I have watched Comedy Central and shows like 'Last Comic Standing' for years but until August 27th 2011 I had never seen LIVE standup. So with some discount tickets Chris and I headed to the Downtown Comedy Club in Los Angeles. A comedian named Gina Yashere was headlining and it looked to be a good show.
As we walked up to the club I began to feel less sure about the success of this outing. The club was in a run down section of downtown. As we crossed the threshold it looked like someone had just demoed the place with a sledge-hammer. We were directed to our seats in front of a stage that was 3' by 3' and about 6 inches off the ground. Plus the A/C was on the fritz and it was one of the hottest days in LA. Sketchy to say the least.
We arrived at the very end of the open mic, and we decided to grab a drink from the bar before the show started. The bar was a counter with bottles of beer on display and a cooler full of cold ones on the floor. But it was only $3 a beer, which was an excellent surprise.
We took our seats drinks in hand and the evening began to look up. The host for this part of the evening was cute and funny. Everyone she introduced told at least one good joke and a few of the comics made me laugh so hard I almost cried.
Then they introduced Gina Yashere, her bit started a little slow. She was HYSTERICAL. I was actually crying at 3 points during the show. Retelling it now won't be as funny but you can check out her website or watch her on Jay Leno on September 22nd.
This was a great way to spend an evening and even without discount tickets it costs less than a movie, next time I will find a club with A/C. :)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
30 before 30: Go See a Play
South Pasadena has entertainment in the park by our house every summer. This year Shakespeare by the Sea presented 'Much Ado About Nothing', which is my favorite Shakespeare play. So we packed up out chairs, wine, cheese and headed out to watch the play.
As the play started it was a little hard to hear, being outside there were no walls to contain the actors voices. The sound traveled better as the evening progressed and by the end of the play it was fairly easy to hear.
The actors made me remember the good and bad of live theater. It can be a moving experience watching live people unfold a story before you. I find that some of that connection is lost in movies. The down side is that the acoustics can be ify and a play doesn't bowl you over like a full scale movie can. Live theater is much more sutble and you have to pay closer attention to catch all the details.
The play was fun even with the not fantastic acoustics. I enjoyed it enough that I have been looking for other plays in town to go see. Live theater can be a great night out and often it costs less than a movie ticket.
As the play started it was a little hard to hear, being outside there were no walls to contain the actors voices. The sound traveled better as the evening progressed and by the end of the play it was fairly easy to hear.
The actors made me remember the good and bad of live theater. It can be a moving experience watching live people unfold a story before you. I find that some of that connection is lost in movies. The down side is that the acoustics can be ify and a play doesn't bowl you over like a full scale movie can. Live theater is much more sutble and you have to pay closer attention to catch all the details.
The play was fun even with the not fantastic acoustics. I enjoyed it enough that I have been looking for other plays in town to go see. Live theater can be a great night out and often it costs less than a movie ticket.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)