PODCAST: Luke Giordano and The Bully Pulpit

Tomorrow the Philly Improv Theater will be presenting a new comedy show in which four panelists discuss the day's issues from a comedian's perspective. It's called The Bully Pulpit and it will be hosted by creator and stand-up comic Luke Giordano. Recently, Luke joined Dave for C vs. A Radio Hour to talk about the show and his fascination with Theodore Roosevelt. Then, with help from comics Kent Haines and Gregg Gethard, Luke previewed the live show on-air.

Keep in mind that this was recorded on June 25th and mere minutes after the news of Michael Jackson's death so there will be some gallows humor here. The podcast is somewhat explicit in nature and thus NSFW.

The Bully Pulpit will be tomorrow evening at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge) at 10PM. Tickets are available at PHIT's website. The comedians on the show this month are Kent Haines, Pat Barker, Sidney Gantt and Doogie Horner.

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THIS WEEK: PHIT at the Shubin Theatre

It's time again for the Philly Improv Theater's week at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge St). The week actually kicked off yesterday with our show. It will also be the first month without the sketch/monologue show Bedtime Stories, which will be moving to Connie's Ric Rac.

Wednesday, January 7
8 p.m. - Why Am I Not Famous?!?: A Comedy Talk Show w/ Kent Haines, $5. Kent's show bumps up to the 8-slot as he welcomes comedians sketch comedians The Feeko Brothers and stand-up comedian Pat Barker.

Thursday, January 8
8 p.m. - Improv Comedy, PhD, $5. Every Thursday, the theater will pair up "today's comedy over-achievers and tomorrow's comedy legends." This month: Drexel University's Drexel Football Team with PHIT house team Activity Book.

10 p.m. - Cagematch: Illegal Refill vs. Angry People Building Things, $5. CAGEMATCH pits two groups against each other for 25-minute sets that can only use one audience suggestion. The audience decides the winner by secret ballot.

Friday, January 9
8 p.m. - PHIT house team Fletcher w/ Rare Bird Show, $10. PHIT's emerging house team pairs up with Philadelphia's top improv group.

10 p.m. - BWP w/ Mister Licorice, $10. BWP's Connie and Connie (respectively) tell you about their problems and ask you what the hell yours is. Mister Licorice, besides being a name we struggle to spell correctly, are one of the top troupes from the Baltimore Improv Group.

Saturday, January 10
8 p.m. - BWP w/ Mister Licorice, $10.

10 p.m. - PHIT house team Fletcher w/ Rare Bird Show, $10.
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TOP FIVE MOST IMPROVED COMICS OF THE YEAR 2008 by Pat Barker

Our Top 5 of 2008 lists continue...

TOP FIVE MOST IMPROVED COMICS OF THE YEAR, 2008 by Pat Barker

1) Kent Haines. Perhaps this wasn't an improvement as much as it was Kent shining when given an opportunity, but there's no way anyone else could head this list. I don't know the exact time line of when Kent got here from Alabama, but he might not have even been in Philly one year ago. Now he's one of my favorite local guys. Smart, funny material. It's just a shame that the University of Alabama are choke artists and blew the National Championship. Can't win 'em all, Kent.

2) Aaron Hertzog. Aaron's always been a good joke writer, but I feel like he's turned a corner recently and gotten even better. His joke about the Hide-and-Go-Seek Killer is brilliantly crafted and anyone who quotes Dr. Dre in their act is good in my book. Check out his set on his MySpace from Doogie Horner's Ministry of Secret Jokes show.

3) Conrad Roth. It's tough for me to get into the one-liner stuff too much, because so many people do it horribly. Conrad is not one of those people. I did a show with him back in May, and there were definite bright spots, but it was still very hit-or-miss. Over the next six months, he wrote a bunch of great new stuff, ditched a bunch of mediocre old stuff, and now his act is solid. Conrad consistently impresses me by pulling off a style I never could.

4) Pat House. While this list is mostly relegated to relative newcomers, I feel like I have to make mention of the strides House has made recently. A lot of his newer jokes are really good and he's been tweaking older jokes and making them better too. I did a show with him a few months ago and was very impressed. Pat and I have probably done over 100 shows together, and this was the best I've ever seen him.

5) Derek Gaines. Quite possibly the most underrated comedian in Philly. Every time I see him, he's funnier than the time before and has developed some new killer bit. It's impressive. He'd definitely be higher up on the list if I got to see him perform more. Derek will "make it" in comedy in some way, guaranteed. Ridiculously good stage presence, great material, and an overwhelming likeability. He's even cut down on his use of ridiculous acronyms, and that is admirable.

