material works when he disregards any restrictions from political correctness. “I want you like a lawyer slash mathematician wants some kind of proof, I want you like JFK wanted a car with a roof,” he sings on “Love Is…” from his new self-titled record. “Love is like real life porn, minus all the things that make porn cool.” (Andy Seifert)

May 8 at Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, (773)472-3492, 7:30pm and 10pm. $22.50.

I remember watching Gallagher’s stand-up routine back in the early nineties and, as a little kid, I naturally thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen: giant trampoline couches, crazy inventions, frizzy clown hair and—best of all—the Sledge-o-Matic mallet, with the power to violently obliterate everything from watermelons to cartons of milk to computer keyboards. Since his glory days, Gallagher’s been in the midst of some bad press, first by suing his brother, Ron Gallagher, for copying nearly every aspect of his act (which sounds like a perfect story for Dateline NBC), second for a 2005 interview when he called David Letterman, Tom Hanks and Michael Keaton terrible comedians and belittled Comedy Central for only awarding him “the 100th best stand-up of all-time.” Seems like all the hooplah sucked the life out of him, because at the age of 62, Gallagher looks pretty gray and altogether tired, and the novelty of destroying everything on God’s green earth has run its course. Comedy doesn’t have to be intellectually stimulating by any means, but Gallagher’s been staging the same glorified food fight for almost thirty years, and at some point, the whole gag turned stale. (Andy Seifert)

May 8 at Zanies in St. Charles, 4051 E. Main, (630)584-6342, and May 9 at Zanies in Vernon Hills, 230 Hawthorn Village Commons, (847)549-6030.

RECOMMENDED
Actress, comedienne, activist, radio host, and bane of freedom-lovin’ conservatives, former stand-up mainstay Janeane Garofalo returns to her roots, sure to piss off Bill O’ Reilly or Glenn Beck or whomever from the stage rather than from the radio booth. Personally, I preferred Garofalo before she flung herself into the middle of the political arena, back in the early nineties when her self-deprecation knew no boundaries and she’d toss around sayings like, “I have no self-esteem left, and I hate to be the type of girl comedian to talk about those things, and I never thought I would be, but I’m a beaten man.” Her Air America incarnation of the last five years, playing a sort of left-wing answer to Dennis Miller, has been mildly amusing, but I still say she peaked during her iconic performance as The Bowler in the 1999 cult classic “Mystery Men.” Garofalo will be appearing with comedic vet (and her former Air America partner) Marc Maron. (Andy Seifert)

May 1 at Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, (773)472-3492, 7:30pm and 10pm. $29.50.