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 »

1. TJ Miller

If Chicago has a superstar stand-up right now, it’s Miller. Lincoln Lodge’s Mark Geary calls him “the ascendant comedian in Chicago right now.” He’s also toured with Second City as an improviser, and is currently filming a pilot for ABC in L.A. (Kristy Mangel of the Bastion has a bet that we’ll see him on television by August.) If you can catch him here right now, do it, say his peers, because he’s going to be big. tjmillerdoesnothaveawebsite.com

2. Robert Buscemi

Buscemi has been at it for five years, and within that time, he’s perfected a weird patter about playing strip poker in a one-piece (“to lose”) and being seen by the ladies in a thong on a recumbent bicycle downtown. Don’t ask, just go see him. robertbuscemi.com

3. Jared Logan

Logan is a founding member of Blerds.com (as are many other comics on this list), a funny Web site featuring daily blog and video content. Outside of stand-up, he recently created the monthly variety show “A Demon Who Never Appeared” at the Playground Theater. jaredlogan.com

4. Prescott Tolk

Tolk, also a Blerds member, traveled to Chicago from New York in 2001. He’s appeared on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and could easily pass for a stoner if he wasn’t so insightful. prescotttolk.com

5. Tony Sam

Sam is the founder and producer of Chicago Underground Comedy, and still finds the time to appear in pretty much every room in town (despite having a day job as a biologist). He’s been seen both playing the ukulele and holding a puppet version of himself named Dr. Tony (who has his own blog at askdoctortony.blogspot.com). tonysam.com

6. Hannah Gansen

Gansen co-founded the female comedy collective Spitfire (self-branded as “Chicago Comedy’s Broad Squad”) and often brings a 1989 Yamaha keyboard on stage to accompany her terrifically bizarre songs and insights.  spitfirecomedy.blogspot.com

7. Mike Holmes

Originally from Waterloo, Iowa, Holmes is currently working in Chicago and around the Midwest. He mixes observation and frustrated cynicism in equal parts, and it’s funny every time. myspace.com/mikeholmescomedy

8. Nick Vatterott

Vatterott has been off on tour with Second City lately, but if you get a chance to see him at Chicago Underground, you should take it. myspace.com/nickvatterott

9. Josh Cheney

Cheney hosts open mics, appears in showcases and tells jokes all over town. He’s equal parts absurd and traditional, and you can tell he’s been doing this for a long time. Catch him quick before he moves to L.A. later this year. myspace.com/joshcheeeneee

10.   Pat Brice

Also one of the Blerds, Pat Brice has taken stages all over town, including the staple Zanies. He also hosts a daily sports-comedy podcast called “Visitor’s Locker Room” with fellow local comic CJ Sullivan.  visitorslockerroom.com

And Five Places to Go See Them…

1. Chicago Underground Comedy was started by Tony Sam in 2005, and currently rocks the back room of the Beat Kitchen every Tuesday night. It’s quickly becoming a mainstay of alternative comedy in Chicago. chicagoundergroundcomedy.com

2. The Lincoln Lodge has been running for seven years now in the Lincoln Restaurant at Lincoln and Irving Park. Mark Geary originally started it because he wanted to bring professionalism to stand-up in Chicago, and you can find just that every Thursday and Friday night from September to May. thelincolnlodge.com

3. Open Mics. There are a lot—a lot—of open mics around town, but if you want to find good comedy, as Josh Cheney says, “you really have to look for it.” Two recommended by Chicago comics are the Sunday night room at Bad Dog Tavern (4535 North Lincoln) and Thursday night at Pressure Cafe and Billiards (6318 North Clark).

