stop playing playstation and come see comedy

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

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

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]

Help Make This Happen Right Now: the San Francisco Comedy & Burrito Festival

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

This goofy burrito Kickstarter campaign requires your immediate attention and unfettered access to your credit card:

The San Francisco Comedy and Burrito Festival (SFCBF) will be a three day long festival celebrating two of the greatest things in the world: stand-up comedy and burritos. 

The festival will be feature comedians from all over the country, as well as top talent from our own thriving local scene. Several top headliners have already expressed enthusiastic interest in performing at the festival. There will be no sketch or improv- just pure good old-fashioned stand-up (and maybe a podcast or two for good measure).

The festival will take place in the centrally located Mission District of San Francisco, a cultural hotbed that features a variety of performance venues and gallery spaces. Each of the venues will be within walking distance of each other, facilitating easy migration from one show to another and thereby maximizing the number of shows festival goers will be able to see. Because of this, the best way to experience our festival will be by purchasing a very affordable festival pass, although tickets for individual shows will also be available to purchase.

Oh yes, some undetermined weekend this fall, many of your favorite Mission venues will be full (full!) to the brim with gaggles of your favorite regional and national comics.  And what's more? “With each ticket purchase, the customer will receive a coupon that can be used for purchases at one of the nearby participating taquerias.”  That's right, comedy and burritos.  It's like SXSW comedy, only full of sour cream and absent of all the social media pretension and Rainn Wilson.

Just watch their promotional video:

Of course, like everything else in its infancy, they need money to get it going—five thousand whole dollars to help pay deposits for venues, cover promotional costs, and fund notable Los Angeles comic's cocaine habits a.k.a. “performer fees.”  So open up your hearts and wallets to promoters Ameen and Jeff and help make this assuredly awesome festival happen.

[Kickstarter]

San Francisco Sketchfest Happening Right Now

— By Jon Skulski |

Laughing is a way better drug than whatever you're railing.

The San Francisco comedy scene is small and tight. A couple of times a year it expands, welcoming some special guests [obvious vagina references removed by editor.] Kicked off on the 13th, the month long San Francisco Sketchfest is happening right now. It is a golden opportunity to go laugh at something other than your drunken friends' failed triple piggy back ride.

You can checkout the full schedule right here, but a couple of shows that I can recommend:

1/17 - 10 Year Reunion Show w/ Kasper Hauser
1/19 - Kasper Hauser: Time Machine
1/20-1/23 - Mike Birbiglia
1/20 - RiffTrax Presents Night of the Shorts
1/21 - WTF with Marc Maron
1/22 - The Sound of Young America Live
1/29 - Whose Live Anyway (for those of you who like safe comedy)

And if you you're in the Mission, the Dark Room has shows every Thursday thru Sunday as part of the fest. They're small, intimate shows like a baptismal or lap dance.

Sketch comedy isn't just for personal enjoyment, either. It provides a service to the community. For example, The Midnight Show out of LA has a practical solution for your pet related fears:

So, stop being boring and go see some live comedy. It's festivals like these that make SF feel like a big boy city. Your $1 PBRs will still be at the bar when you're done.