The Roxie

Uptown Almanac's Seanukkah Comedy Special Lights Up Tuesday!

Just in time for the holidays, Uptown Almanac's Locally-Sourced Pop-Up Comedy Night returns to the Roxie Theatre on Tuesday for Seanukkah!

We're cramming eight nights of laughter into one great show, featuring our headliner, Emily Heller (“Conan,” “John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show”). And thanks to Pabst Blue Ribbon, your $7 ticket also gets you plenty of free beer. Some said we only have beer to last for one comic, but our product rep Judah Maccabee assures us it will last for at least eight comedians.

Along with Ms. Heller, we've got local stars:

  • Andrew Holmgren
  • Alison Stevenson
  • Joe Gorman
  • Matt Lieb
  • Kelly Anneken
  • And special guest Chris Fairbanks! (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Comedy Central's Premium Blend,” “Last Comic Standing,” “Comedy Central's Reality Bites Back”)

The evening's festivities will be hosted by Sean Keane, so come expecting fun, excitement, ample popcorn, and a lot of comedians wearing holiday sweaters and headbands from Sean's mom's closet.

The show starts at 9pm, with door and beers opening at 8:45. And, of course, you can buy advanced tickets online.

Let Us Now Mourn Famous Death Dwarves

As you have certainly heard, Lou Reed will be spending Thanksgiving with Lester Bangs and Nico in the great methadone clinic in the sky.  And while there has been no shortage of memorials, retrospectives, and BuzzFeed listicles honoring one of rock's certifiable legends, the Roxie Theater has taken things a step further by scrambling together a whole night dedicated to Lou Reed rarities, deep cuts, and premiering “Berlin”:

When word came down that Lou Reed passed away October 27 at the age of 71, we sprang into action putting together a killer night of clips, shorts and ephemera relating to Lou Reed - as well as his fallen comrades - leading into the SAN FRANCISCO PREMIERE of Julian Schnabel's 2007 concert film LOU REED'S BERLIN: “Thirty-three years after his ambitious concept album Berlin was pronounced dead on arrival, Lou Reed reteams with producers Bob Ezrin and Hal Willner to stage live performances of the now-classic release at concert venues all across the globe. The album, which was savaged by critics upon release, was scored with orchestral arrangements and follows several characters as they experience jealousy, rage, and loss. While many turned their backs on the release back in 1973, the tide eventually turned and Berlin was even named by Rolling Stone as one of the top 500 albums ever released. Filmed during a five-night stint at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., this belated, live rendition of Berlin features an impressionistic backdrop filmed by director Julian Schnabel's daughter Lola and haunting backup vocals courtesy of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.”

Tickets for Wednesday's 7 and 9:15pm shows are on sale now.

FILMAGE: Descendents/All Documentary Set to Make Its SF Premiere

DESCENDENTS fans have been awaiting FILMAGE for a few years now—the first documentary to ever look at the seminal pop-punk crew of nerds. Fortunately for us, it's making its San Francisco premiere at The Roxie for a special high noon showing on Saturday, September 7th.

We're sure if you're familiar with the Descendents, you're already on-board. But for those of you who like to read plot synopses, here's how The Roxie describes what you'll be seeing:

FILMAGE: The Story of DESCENDENTS/ALL follows band leader/drummer/square-peg Bill Stevenson and his “caffeinated retardedness” as he pushes his rotating door of bandmates to “achieve ALL,” his philosophy of going for greatness at all costs. Stevenson is a force to be reckoned with, proving that not even a grapefruit-sized brain tumor can keep him down. Interviews with the band, along with their contemporaries, reveal the story of a band—if not THE band—responsible for pop-punk as you know it.

We're told that The Roxie sold 44 tickets within an hour of going on sale this afternoon, so if you want catch this one-off screening, get your tickets quick (sorry Burners).

(And, of course, the trailer:)

Contest: Nick Offerman Live at the Roxie (And He Has a New Movie Too)

Nick Offerman is perhaps better known as Ron Swanson, or maybe “that guy who plays Ron Swanson on Parks & Rec.”  It's undeniable that he's become this generation's Michael Richards.  But despite the wake of 9 seasons of Cosmo Kramer leaving Richard with a grip of mediocre failures that ultimately cumulated with a racist breakdown, we're optimistic that Offerman won't see the same fate.

Take the above trailer for Somebody Up There Likes Me.  Sure, it's suffering from a serious case of indieitis, but it's funny.  At the very least, it shows promise. And that gives us hope that there's life after Ron Swanson for one of our favorite cult actors.

Fortunately for us, The Roxie will be showing the movie starting Friday, and Nick Offerman will be at the theater all day Saturday doing an audience Q+A. That's right, you can be in the same dark room as Nick Offerman for multiple hours Saturday night.  Swoon.

As a bonus, the folks over at The Roxie want to give away a pair of tickets to see Nick and the movie.  To win them, give us your best definition of “indieitis” (or give us the best reason why that's the worst made up word in the history of made up words) in the comments by 5pm Friday.  Be sure to use your real email so we have a way to get a hold of you.

[Roxie]

Celebrate Uptown Almanac's 3rd Birthday By Drinking Hella Pabst and Laughing at Jokes!

Argh, we're turning 3 this week.  Three big years.  In blog years, that's practically 21, so we're about to enter a dark period of semi-functional alcoholism, self-loathing, (further) unemployment, multiple unfulfilling relationships that begin with “sup” texts, and a few career changes.

Yay!

Typically blog birthdays go by without notice (because recognizing blog birthdays is the worst).  But, we love comedy.  And we definitely love drinking beer.  So why not celebrate by taking over the Roxie with some of our favorite comics and too many cans of PBR to count?