4. The People Under the Stares is a monthly showcase at the Hideout run by local indie record label Drag City. They’ve not only been able to bring national alternative comics back into Chicago (Zach Galifianakis was a recent appearance), but they’ve been able to connect them to local comics like TJ Miller and David Angelo to bring Chicago stand-up nationwide.  myspace.com/peopleunderthestares

5. Thunder Comedy just started as a showcase in January of this year, but they’ve been turning heads among comics in town already. The show is hosted by Joe Kilgallon at Brisku’s Bistro (4100 North Kedzie) every Thursday evening. thundercomedyshow.com   

(Mike Schramm)

RECOMMENDED

Satire is the name of the game for L.A.-based stand-up Mike Holmes, who may open his set by stating that, in fact, he had planned for each person in the audience to be there, because each one “represents the very best their field has to offer” (don’t be surprised if you’re introduced as a demolitions expert). Holmes seems to have a knack for parodying all the lovable clichés the audiences have come to crave in action movies, and his “Ocean’s 11” style introduction is so dead on that it may go over a few people’s heads. When it’s not satire, Holmes targets the trivial, honing in on subject matter few stand-ups dare to consider, like solving the insultingly easy crossword puzzles in People magazine, Michael Jordan prerecording phone messages for Make-a-Wish kids, getting the sudden urge to barrel-roll through closing garage doors and apocalyptic prognosticators. “What I love are people who predict the day [the end of the world] happens, ’cause when you think about it, whoever gets that right isn’t going to get a lot of credit on that one,” he jokes. “We’re not going to take time out for a pat on the back. ‘Oh God, this can’t be happening! River of blood, four horsemen, oh God forgive me! Oh hey, great call, Randy. Down to the minute, man. Unbelievable.’” (Andy Seifert)

April 16 & 17 at Lincoln Lodge, 4008 North Lincoln, (773)248-1820.

RECOMMENDED

Second City-trained sketch/stand-up comic Jeb Cadwell is an easy guy to cheer for, the lovable dorky type who seems genuinely excited when his audiences respond positively and a go-getter whose 2006-07 “Overdrive Tour” (including 400 shows in 365 days) easily establishes him as the hardest-working man in stand-up (and, quite possibly, a robot). Cadwell’s on-stage persona presumably mirrors his off-stage personality, a cheery, always-smiling kind of a guy, very Seth Meyersesque but completely void of any smugness. Subject matter roams from “Sounds of the Rainforest” albums, shopping for jewelry at “Jared” and the real definition of “make-up sex”—masturbating with Noxzema. But his routine’s most endearing jokes focus on the on/off relationship with his father: “My dad was like, ‘Cut your hair, you’re starting to look like a girl.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I look like a girl … but I make love like a woman.’” (Andy Seifert)

March 19 & 20 at Lincoln Lodge, 4008 North Lincoln, (773)248-1820, 9pm.

RECOMMENDED

According to his routine, California’s Matt Dwyer was an up=and-coming stand-up comedian when Tom Brokaw happened to catch his set. Evidently, Brokaw was so impressed with Dwyer that he invited him up to his hotel room to party it up, where he eventually ordered some call girls, tossed multiple televisions out the window, and asked Dwyer if he wanted to “chase the dragon.” The resulting heroin addiction derailed his career for six months. So, yes, that’s a completely fabricated back story, but it should give you a pretty good impression of Dwyer’s brand of humor, a mixture of self-deprecation, surreal one-liners, and the occasional wordplay. “I told a friend of mine I was thinking of committing suicide, and he said, ‘you know what, suicide is a selfish act,’” Dwyer says while barely moving a muscle. “So I decided that when I do it, I’m going to put forty pounds of candy up my ass and hang myself in front of a Mexican birthday party.” (Andy Seifert)

March 5 & 6 at Lincoln Lodge, 4008 North Lincoln, (773)248-1820, 9pm.

RECOMMENDED

A sure sign of a comedian who’s not all that self-centered or too neurotic: the ones that can make fun of themselves just as mercilessly as they would a celebrity. L.A.-based comedian Mike Bridenstine, who’s done a fine job poking fun at Pamela Anderson and Eminem (through his semi-internet meme “Every Eminem Song Ever,” which mostly only features the words “8 Mile,” “Detroit,” “Haley,” and “Mom”) has also found a plethora of ways to tie a variety of subjects to his somewhat pathetic state of existence, like gaining excess weight, being a Cubs fan and even Terrell Owens’ rumored attempted suicide. “The cool part about it, his publicist went on and said, ‘There’s no way T.O. tried to kill himself. T.O. has twenty-five million reasons not to commit suicide,’” he says. “I’m watching like, ‘That’s awesome. I was just at the bank; I clearly have sixty-eight reasons not to commit suicide.’”

