When Kathleen Madigan strolls out on a stage, she’s not playing a character, sticking to a certain kind of comedy or even enhancing her personality to make an audience laugh. She’s an anomaly in comedy. She’s (gasp) genuine. She portrays herself honestly in her material. She can do topical humor,…
Howard Kremer has an interesting challenge as a comedian and a musician. His shows have the structure of a concert but he also needs the response from a crowd that every comedian needs to make their shows work. A joke takes about a minute to tell from setup to punchline…
Quick! Pick two pop culture icons in your head right now, one with a musical background and the other from any non-musical, pop culture category. Now imagine the one from the non-musical column singing the other person’s music. Chances are you didn’t come up with the odd combination of Elvis…
If you like dueling piano bars, then by all means, go and enjoy yourself. Don’t let anyone else’s opinions or experiences with these forms of live entertainment sway you from going to Louie Louie’s — the first dueling piano bar and newest musical venue to open its doors to the public on…
Chances are you don’t yet know who Kylo Ren is, and what he means to the plot of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Children have not yet had the chance to re-create his on-screen action with their action figures. But the adults, who would rather keep them boxed for future…
Stand-up comedians may be alone on a stage in a physical sense but spiritually speaking, they are never by themselves. They are constantly swarmed by the spirits of the comedians who inspired. The memories and inspirations of comedians who pushed them to walk on to a stage will always be…
Once a month on a Sunday afternoon, Dick Monday’s Irving home goes from a quiet, suburban refurbishment to a cacophony of strange noises. He doesn’t live in a haunted house or near some bizarre works project where state funding rules only allow work to be done when he’s home trying…
Bill Burr’s has a career worth bragging about. He’s more than just a very funny and clever stand-up comedian with a legion of dedicated fans who pack houses like The Majestic Theatre, which they will do tonight when he steps out on the stage at 8 p.m. He has released…
Talk radio overflows with inflated opinions and overgrown egos. Most hosts masquerade as a friendly, or not so friendly, omniscient interviewer. The voice of Krys Boyd, the host and managing editor of the radio and TV chat show “Think,” which airs from 12-2 p.m. and again at night Monday through Thursday on…
Last June, Claire Wilcher of Indianapolis, Indiana started a trip that most people only get to talk about taking in their lifetime. She quit her job, packed up her stuff and threw into a renovated RV for a 23-city trip that will take her to major cities across the country…
Adam Sandler’s latest movie Pixels didn’t just feel like what we’ve come to expect from the mediocre movie star who churns out comedies the way that Hostess spits out Twinkies. Pixels felt like something that we as a society allowed to happen. Sandler didn’t do this to us. We did…
Comedian Josh Johnson has made some great strides in his life and not just as a comic. His progress shows as he talks about Tabitha, the first album he’s set to record on Thursday at Andy’s Bar in Denton. “For the most part, I have to tell myself that it’s…
Michelle Neat could hardly believe the advertisement when she found it. The posting from Icon Studios in Dallas, which she came across early last week, asked for dancers who could put on a cheerleader outfit and shake a pair of pom-poms to the loud, satiric sounds of “Smells Like Nirvana.” The three-minute…
Few names from pop culture can draw as much joy and pure glee out of people than “Weird Al” Yankovic. He’s like a walking antidepressant. Just bringing up his name in conversation or mentioning one of his songs can perk up even the lowliest soul. Telling friends you’ve personally crossed…
It doesn’t matter how old you get or how many women a guy has asked out on a date. Asking a woman to go out with you never gets easier. If it is easy, then that guy is a psychopath who isn’t in touch with their feelings and will definitely…
It’s a scientific fact. Somewhere in the world, there’s at least one screen showing an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It doesn’t matter if it’s an old person watching a rerun on USA because they mistook it for Matlock or a serial downloader watching an illegally obtained episode…
There’s a concerning strain touring America’s music scenes spreading an invasive bacteria that digs its way through the ears and eyes of its hosts. It can’t be stopped with inoculations, antibiotics or even just basic hygiene. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization refuse to…
The Oddball Comedy Comedy and Curiosity Festival has become more than just an excuse to throw a bunch of comedians together on the same stage. It’s only three years old but it’s quickly become the cultural barometer for comedy in America. If you get a headlining spot on Funny or…
If you go to a comedy club with the intention of getting drunk or even just enjoying a stiff drink, you have poor priorities in life. Going to a comedy club for drinks is like buying an airline ticket to score some peanuts. Any lightly seasoned alcoholic will tell you that…
Everything looks so much easier on TV. Baldness is cured with the simple spray of a can. A methamphetamine empire can be built in an RV with school supplies. A sponge can live in a pineapple under the sea without being contaminated by off-shore drilling. American Ninja Warrior, the NBC…
We all know that dinosaurs are extinct. We know there hasn’t been a giant lizard or bird roaming the Earth that ranks higher than us on the food chain for at least the last 65 million years. Movies like the upcoming Jurassic World, starring Chris Pratt, have creatures that cost…
The last day at the Dallas Comedy House’s old Commerce Street location in March was also the final day of the 6th Annual Dallas Comedy Festival, a five-day showcase of local and national stand-up, sketch and improvisational talent. The gathering didn’t end when the festival’s headliners TJ & Dave took…
