Indie Comedy

Mainstream comedy is in desperate need of a kick in the ass. The shows that are on TV that are popular and making it more than a few seasons aren't the shows that should be. There are countless hilarious television shows that have been canceled before they got to bloom past a 3rd season. The shows I'm thinking of are Upright Citizens Brigade, Arrested Development, Strangers With Candy, MTV’s The State (first season available only on iTunes) and Undeclared to name a few. Those 5 shows never saw a 4th season and Undeclared never even got a 2nd season. Sure some of their comedy was completely absurdist and out there, but that was what made it fresh, new and exciting. The average person doesn't "get" this kind of comedy because they aren't in on the joke. They aren't willing to give the energy and mind power to understand what makes shows like this funny.

If my music tastes would be considered Indie, then I would have to consider my comedy tastes to be the same. I enjoy comedy that makes you think and pay attention to get the joke. I don't like to be told when to laugh and I don't like it to be too easy. I want to work for my laughter and I think the people making me laugh should have to work for it too. There isn't much on TV these days that makes me laugh. Sure I'll chuckle at some shows but in terms of laugh out loud hilarious there is very little. The forefathers of the current Indie scene of comedy are The State and Upright Citizens Brigade. Sure I could probably trace it back further to the likes of Del Close and the Improv Olympic but I’ll give the current credits to those two. These two groups of comedians have spawned folks that are currently involved in Comedy Central series, Reno 911, and Dog Bites Man as well as either of the two comedy news shows.

In my mind David Wain, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black(I only list these 3 from The State because they’re the best known), Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh are the heart of the current Indie comedy scene. These people have their fingers in every comedy project that is in production and been made for the past 10 years. Any Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, or Jack Black movie will have people from any of these groups in it. The movies you see will make you laugh here and there but the live show is where its at. You can be sure to see brand new material at any live UCB show.

The best, most consistent laughs for the money that I've found these days is visiting the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater down on w26th and 8th. The best night is Sunday night of course for the ASSSSCAT but any night should suffice for a few laughs here and there.

Last night my friends and I made a trip down to the theater and we shelled out the 8.90 for the 7:30 ASSSSCAT show. If you don't want to pay the money you are free to wait in line for the free 9:30 show but the line usually gets started around 4:30 and is full by 8. We didn't want to wait the 4+ hours so we coughed up the dough. It's been about a year and a half since I last saw a UCB ASSSSCAT back when they were filming the Bravo pilot. I was excited to see some damn good long form improv and I wasn't disappointed.

We got into the theatre around 7:20 and grabbed some front row seats. Alex mentioned something about a Comedy Central special being filmed so we were worried that none of the UCB 4(poehler, besser, roberts, walsh) would actually be there. Sure enough none of them were there but Jack McBrayer and Paul Scheer took the reigns. They came out to introduce the show apologizing for the lack of any UCB members. You may recognize Jack from the page in 30 Rock, or the waiter in Arrested Development. They introduced the other members which included a bunch of folks I can’t remember or find the names of but also the likes of Rob Riggle, Rob Huebel, and Seth Meyers. The guest monologist for the night was Aziz Anaris.

The show started off with the suggestion: microwave. Aziz talked about food from elementary school, and the use of the microwave to remove the dent in a ping pong ball. He weaved it all together well in his stand-up style setting up the ASSSSCAT’s to improv. They did a series of scenes about a guy in animal control who turns to killing humans in order to save animals. They tied in the lunch food bit with a school gang eating crazily complicated foods and the microwave was used when a guy in the work place was making Thanksgiving diner because he had no other family but the people he worked with. Some people added more to the show than others. The strongest without a doubt were Meyers, Riggle, Huebel, and McBrayer with a few others adding nice beats here and there.

The women were disappointing and I could tell they were a little uncomfortable when someone suggested “saggy boobs” for the second act suggestion. You could tell that Seth Meyers was constantly thinking and finding ways to make the monologue work in scenes by the way he mumbled and concentrated during Aziz’s monologue. Aziz was forced to bring in porn and some pretty hilarious anecdotes from some taxi rides he had taken. The improv’ers executed the scenes well with some great scenes involving wedding planners, porn production, and taxi drivers.


An ASSSSCAT can never be appreciated by a review because it is something that needs to be experienced live to feel the energy and spontaneity of the players. I can’t possibly recommend any higher that you see an ASSSSCAT sometime. If you are in LA you will be lucky enough to see Besser, Walsh, and Roberts while in NYC you’ll most likely see the folks I mentioned earlier with Amy Poehler splashed in here and there. ASSSSCATS play every Sunday night at 7:30 and 9:30. Visit www.ucbtheater.org for more info.