January 2 at Lincoln Lodge, 4008 North Lincoln, (773)248-1820

RECOMMENDED

“You guys like bangs humor?” Cameron Esposito asks her audience in the midst of ripping off joke after joke about the joys of her new bangs-centered hairstyle and bangs-centered lifestyle. It’s a bit of a microcosm of Esposito’s entire act, which seems to accomplish two things: fool around with the seemingly trivial tidbits of life (like bangs, or singing the “Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers” theme song in the shower); and use little, chuckle-worthy punch lines to build up to one killer joke that ought to bring the house down (In this case, the openly gay comedian recalls when someone asked what consisted of her workout regiment: “I said, ‘nothing really,’ and then I thought about it. ‘Oh yeah, it’s banging chicks.’”). While it’s not her entire routine, her sexual orientation (and how she’s amused with people’s reaction to it) does come up through her set. “‘I just want you to protect yourself so you don’t get AIDS’” her dad once told her. “Which is super relevant to me as a gay man living in 1985.” (Andy Seifert)

December 18-19 at Lincoln Lodge. 4008 N. Lincoln, (773)248-1820.

RECOMMENDED

One of the novelties of being in a gay comedy rock band is that it immediately makes you one of the founders of gay comedy rock, so it would be apt to call New York City stand-up comedian Ben Lerman (of the now-defunct gay-rockin’ The Isotoners) the “Paul McCartney of homosexual comedy rock.” Three years removed from the Isotoners stint, Lerman’s stand-up routines are ukulele and absurdist-driven, having penned several goofy little folk songs about being attracted to Anderson Cooper (to the tune of Elvis Costello’s “Alison”), wanting an Asian baby for Christmas, and the sexual female encounters that led him to homosexuality (an Ace of Base parody called “(I Saw) Vagine”). At best, he can twist irony and satire around a melodic punch line, and at worst, he’s sort of a cooler, more homosexual-centered version of “Weird Al” Yankovic. Listen to his last record “Ukulear Winter” on his Web site for free to get a better idea of what you’re in for. (Andy Seifert)

December 18-19 at Lincoln Lodge, 4008 N. Lincoln, (773)248-1820.

RECOMMENDED

The second in a series of closing shows at the Lincoln Lodge, local favorites C.J. Sullivan, Fay Canale, Brady Novak and hilarious expatriate Kumail all make appearances. Sullivan is a comic’s comic, a master of timing, sarcasm and hard work. Regularly recording his sports Internet radio show, “Visitor’s Locker Room,” at the Lodge, it is only fitting Sullivan helps close out their season. The other large, white comic on the bill is Brady Novak. Regularly seen at the Lakeshore Theater, Novak is both uniquely funny and making his exodus to a coast later this year, so get while the getting’s good and see him before he splits. Female powerhouse Fay Canale, known for her edge, filthy mouth and swagger, is an important member of the Chicago stand-up scene, and her unpredictability makes every set an event. Rounding out this particularly solid lineup is Kumail, formerly one of Chicago’s funniest comics, having recently moved to N.Y. (Of course). (Max Minor)

At the Lincoln Lodge, 4008 N. Lincoln, (773)248-1820. This production is now closed.

RECOMMENDED

As is tradition, the Lincoln Lodge is closing its seventh season with a series of “Dwight Nights,” featuring performances by the Lodge’s most popular performers. West Side native Lil’ Rel, one of Chicago’s best- known comics, makes his appearance tonight alongside conquering hero T..J. Miller. Having been on P. Diddy’s “Bad Boys of Comedy,” “Last Comic Standing” and “Comicview,” chances are you’ve seen Lil’ Rel before and just didn’t know it. Not only important because he’s hilarious and successful, Lil’ Rel stays true to the city, hosting his own show on the side, and this is a great opportunity to see him up North. Headliner T.J. Miller makes his triumphant return, recently performing on his own sitcom and having starred in “Cloverfield.” Miller was one of the city’s hardest working comics, and his success is good for the stand-up scene. Known for his energy, it should be interesting to see how amped he’ll be in his return, juiced on his recent well-deserved success. Comedians Jessica Halem, Tyler Kroll and magician David Kovac also perform. (Max Minor)

At the Lincoln Lodge, 4008 N. Lincoln, (773)248-1820. This production is now closed.