Sacramento's own Humor Times publication is celebrating its 22nd Anniversary by bringing the hilarious and nationally-touring Capitol Steps comedy troupe to Sacramento, on Sunday, May 5th. The show starts at 6:30pm, and will take place in the Martinique Ballroom at the Clarion Inn on 1401 Arden Way, which is next to the Arden Fair Mall. The Capitol Steps are renowned for their unique brand of musical political comedy, lampooning all sides in national politics with a non-partisan, equal-opportunity bashing that leaves no political party or personality unscathed The Steps use a fast-paced set of songs and skits, as the wildly popular group presents a show that is unequaled for its original

Gather all ye nerds! I just want you to know, if you didn’t know already, that December has two great movies coming out. Quentin Tarantino is going to give us a gift to open on Christmas day: “Django Unchained,” QT’s western about a freed slave in the south that’s out to get his woman back from a “land” owner. Although I was expecting Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” to be a WWII movie about a team on a suicide mission, it really was more of a tale about a young Jewess’s quest for revenge against the Nazi bastard (Basterd) that killed her family. Given the time period of "Django Unchained", I don’t think anyone will be dancing to Stealer’s Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle with You” while

If you didn’t get enough laughter and music on the weekend or just feel the need to feed the social animal in you, Sacramento offers choices of entertainment for Monday evenings. Naked Lounge offers jazz music and if you cannot sit still there is a swing dance happening at the Clarion. However if you crave the sweet sound of laughter and prefer stay in comfortable clothing you will find a fun following at The Comedy Spot and SolCollecitve. Both offer comedy via an open mic on Mondays bringing an assortment of styles and deliveries to the stage. The Comedy Spot will give a dose of social medicine for $5. The opportunities to challenge entertainers of Comedy Spot to make you laugh are avai

From September 7th – 15th, the Sacramento Comedy Spot will host the second annual Sacramento Comedy Festival, which features 25 different shows with over 100 performers from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and of course our local area. The Sacramento Comedy Spot, located on 20th and K, is one of Sacramento’s few comedy venues. They put on approximately 300 shows a year, which consist of improv and sketch comedy in addition to stand up – which none of Sacramento’s other comedy venues can boast. Comedy Spot owner Brian Crall said that even though he sells food and alcohol, he “puts comedy and comedians first… whereas other venues are primarily bars or restaurants, with comedy on the sid

Forget the summer; it’s been a slow year for comedies. Besides 21 Jump Street and Ted there hasn’t been much of anything to talk about. That is unless you were going to talk about how awful That’s My Boy was. So it stands to reason that it shouldn’t be hard for Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis to deliver something funny if not hilarious, right? The Campaign opens with a montage of career politician Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) campaigning throughout the state of North Carolina for congressman with his wife Rose (Katherine LaNasa), his children, and his campaign manager Mitch (Jason Sudeikis). He runs unopposed and seems to have the perfect thing going. That all changes however when bumbling

Cosmopolitan Cabaret’s Triple Espresso is one shot of musical comedy, one shot of slapstick antics, one shot of audience participation—and is hilarious on all accounts. The vaudeville-style show is centered on the reunion of the semi-successful, but ultimately failed, trio act of “Maxwell, Butternut, and Bean.” With the help of the audience (no one is safe from the spotlight here), the three performers recount their downward crawl to fame using magic tricks, “nude” dancing, sing-alongs, and the most impressive shadow puppetry you’ll see this side of kindergarten. Hugh Butternut (Michael Pearce Donley) is the act’s piano man, Bobby Bean (Bob Stromberg) the loveable idiot, and Buzz Maxwell

Pine Needles Are Trying to Kill Me We live in a mountainous community where we’re able to avoid most of the man-made dangers that occur in the big city, but we still have quite a few dangers up here in this neck of the woods; mountain lions, bears, coyotes and pine needles. That’s right. Pine needles. Now while I haven’t had many sightings of the aforementioned wildlife, I am CONSTANTLY sighting pine needles which are everywhere and, in fact, they are trying to kill me. Let me explain, lest this doesn’t make sense. In the wintertime, when pine needles first disengage from pine trees, they appear harmless, like most things that are out to get you. They are somewhat fluffy, innocuous, and

It was a night of dirty jokes by the ladies and for the ladies on Friday night at the Laguna Town Hall in Elk Grove, where the Real (Funny) Housewives of Rio Linda brought their comedic talents to the Laguna West neighborhood as part of their current tour of the Sacramento area. A near-capacity crowd made up of women of all ages, some of whom did bring their husbands or boyfriends, filled the hall, which was configured with a more intimate setup rather than a traditional auditorium stage. Without having any prior knowledge about these comedians and their show, one might go into it thinking all five of them perform at the same time as a group. Instead, Sinderella, Kristen Frisk, Kimmie Ka

Jeff Dunham’s suitcase posse was in the house at Arco Arena Thursday night, performing to a sold-out crowd. As was expected, the audience was a mix of young and old, including my 12- and 13-year-old sons, Aidan and Liam. Jeff Fa Fa DunHAM, which is how both the hyperactive Peanut and Aidan refer to him, was born in 1962. This makes Dunham an old guy who likes to play with dolls. Now we’re not talking about the kind of dolls Mom used to play with, or Dad for that matter (remember GI Joe, or maybe it was the Ken doll). No, we’re talking about larger-than-life, mouthy, belligerent, racist, downright disobedient, and let’s not forget just plain crazy, funny dolls. These creations of lumber a