For the record, picking five people for this was insanely difficult. There are lots of people who made strides over the course of '08, and recognizing them all in this limited of a forum is impossible. Special "shout out" to a whole bunch of others that make me laugh very consistently - the Doogies and Joe Docs and Brendan Kennedys and Chip Chantrys of the world. Overall, I feel like Philly has a very very good scene and I'm excited about 2009.
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TOMORROW: The Ministry of Secret Jokes

A stimulus package, new President-Elect and Senate committee nominations aren't enough for your political junkie soul? Luckily, monthly show The Ministry of Secret Jokes will be holding a Presidential Election tomorrow at Fergie's Pub (1214 Sansom). Sez host and, dare we say, Secretary of Jokes Doogie Horner:

Radner High School has asked the Ministry of Secret Jokes to elect a President to represent their student body for the remainder of the school year. Their previous student body President, Ennio Reali, was killed in a drunk driving accident when his car veered off the road, fell into a canal (he was in Venice), and was run over by a skidoo (operating illegally in those waters). The Vice President, Treasurer, and Captain of the football team died the following week from a bee sting, a skiing accident, and sudden infant death syndrome (a mother who went crazy after her infant succumbed to the disease stabbed the Varsity football captain in the throat as he was exiting Sbarro's) respectively. Fears that the deaths may have been mafia related have discouraged any other students from running. Radner High School has therefore asked/paid the Ministry to hold an election and find a suitable replacement student body president for them.

This Wednesday, Pat Barker (Whig) will run against Chip Chantry (Torie) for the position of student body president of Radner High. There will be speeches, a debate, and maybe a spelling bee. They will discuss the War in Iraq, the impending senior prom, and whether Radner should hold a fund raising car wash, or bake sale.

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TONIGHT: The Comic Vs. Audience Comedy Show!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's going down tonight! Brought to you in conjunction with the Philly Improv Theater, we're bringing you four hilarious standup comedians as part of PHIT's week at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge St). Yeah, we know, stand-up with an improv theater, but the truth is the PHIT is a great source for comedy in the city and the Shubin is a great place to see it. So come on out and tell your friends!

Here are the details:

The Comic Vs. Audience Comedy Show
Monday, August 11th, 2008
at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge St.)
8PM
$5
with:
Blake Wexler
Nolan Gilbride
Brendan Kennedy
Pat Barker
BYOB!
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COMIC VS. AUDIENCE PRESENTS: The Comic Vs. Audience Comedy Show, 8/11

Ladies and Gentlemen, we're doing it again! Brought to you in conjunction with the Philly Improv Theater, we're bringing you four hilarious standup comedians as part of PHIT's week at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge St). Yeah, we know, stand-up with an improv theater, but the truth is the PHIT is a great source for comedy in the city and the Shubin is a great place to see it. So come on out and tell your friends! Here are the details:

The Comic Vs. Audience Comedy Show
Monday, August 11th, 2008
at the Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge St.)
8PM
$5
with:
Blake Wexler
Nolan Gilbride
Brendan Kennedy
Pat Barker
BYOB!
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VIDEO: Omniana: Pat Barker vs. Steve Gerben

Last month at Fergie's Pub during the Ministry of Secret Jokes show, comics Pat Barker and Steve Gerben engaged in an intense battle of Omniana. You may recall last month's battle between Pat Barker and Kent Haines in which Pat managed to defeat Kent. He also took the time on stage then to call out Steve Gerben, who was originally supposed to be his opponent. And this setup the epic battle for the Omniana championship which you can see below with pre and post interviews and analysis.

Again, here are the rules of the game from the official Omniana website:

On each Character Card there is a brief description of an original character detailing his special abilities, weaknesses and history. Players take turns sending one of their characters into an opponent's pre-selected character. Using only the information on their cards, both of the battling players must argue how and why his character would win a duel.

The difference with this live version is that the winner is decided by the audience.




NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, you'll miss the beginning of Pat's character. Just know that he's a Roman Emperor and take it from there.

Feel free to discuss in the comments, but your opinion only really matters if you go to the next Ministry of Secret Jokes show June 25th.
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VIDEO: Omniana Battle: Pat Barker vs. Kent Haines

At last month's Ministry of Secret Jokes show at Fergie's, Pat "Worm Man" Barker and Kent "Alabama Slamma" Haines were pitted in a vicious Omniana battle. Omniana is thrilling game of wits and imagination and when it was played live at MoSJ, the winner was decided by the audience. From the official Omniana website:

On each Character Card there is a brief description of an original character detailing his special abilities, weaknesses and history. Players take turns sending one of their characters into an opponent's pre-selected character. One or more of the remaining players will judge each battle. Using only the information on their cards, both of the battling players must argue how and why his character would win a duel. The judge(s) decides the victor and awards him either a treasure or an advantage card. The player with the most treasure at the end of the game wins.

Barker was the defending champion and his title was on the line. Also of note was Barker publicly calling out stand-up comic Steve Gerben, who was originally scheduled to battle Barker but did not show. We'll keep you up-to-date on as this new feud rages on.


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Die, Actor, Die: Pat Barker

We end our Die, Actor, Die! week with the headliner of the evening, stand-up Pat Barker. It was difficult for me to decide what to include from Pat's set as it had a lot of solid stuff, so I made my mind up on his first 5+ minutes.

Thanks again to local comic Kent Haines for helping film this.

This week of video is something of an experiment here, so please email us at comicvsaudience at gmail dot com with your thoughts if you'd like.
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