Less than a year after moving from his location on Broadway to 20th and J streets, Brian Crall said his Sacramento Comedy Spot business is booming. “We’re showing record numbers each month,” he said, adding that performances used to be three nights per week and have now increased to six nights per week. “We have tons of stuff going on,” Crall said. “There’s lots of comedy right now.” The comedy at the Sacramento Comedy Spot is largely improv, and Crall said he is scheduling new shows and continuing to produce the ones that have been popular. One of those shows is “In Your Facebook” – performed at 9 p.m. every Thursday – in which a volunteer audience member logs in to his or her Faceboo

What do a marmot, nihilists and bowling all have in common? If you thought of the 1998 Coen Brothers cult classic “The Big Lebowski," you must have remembered how the protagonist encountered all those things. Capitol Bowl celebrated its third annual “Big Lebowski” party with a quiz about the movie, bowling, white Russians and a viewing of the movie on the lanes. “If it has something to do with ‘The Big Lebowski,’ and it’s in the area, I’m here, man,” Dude impersonator Jeremy Johnston, 35, said. A recurring locale in the movie is a Los Angeles bowling alley where the protagonist, the Dude, and his friends/bowling partners practice. The constant theme of bowling is present throughout the

(Tais and Adam Saake hosts of S&R Third Saturday) This month’s Third Saturday event, as usual, was very entertaining. Adam Saake and Tais once again were the hosts for the event. I said it before, and I’m saying it again, these guys should start a comedy act. Maybe next month, after September’s Third Saturday is over they can walk over to Front Street and take their act to Laughs Unlimited. This Saturday they introduced two musical acts, three fashion designers, a dance group and reminded shoppers about visiting the many vendors who had set up shop on the lower level of the Westfield Galleria downtown across from Macys. Zak Norlyn was the first musical act of the day. Although I only ca

The Sacramento Comedy Spot will host W. Kamau Bell Friday night and his critically acclaimed show -- "The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour.” Bell, 37, has been doing the “Bell Curve” show for the last three years. The jokes are tweaked slightly to accommodate current events, but the core has remained intact. Attendees of the show may be treated to laughs about the recent Shirley Sherrod debacle and the Tea Party. Bell has performed at the Punchline in Sacramento, but that was many years ago. He said he's excited to be back in the area. "I think I have about four or five fans in Sacramento," Bell joked. Bell’s career as a comedian has been on a steady rise ever since

Movies on a Big Screen will host the first live broadcast taping of “Cinema Insomnia” Saturday. Fans can watch the “1960’s mess” horror film that is “The Undertaker and His Pals” at the Guild Theater, located at 2828 35th St in Sacramento, as horror host Mr. Lobo — a television personality and actor— provides comic relief in between segments. Movies on the Big Screen is an ongoing film festival, said Robert McKeown who helped start it in September 2006. They show films every week at the historic Guild in various genres including cult classics, documentaries and independent films. Cinema Insomnia is a television series that shows horror films. This is the first time MOBS is teaming up wit

Thursday night, venerable comedian and OCD-stricken performer Howie Mandel appeared at the California State Fair on the Main Stage. After a less-than-tasteful and off-color opening act, Mandel took the stage with a rapid-fire delivery and a huge smile. Almost immediately, it was obvious that he has not lost his comedic edge even after appearing as a dramatic actor (“St. Elsewhere”), voiceover actor (“Bobby's World,” “Muppet Babies” and “Gremlins”) and talk show host and judge (“Deal or No Deal,” “America's Got Talent”). The fair provided a delightful interpreter for the deaf, Sharon Ramsey, who was addressed multiple times by Mandel as he used words and expressions just to see how they w

Comedian Doug Benson smokes pot. That fact is well documented in his stand-up routine and his 2007 documentary "Super High Me." In the movie, Benson eagerly offers himself up as a test subject to document the effects of smoking massive amounts of marijuana for 30 days. In his stand-up act, it appears that his experiment is still unofficially continuing. Playing mid-week to a full house at the Sacramento Punchline, Benson began his set with his eyes half closed and a stoner grin. He immediately showed the audience his notes that he claimed to need so he didn't meander through his material. However, as the evening wore on, you began to wonder if the "stoner" persona was just a well-played

Comedian Bob Saget told The Sacramento Press he has a reputation for visiting the California State Railroad Museum while inebriated. Pablo Francisco joked that he would impersonate a Sacramentan by using a heavy Latino accent and calling the Hells Angels to kick someone's ass. Jamie Kennedy, on the other hand, said he didn't know enough about Sacramento to make a joke about it, but he respects the city for having genuine comedy fans. "The audiences really like to laugh up there," he said. "People go to San Francisco, and they go to Santa Barbara, but Sacramento gets neglected, and I think it's a good place to see comedy." Thursday and Friday night, Kennedy will bring his multifaceted ap

I once heard the saying that laughter keeps you young. If that’s true, Sacramentans who attend the upcoming ‘Comedy For The Soul’ showcase should retain their youth and have plenty of fun laughing.   Sacramento entrepreneur and comedian E. Clark had a recent chat with me to discuss his inspiration for comedy, comedic success and to highlight a few details of the newest show he’s producing.   “I wasn’t fulfilled with a nine-to-five…I wanted something more…and as a comedian you can say what you want to say and not be restricted,” said the UC Davis college graduate.   The comic traded in his job for something he was more passionate about. However, E. Clark's love for laughter began much

John Ross, a local comedian who was born addicted to methadone, a heroin substitute used to treat heroin addicts, discusses his past as an inspiration for his humor.

