San Francisco Comedy Blog

by Sean Keane

Tom Green took a Canadian public-access show and made it the highest-rated show on MTV, before continuing on a career of acting, directing, and music that took him to the cover of Rolling Stone and the guest host spot on Saturday Night Live. His film career includes “Road Trip,” “Stealing Harvard,” and “Freddy Got Fingered,” and his hosting acumen has taken him to his own MTV late-night talk show to guest-hosting The Late Show With David Letterman to his current gig, hosting “The Tom Green Show” on the web out of his own living room. Recently, Green embarked on an international stand-up tour, which has taken him through Australia, Canada, and from October 1-3, it takes him to Cobb’s Comedy Club in SF.

TOM GREEN Live @ Cobb’s Comedy Club
Oct. 1st, 2nd, & 3rd

Thanks for talking with us. I interviewed Harland Williams a few weeks ago, because all Canadian interviews default to me.

TG: Harland is amazing. He’s a good friend of mine and one of my favorite stand-ups. I grew up watching him in Ottawa, Canada when he’d come through the Yuk Yuk’s club. Very inspiring.

Yuk-Yuk’s is the main chain of clubs in Ottawa?

TG: It’s nationwide in Canada. It would be kind of like the Improv in the U.S., where there’s a club in every city. I would do stand-up there on amateur nights when I was fifteen years old, and I started doing little opening spots when I was in high school. Harland was my favorite – him and Norm MacDonald.

Had you been doing much stand-up in the interim period between when you were a kid and the current tour?

TG: I’ve never really done a full-time tour like this, where I’m on the road playing comedy clubs and theaters. I’ve always written a lot of stand-up – I’ve done monologues on my show, hosted award shows, and worked with a lot of great stand-up comedians and comedy writers. I’ve never really said, “I’m going to go on the road full-time. I’m going to write a set.” So this is pretty new for me.

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by Sean Keane

Harland Williams is a Canadian actor, comedian, author, artist, and musician. An accomplished stand-up comic, Harland is known for memorable roles in some of the most beloved comedies of the last twenty years, as well as his eclectic and unpredictable late-night talk show appearances. On Saturday, September 4th, he comes to the Herbst Theatre for a night of stand-up and sketch comedy. (Tickets)

You’re coming to San Francisco for just one night in September. Is there something special about the show that makes it a one-night-only engagement?

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By Sean Keane

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!: Season 2 was recently released on DVD by Warner Home Video. If you haven’t seen Season One, don’t worry. It’s not like The Wire: you don’t need to catch up, and you can watch episodes in any order. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, Awesome Show is a sketch comedy show on Adult Swim, starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, plus an assortment of public access television all-stars, occasional Hollywood guest stars (including Jeff Goldblum promoting the “Jeff GoldBluMan Group”), and regular appearances by John C. Reilly as “Doctor Steve Brule”. It’s like getting the high points of fifteen hours of public access programming distilled down to 11.5 minutes.

What sets “Awesome Show” apart from other sketch shows?

The format: Because they’re limited to just 11.5 minutes, sketches rarely drag. In general, each episode will have a multi-scene story involving Tim & Eric that bookends unrelated sketches, songs, and appearances by Christian science-fiction enthusiast and ventriloquist David Liebe Hart. Often there are commercials for products from fictional conglomerate “Cinco”, makers of products such as the Encyclopedia of Numbers and a grandfather doll called “Pep-Pep”.

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by Sean Keane

Jim Breuer is an East Coast comedian best known for his three-year stint on Saturday Night Live and his role in the cult classic, Half Baked. He also hosts the Sirius satellite radio show Breuer Unleashed on Raw Dog 104. After an extended hiatus from stand-up comedy, he returned to comedy last year with his “Breuniversity” Tour of colleges across America. On November 20th, at 11 PM, Breuer will be performing at Caesar’s Palace as part of The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas.

Right off the bat, I want to ask about the upcoming TBS Comedy Festival, where you’re playing Caesar’s Palace. Have you done the festival before?

JB: I did it last year. Last year, I started going back into stand-up, and the Vegas Comedy Festival was the perfect place for me to launch it, because it’s very family-oriented. It’s not like, bring-your-lollipops, family-oriented, but I talk about my kids, my wife, being married, having a dad who craps himself, and taking care of the elderly. I did a midnight show with Chelsea Handler, and it was sick. Not that I was nervous, but I wasn’t too optimistic they were going to buy what I was talking about. And I left with a standing O, so I was happy.

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by Sean Keane

Best known for his “Sledge-o-Matic” sketch, Gallagher has been performing comedy for over 25 years. This weekend at Pepper Belly’s, Gallagher plans to shower the audience with social and political commentary, along with chunks of pulverized watermelon.

@ Pepper Belly’s
8/28-8/31

(Read Part One)

A few years ago you ran for governor of California [Gallagher placed 16th out of 135 candidates]. What would you have done if you’d won that election and become governor?

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by Sean Keane

Best known for his “Sledge-o-Matic” sketch, Gallagher has been performing comedy for over 25 years. This weekend at Pepper Belly’s, Gallagher plans to shower the audience with social and political commentary, along with chunks of pulverized watermelon.

@ Pepper Belly’s
8/28-8/31

You’re playing at Pepper Belly’s in Fairfield from August 28-31. Is that the normal place you come when you’re in the Bay Area?

Gallagher: No, I’ve never been there before, and I don’t consider it the Bay Area. It’s halfway to Sacramento.

SF comics still get booked to open there, so it’s about the furthest extent of the Bay Area.

I think people are lazy and they go to a show that’s nearby. I think people will come to the show and they’ll say, “I’ve been waiting ten years to see you!” And then I’ll say, “Because you’re too damn lazy to drive!” And then they’ll laugh, and that’ll be that.

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By Sean Keane

Jimmy Pardo is legendary for his quick wit and improvisational skills on stage. He’s appeared on That 70’s Show and Becker, and starred in his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents special. He hosts his own talk show, “Running Your Trap”, and a live version of The Match Game, both at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in LA. This week, he will be performing at Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale, along with John Hoogasian and Kevin Camia.

I think I got this interview because I’m about five foot six, and Chad wants me to interview any comic who’s shorter than five foot eight.

JP: Who else have you interviewed? A lot of ladies, I imagine?

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By Sean Keane

New Jersey’s Rich Vos is performing at Punchline Comedy Club from March 18-22, with Becky Donohue and Sal Calanni. He was on the first and third seasons of Last Comic Standing, appeared on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn, and had his own Comedy Central Presents special. Currently, Vos is a regular on the Opie and Anthony show.

First off, congratulations on being a father.

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by Sean Keane

Matt Kirshen already had an impressive reputation on the UK comedy circuit when Last Comic Standing brought his act to American audiences. He headlines this week at the Punchline Comedy Club (November 14th-17th), with Louis Katz and Sheng Wang.

Is this your first extended American tour right now?

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