Sinbad, the man with his own unique style of comedy, had the packed house at Thunder Valley Resort laughing for an hour and a half Friday night. Sinbad, who has years of stand-up comedy, television and film roles under his belt, made sure the audience knew that being back on the stage was where he belonged. Sinbad’s stand-up show features stories more than jokes and is largely based on everyone he meets, everything he’s seen and everything he does. Many jokes take unique and hilarious turns as he works them out in his head. Sometimes a joke starts to stagnate just a little and ‘wham’ he pulls a funny face or an appropriate line out of the hat and it soars once again. Many of the evening’

  Get ready for to be offended – in a good way that is. In a world of political correctness, Louis Katz is anything but; without skipping a beat Louis single handedly left no race or religion out of his comedy routine Thursday night at the Punch Line Comedy Club in Sacramento. Louis delivers a flat-out edgy and funny set that you will be talking about at the water cooler for weeks. His comedy is the type were you stop and look at your date, mouth open, and say – “did he really just say that?” The answer is YES, he said it so close your mouth and start listening again. Not only does his comedy have you rolling on the floor laughing, it pushes the limits with a witty and smart probe. Wit

Have you gotten a parking ticket lately? Feeling a little aggression? If so, Nate Weldon's new music video for his song "Ode To The Meter Maid" will help you laugh off a little steam. The music video follows Weldon through the streets of Sacramento encountering meter maids and their trusty ticket books. Take a peek and enjoy the satire. Sea Serpent Records Meter Maid album graphic by Ted Weldon

Get ready for some fun – Michael Ian Black delivers comedy you just have to laugh at. Michael was the headliner at Sacramento’s Punch Line Comedy Club this last week and without fail he brought the house down. His fast-paced yet perfectly timed situational comedy routine entices the audience into a sometimes uncomfortable yet hard-not-to-laugh position. Michael started the night by reading a twitter post on his account that said, “Headed out to the Michael Ian Black show, ….I’m going to lick his face or get arrested trying.” Michael then proceeded to ask the audience if someone had written it. When a young lady was pointed out by her friends, he joked that although he did not want his fa

A SacramentoComedy.Com Interview With a name like Ahmed Ahmed, in this day and age, you might think that it could lead to some mishaps with law enforcement agencies. If so, you'd be correct. Ahmed's family came to America when he was just a month old, and he grew up in Riverside, right in the epicenter of Southern California, so misconceptions aren’t uncommon but, in retrospect, the name has served him well. We caught up with Ahmed by phone in New York, having just completed his first appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival, premiering 'Just Like Us,' his freshman directorial debut earlier in the week. We decided to start off by asking, (very politely), about his name. "Ahmed Ahmed is m

An American Comedy.Com Interview When you meet Darren Carter for the first time, you notice that there is something different about him. Your eyes focus on his short red hair and his engaging smile, and then it hits you. This man looks happy! I was fortunate enough to meet up with Darren recently for breakfast, having just completing one of his many radio interviews to promote his weekend show at Pepperbellys Comedy Theater in Fairfield, Calif. It's just not natural for a comedian to be awake before noon, but for the next three and a half hours, Carter and comedian David Lew recited story after story about life on the road. Carter, a freckle-faced, red-headed, pasty-skinned youngster, w

Whenever I hear descriptive terms like "good clean fun" or "fun for the entire family", and the word "Disneyland" isn't included in the sentence, in my mind I think "boring!" Put the words "comedy" and "competition" in the same sentence and I just think of a "Yo Mamma so fat..." argument on the asphalt. But not anymore! Welcome to Sacramento Comedy Sportz, a very nice and intimate venue tucked away in an industrial area behind Arby's on Arden one driveway east of Howe. The sign, like the venue is small and tucked away, so if you weren't looking for it, you may only come across it when looking for carpet next door. So, what makes this comedy venue so different? It's not comedy about sport

Capital Stage has a history of delivering funny and clever new plays, and tonight's performance was no exception.  "Erratica: An Academic Farce" written by the precocious Reina Hardy in her late teens is just that and more.  A friend and I went to the opening "Preview" performance on Saturday, July 11th at 7 pm, and enjoyed walking from our parking place in a light warm rain along the Old Town Sacramento waterfront to the Delta King where the theater is located.  We were lucky to get third row center seats, and the baroque music playing before the show was familiar and delightful.  The audience was expectant and cheerful. Managing Director, Peter Mohrmann gave his usual enthusiastic welco

Creators and founders of Sacramento's newest comedy magazine, The Set List , will be holding their first comedy showcase of the year tonight at The Java Lounge.  The show will feature comedians John Ross and Keith Lowell Jensen of the Coexist Comedy Tour, Ray Molina, Chazz Hawkins and Steve Ferris.  Unlike the traditional format you'd see in a club setting, these five comedians will be performing stand up comedy "in the round." Instead of each comic performing an individual timed set, they all share the stage at the same time, weaving in and out of each others' sets at will. This technique was made known by "Oddly Americana," a grouped formed by Molina and Ross in 2007. The show begins