It's time to stock up on Binaca and cherry lip balm.  Spit will be swapped and tongues may get tied at Sacramento Comedy Spot's upcoming stunt "Operation: Biggest Make Out Ever."  The event will take place during Second Saturday in front of the MARRS Building on 20th Street between J and K.   Couples, strangers, and friends with benefits are invited to gather around a giant white 'X' which will be painted in the middle of the street at 8 p.m.   Then a love song will initiate the slobberfest.  As the music begins, participants will embrace a partner and kiss for the duration of the song.  The crowd is asked to treat the event like an unexpected flash-mob by not puckering up prior to the mu

A capacity crowd filled the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium with screams Thursday night as the lights went down on the Sacramento leg of Conan O’Brien’s Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour. For more than two hours, Team Coco kept the crowd thoroughly entertained and gave the impression that Sacramento was the only stop on its tour, not one of 30. In the band's opener, Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up," three of the musicians, including trombone player Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, marched into the audience as they played, bringing the crowd to a frenzy. A short movie clip showed O'Brien fat and depressed over the very public end of his late-night talk show. Then, members of

By Mikhail Chernyavsky By the amount of Mohawks and Affliction shirts sported by audience members at the Punch Line Comedy Club Friday night, a spectator could only assume a five-minute bout in the octagon was about to commence. And, you wouldn’t be too far off. Joe Rogan took to the stage of a sold out audience – cheering and whistling him on – for what would be two hours of dirty, raunchy, intellectual and simply hilarious stand up comedy. Now, intellectual is not exactly what you would expect from a man who is best known for hosting a reality game show that had contestants wolfing down the sexual organs of animals. It is easy to say this Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) commentator is nothin

Back by popular demand! All the way from Haifa, Israel, world-renowned performer LIOR SUCHARD. Lior Suchard was born and grew up in Haifa, Israel. At the age of six he began to reveal unexplained phenomena, like moving teaspoons and other lightweight objects without touching them, the ability to stop watches, and reading thoughts of his family members and friends. He developed a distinct sensitive and special intuition. At 14 years old, Lior began making use of his special talents for entertainment purposes and realized his second love: the stage. At age 18 Lior enlisted in the Israeli army as a combat soldier and during his three years of service contributed his capabilities to the army

Paula Poundstone is funny, smart, quick and has a profound friendliness about her. A steady flow of excited audience members streamed through the doors of the beautiful Crest Theater Saturday night to see Poundstone perform, filling the theater to it's maximum capacity. All walks of life and lifestyles seemed to be well-represented, making it clear that she has a very broad appeal. It became apparent just how much anticipation the audience had for this night when General Manager Sid Garcia-Heberger came onstage and asked that all cell phones be turned off for the performance and the crowd applauded. How could Poundstone follow that? Simple. She just jumped right in. "So, were you all cl

The Sacramento Kings could take a lesson from comedian Bill Engvall on how to fill Arco Arena. Be funny. Not just funny, but really funny. In that regard, Engvall was an MVP on Saturday. Engvall, best known for his partnership with Ron White, Larry The Cable Guy and Jeff Foxworthy in the "Blue Collar Comedy" tour, showed off his vast comic chops in his solo, almost sold-out show. Watching the seats fill up, Engvall's mass appeal was obvious. The demographics ranged from grandparents to grandkids, with every stage in between represented. So, it was no surprise that Engvall's most offensive term was "douche bag," used it to describe one of his very famous "Here's your sign" victims. The ph

A SacramentoComedy.Com Interview When Mitch Fatel was growing up, it seemed that there were only two things he wanted to do: explore the magic of women and make people laugh. He seems to be doing just fine on both counts! SacramentoComedy.Com caught up with Fatel by phone while he was on a recent layover returning from a very successful series of shows at the Tempe Improv. Fatel, when asked about living on the East Coast, commented that he felt silly telling people that he lives in New York because he's traveling more than 46 weeks this year. "I spend less time in New York than I do anywhere else." Fatel started doing stand-up at the age of 15. He joined a comedy class for adults that

We had a great event last Thursday, as mentioned here in the Sacramento Press; the Sacramento Talent Agency and The Blue Room Lounge held a talent competition. Our winners were: Comedy - Jason Thompson ... Jason had some fresh material and really engaged the crowd, he is presently on a mini tour and left for Oregon today for another gig. His winnings came in handy for travel money. Musical - Todd Morgan... Todd's piano would not work properly through the sound system (ground issue) anyway, he borrowed a guitar from one of the other musicians and went to work. Despite the change in instruments he played three very good cover tunes and brought the house down. There were stellar performanc

Disclaimer: the contributor of this and his wife run Movies on a Big Screen (MOBS), Sacramento’s weekly screening series of documentaries, general independent film, classics and cult titles. The following is blatant self-promotion of MOBS events. Here's a look at the next six weeks at Movies on a Big Screen.  There's lots of stuff here, so dig through it all - then get out and see something!  We've even included some "special" Valentine's Day-themed programming!   January 24, 2010 7:30 pm MOBS at The Guild, 2828 35th St, Sacramento (corner of 35th & Broadway) Admission: $5.00 Trust Us, This is All Made Up Some foolishly believe that "improvising" is simply "making things up." To a de

  Thursday Jan. 21st Sacramento Entertainment Agency and Blue Room Lounge are having a talent competition. It is at the Blue Room Lounge inside the Capitol City Hotel corner of Auburn & Fulton ave. Plenty of free parking! We have $100 that night in cash prizes...$50 for best comedy or variety act and $50 for best musician/singer Show is at 8 pm, door open at 7pm.. There is a $5 cover, 17& over,  Invite your Family & Friends as the audience picks the Cash winners! To sign up just Email me at rselaughs@aol.com  your name, phone number,and talent! This week will feture acts like: Cuba, great blues guitarist                                                         Lindsey Grimes, Singer