Here's the deal: this Thursday (the 17th!) at 9pm, we'll be throwing another one of our locally-sourced pop-up comedy nights.  And to make this one blog birthdayrific (aarrgghh), we're bringing back some of our very favorite comics from past shows (with some fresh blood for good measure).  Check the line-up:

  • Alex Koll (UA's 1st show, Comedy Central's “Live At Gotham”, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, SF SketchFest, Host of “ROFL” on Revision3)
  • Kevin Camia (UA's 2nd show, Comedy Central's “Live At Gotham”, voted “Best Up and Coming Comic” at Rooftop Aspen Comedy Festival)
  • Kevin O'Shea (UA's 2nd show, SF SketchFest, Bridgetown Comedy Festival)
  • Anna Seregina (SXSW, SF SketchFest, SF Comedy & Burrito Fest)
  • Jules Posner (UA's 3rd show, Jokes.com’s No Drink Minimum, SF SketchFest)
  • Colleen Watson (5 Funny Females tour, SF Punchline)

And Sean Keane will be hosting!

You can get your tickets online now (or wait and get 'em at the door).  As always, the show is $7 and bottomless PBR is included in the ticket price.  See you Thursday!

[Facebook (complete with further performer bios)]

REMINDER: Stand-Up Comedy + Free PBR at the Roxie Tonight!

For those of you who missed last week's announcement, our holiday comedy special (featuring hella free PBR!) is happening at 7:30 tonight at the Roxie.  You can still get your tickets online, or show up a little early and get them at the door.

(And for those of you who noticed our headliner switch-up, Ron Funches was just cast for a television show and had to be on set all week, so Drennon Davis, an ex-SF comic, semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing, and creator of “The Long Legs” on MTV's Liquid TV, is stepping in. It's going to be killer!)

A Very Uptown Almanac Locally-Sourced Pop-Up Holiday Comedy Special [Feat. Drennon Davis!]

It's that time of year again: the days are getting shorter, the night are cooler, it's snowing somewhere, and everyone gathers around the warm neon glow of their favorite non-profit theater to commence drinking their way through to spring.  So, naturally, we've gotten back with Pabst and The Roxie to throw a Christmas-Seanukkah-holiday clusterfuck of cheap comedy and free beer.  Oh yes.

For $7, you'll get killer and festive stand-up from seven of the Bay's best comics (plus Drennon Davis coming back in town from LA!), all the free PBR you can reasonably drink, Joey Devine in a dreidel costume, and prizes from Santa's stocking (including mouth wash and chocolate!).  What's more? Thanks to an exceptionally generous holiday donation from Pabst, all seven bucks will be donated directly to The Roxie's fundraiser to bring us even more original programming in the years to come, so you'll want to be there.

Here's what you need to know:

Here's who'll be making you laugh:

And Sean Keane (member of The Business, past contributor to McSweeney's and ESPN the Magazine, columnist for the East Bay Express) is back to host!

So, if you haven't already, get yer tickets now.

[Facebook]

Everything is Terrible at The Roxie

We think this trailer is enough proof as to why you should attend tonight's showing, but here are some words to go with it:

This holiday season, Everything Is Terrible!, the world famous psychedelic soldiers of found footage, return with another epic masterpiece! Over the last 5 years EIT! has built upon their classic Holiday Special, each year creating a more abominable video collage of everyone’s least favorite time of the year! A millennium's worth of VHS memories of misplaced sentimentalities, fist fights over toys for tots, erotic Santas, Nazi elves, and an endless parade of singing kids will surely destroy us all! Will this holiday season be our last? Will our Maya brothers and sisters of so many moons ago be correct in their prediction of doom? After all the dust settles, and our world as we know it is no more, will we have learned the true meaning of the season? There is only one way to find the answers that we seek! Watch one more crappy holiday special! This holiday season Everything Is Terrible! will be served on ice!

They're also promising “puppets, sing-a-longs, candy, fake snow, and a visit from the big man himself,” so you're definitely not going to want to miss this.

10pm, $15, The Roxie Theater, tonight!

John Waters on the Roxie: "You Can Masturbate in the Theater"

Among many other fine compliments, he even endorses fucking fellow ticket-buyer in the place.

(Oh, and this video is plugging the Roxie's current fundraiser (which UA will be helping raise money for at our Holiday Comedy Show on 12/18), which aims to raise $60k to help expand the theater's programming and be even more awesome.)

This Must Be The Place: A Weekend-Long Festival of Post-Punk Documentaries

This weekend, our pals over at The Roxie are showing their truly massive compilation of obscure films and documentaries shot during the rise of post-punk. It's a solid chance to check out some rare footage from one of rock's most interesting eras. And on Saturday night, they're showcasing films on San Francisco's post-punk scene—something we don't usually hear too much about. Imagine, an evening focused on historical SF art and culture that doesn't revolve around Haight Street or Beat poets.

Maximumrocknroll caught up with The Roxie's Mike Keegan for a bit of background into the show:

I watch a tremendous amount of rock documentaries, and I am more or less enthralled by even the weakest entries in the genre. One of the major bummers of the world of rock docs, however – especially in the light of the proliferation of hastily put-together docs about baby boomer and post-baby boomer bands – is the default cinematic language that’s codified around them. That is: rad archival footage cut woefully short by contemporary interviews with participants contextualizing and excusing away bad behavior and youthful exuberance from the comfortable armchair of middle age. To that, I say: fuck that weak noise, let’s see what they meant when they said it.

If you want to check it out for yourself, we're giving away a pair of weekend passes to someone who likes this post on Facebook. (And if you don't want to chance it, you can go ahead and buy some tickets now.)

Finally, here's the preview for the show to hold you over until Friday:

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