Support your local comics

The Business Celebrates 5 Years of Killer Stand-Up at Cobb's

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Hey, look, there's a lot going on Saturday.  There's Game 3 of the World Series, which you'll most certainly be watching.  Then your sorta/kinda friend Jim is hosting that Halloween party in his remarkably poorly-ventilated apartment.

But, let's be honest, you're weren't planning on showing up to the party until 11:30 anyway, and you're probably just going to sit around getting shitty until then.  So why not just drink in a comedy club instead?

Our friends at The Business—most certainly our favorite weekly comedy show in the city—are celebrating five big years showcasing some of the city's (and nation's) best up-and-coming comics.  How?  By taking over Cobb's Saturday night after The Game for one big-ass show.

Sean fills us in:

The Business likes things big. That’s why we are bringing big guests to a big theatre to have a big ol birthday party!!!!! Big!

This show is TOO BIG to hold at our home office at the Dark Room. Come join your Business regulars Alex Koll, Sean Keane, Bucky Sinister, Chris Thayer, Caitlin Gill and Mike Drucker at Cobb's Comedy Club, which should be ALMOST big enough for this show. Chris Garcia can't make it, but will be represented by friend of the Business Kevin Camia.

Plus, our special guests for the night know all about being big. Jamie and Sis DeWolf produce Tourettes Without Regrets, a showcase of the best cutting edge underground talent with the longest running freestyle battle and the largest slam on the West Coast. The fight club of underground art, SF Guardian named Tourettes the “Best in the Bay” in 2012.

Jamie and Sis are both guests we’ve wanted on The Business for some time, but when we heard that their birthdays are just days apart and fast approaching, we knew what had to be done. BIG BIRTHDAY SHOW.

Show is at 8pm sharp, and we'll have you out in time to enjoy any spooky late night plans you might have.

You can get your tickets right now, but if you read to the end of The Business's show preview, they have some secret magic words that can save you some big bucks.

The First Annual SF Comedy & Burrito Festival to Both Entertain and Make Us Mildly Gassy

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

We mentioned back in March that a couple of neighborhood comics were looking at putting on a festival combining the indigestion of burritos and the healing power of comedy.  They took their vision to Kickstarter, raised the money it took to get the fest going, scoured through hundreds of submissions for comics across the country, and made everything official.  The result of their hard work?  The SF Comedy & Burrito Festival, a three day stand-up fest on Oct 11-13th with over 100 performers in six venues.

The festival features a mess of our favorite local comics (including most of the folks associated with The Business), but is also importing a number of heavyweights from out of town, including Matt Braunger from MadTV, late-night veteran Brendon Walsh (who'll be recording his debut album at the festival), and butt-tweeter Sean Patton.  And in true Mission District fashion, you won't have to leave the neighborhood to see any of 'em.  The festival promoters are taking full advantage of the neighborhood's weird assortment of venue offerings, putting comics on stages ranging from classics like Elbo Room and the Dark Room Theater, to lesser-used gems like Esta Noche and The Polish Club.

Now, festival passes might seem a bit expensive at $55 (and they go up from there when early bird pricing is up on Sept. 15th), but keep in mind it's multiple shows spread over 3 nights and there's free burritos (and rumors of complimentary beer).  Also, it's apparently not cheap to book out three venues for an entire weekend.  So do yourself a favor and get tickets now while they're good and cheap.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: