Or — and this is equally likely, especially if you’re a college student like me — you don’t.

The divide between older and younger patrons of comedy has never been more apparent to me than on Friday, February 6th at the Englert Theatre, while I watched Tom Arnold’s newest stand-up performance on his 50-city North American “My Crazy X-Wife Tour”. While most of the (primarily older) audience seemed to enjoy themselves during Arnold’s set, I came away from the performance with a different feeling entirely: not quite dislike, but not enjoyment either.

Before I get into my mixed feelings about Arnold’s comedy, I’d be remiss not to mention the positives of the night. Arnold has clearly been in the industry a very long time, and it shows in the quickness and wit of his comedic storytelling. His set is delightfully unpolished, delivered in a slightly rushed conversational style that keeps the jokes coming at a frenetic pace. And even when he’s not focused strictly on jokes, the stories he tells of his time in Hollywood are entertaining enough to keep the audience engaged.

In fact, one of the strongest points of the night was the instant rapport that Arnold had with his audience. He did, of course, attend the University of Iowa, which earned him automatic points. (He was also able to pull former Hawkeye women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder up on stage to introduce him, which, of course, won our immediate respect.) It seemed like many of the attendees even knew Arnold personally, with a few shouting out to him during the show; he even pointed out his nephew sitting in the front. Arnold was not afraid to engage with the audience members who talked to him during the show, which greatly relaxed the room and made the stand-up special feel more like a family gathering.

In a way, though, I think the “family gathering” aspect of Arnold’s performance also speaks to what I found unpleasant about the show. Arnold opened his set with a joke about going to the Playboy mansion with Donald Trump, which made some of the older members of the audience laugh, but, in the wake of recent news, left me a bit shocked. He then proceeded to “wish [Trump] the best” on his current presidency. The show never got that political again, but I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. That remark colored how I interpreted the rest of Arnold’s jokes, especially those where he describes his encounters with famous men Hugh Grant and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who were both later exposed in sex scandals of their own. Listening to Arnold perform felt like having a conversation with my male Republican relatives: you want to like them because they feel like family, but you can’t ignore the opinions you know they hold, even if they’re not the center of the story.

I can honestly say that I don’t think Tom Arnold meant to make anyone in the audience feel uncomfortable that night. Most of his jokes were woven into lighthearted, silly celebrity stories, many of which did make me chuckle. But during the show, I found myself returning again to that moment at the beginning.

I may not recognize Arnold from his impressive list of achievements, but I did sincerely want to like him. I wanted to be part of the Iowa family he was speaking to that night.

And I guess, in a way, I was. But not in a way I fully enjoyed.

The post Comedy Review: I Was Not the Target Audience for Tom Arnold at The Englert appeared first on KRUI Radio.

From the beginning, Wang made it clear that age has given him a new perspective on comedy. He began with jokes about eating more antioxidants and losing his skill on the monkey bars, material that clearly resonated with the mostly older audience. Although he touched briefly on more juvenile topics like edible bras, most of his set relied on what I call “adulting” humor: jokes that lean heavily on the shared understanding that sometimes, being an adult can be a bit absurd. As a nineteen-year-old (and I suspect the youngest person at the Englert that night), I understand that I am probably not Sheng Wang’s intended audience. I did find a few of his deliveries to be a bit cringeworthy, but for the most part, his oddball humor struck a chord with me, even if I couldn’t relate to much of his material; I found myself keeled over in laughter more than a few times that night.

The rest of the theater enjoyed the performance as much, if not more, than I did; nearly every joke was met with uproarious laughter. Occasionally during the set, I would hear one woman sitting behind me whisper to her friend through giggles, “That’s so real!” Towards the end of the night, Wang remarked on the demographic of people that tend to come to his shows. He complimented the audience on being such laid-back, friendly people, and thanked them genuinely for their love and support. As someone who’d gotten to the show early that night, I was able to observe a little bit of that audience dynamic, and I think Wang is right on the money. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine anyone getting rowdy or irate at one of his performances; he exudes a cool energy that you just can’t help but be calmed by.

However, to me, Wang’s biggest asset is his creativity: he frames mundane events like jury duty as wacky adventures that the whole audience can enjoy. In one particularly well-received bit, he described his experience backpacking through a forest with one of his friends. As he relayed his journey to the campsite, he told us how, as a part of the backpacking experience, he had to abandon his car on the side of the highway and walk the remaining twenty-six miles to the campsite. Wang trotted across the stage, commenting on how absurd it felt to him to hike when he had a perfectly good car: “I’m a Subaru!”

Overall, Sheng Wang’s time at the Englert was well-spent. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance— as well that of his opener, Kevin Camia, who did a delightfully self-deprecating fifteen-minute set to get the audience warmed up. Both comedians delivered big laughs, but Wang’s inventiveness and whimsy were the highlight of the night for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Like he suggests, I think he’ll only be getting better from here.

The post Review: Sheng Wang Shines at the Englert appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Pera called in from Boston ahead of his stand-up comedy performance which will take place at The Englert Theater on June 14^th. In his quaint and humbled tone, he talked about his favorite bands and music, along with his interactions with music scenes, and the friends he has made from them. He also goes into detail about how both comedy and music performances meld well together, and the aspects of performing.  

Interview has been edited for clarity.

Glab: You’ve expressed before that you have an interest in hardcore music, going to shows, and the energy that it provides. How did you first get into hardcore and punk? 

Joe Pera: I do like it, but it’s not like my number one genre. I’m not going to pretend to be a superfan. Basically though, my friend Dan Licata is a bigger fan of that music and would often take me around to shows. You know, he’d ask if I wanted to go, and I’d go to the shows and enjoy the energy. I don’t know, it feels different than the usual stuff I listen to. Most of the hardcore shows I went to were through Dan Licata.  

Even if you’re not as into hardcore as other people, are there any specific bands that you like. 

Dan featured, they’re not super hardcore, but he had the band, and our friends, Washer score his special. I like their music a lot. 

What kind of music do you listen to most of the time? 

All sorts. I listen to a lot of ambient and instrumental stuff. Somebody recommended the new Elori Saxl album, and I’ve been enjoying the song that’s out from that. The Blue of Distance, with clarinet. I enjoyed that very much as well. But yeah, it’s mostly on the mellower side.  

In Iowa, my friend Dan Wriggins is opening for me. He’s in the band Friendship, whose music I like a lot. One of the guys, Michael Cormier-O’Leary, and his label Dear Life Records has another band called Hour that I performed with recently and will be on tour with soon too. They’re kind of instrumental based. They range anywhere from four members to I think like almost ten or more on certain nights. It’s kind of semi-improvised songs of them playing together. It’s got a pretty gentle and beautiful tone that kind of lets the instruments speak. Those are two that I listen to a lot, but yeah, I’m excited to be on tour with Dan Wriggins as well.  

I knew Dan Wriggins a little because he worked at the university here. I really liked his Friendship stuff, and the solo stuff as well. 

Yeah, I’m not sure what he’ll be playing, but I’m excited to watch him as much as I am to do the shows myself. A lot of the time if you bring someone along that you want to watch as well, then it’s like a free show.  

You mentioned Washer before. How did you come to know Kieran and Quigley? 

Shows in Brooklyn. We kind of met through Dan Licata, and then they would come to me and Dan’s regular show and play sometimes. Just bumping into each other in New York. 

Is there an aspect of their music that you like a lot especially? 

Yeah, I really enjoyed their new album. A lot of the energy, but still very melodic in how they do it, which I appreciate. 

How much have you been within the indie scene in Brooklyn, or the East Coast in general, from like the early 2010’s to now? 

Every now and then. Even when I was at school, I’d occasionally get asked to open for or share a bill with a band a lot of times through Dan Licata. It’s always popped up throughout my time in New York. Bands ask me to open for them, it usually goes pretty well. We’ve done shows with everything from independent venues to larger ones. I’ve also opened for Yo La Tengo at their Hannukah shows in New York. That was pretty special.  

It feels like I’ve been able to continue that type of collaboration or make it more formal with the podcast I do, Drifting Off with Joe Pera. I’ll collaborate with a musician that I admire, and then ask them to score the podcast. But yeah, every now and then I’d be asked to open for a band. A lot of the times the contrast between my quiet style and a louder show can be a lot of fun.  

Do you feel like comedy, or at least your style of comedy mixes well with a live music show? 

It seems to have worked in the past, but I don’t know if it will work everywhere. It’s always a little challenging, especially if people don’t know that comedy is happening. A lot of the times, when I’ll be on the bill, like when I did a show at Baby’s Alright in Brooklyn and opened for a few bands a couple weeks ago, people seem to enjoy it. It’s nice, I think the comedy and the music complement each other well, and kind of keeps the momentum of the show going, like I was going up in between the acts. Generally, I think people who like good music like good comedy as well. They have good tastes across the board. 

Do you yourself have good taste? 

Eh, sometimes.  

I feel like from everything you’ve described, I’m pretty much in agreement. I love Washer, and Yo La Tengo is pretty good.  

Mhm. 

One other band that I love is Parquet Courts, I know you’ve collaborated with them before with their Feel Free album visualizer, and you’re in the “Outside” music video filmed at the Knockdown Center.  

Yeah, they had me open for them at their holiday show the year before the album came out. They had me tell some jokes, and that was pretty intimidating since it was such a large room. But the fans I think are comedy fans too. A lot of the musicians like watching comedy, obviously, I can’t generalize, but like Sean Yeaton, the bassist of Parquet Courts, we have some mutual friends, and he’s also a very funny guy. We both had done voices for our animator friend Kieran O’Hare, who did the original “Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep” animation with me. Sean’s friends with him and has done some really good voices, he’s extremely funny himself. That’s how we connected. I guess I mostly know Sean, but he’s a really funny guy, and that’s probably why he has good taste in comedy. Also, I think that a lot of people who go to shows, if they want to see live entertainment, they’ll check out a share of music and comedy shows if they’re out and about in the city. 

In the “Outside” video you had the Christmas tree, what was that about? 

I knew I had to perform for like a thousand people, ready to see a rock show. So, I did some jokes, but also I had fun. It was a holiday show, so I picked up a small Christmas tree on my way to the venue. I tossed it to the crowd, and they crowd surfed this tree, pretty funny. I guess a music crowd would be open for something unusual like that. It’s also something I couldn’t do at a stand-up club. I was just trying to match the energy of the space and the event, and it led to something cool. 

Was that your first time performing to that many people? 

One of the first big performances I did. I had just made my own Christmas special and was tired out. I hadn’t been doing as much standup in the weeks leading up to it. I just remember that night that I was talking to somebody, and then I went out on stage, and it hit me all of a sudden. I don’t remember the exact number, but it felt like at least 500, maybe a thousand. It’s such a big space that I kind of had to brace myself, because it was a pretty large crowd to ask them to pay attention to jokes about New Balances. 

Now would you say it’s a pretty common occurrence to perform to that many people? 

Yeah, I’ve gotten more used to it. We started the last tour where we set some dates at 150-200 people venues, which is what I was doing before, but I guess a lot of people found the TV show during the pandemic when they wanted something relaxing and nice to watch. I guess I didn’t anticipate the crowd, my audience, would grow that much. Now the shows I’m doing in Boston are for a thousand people, and I think the ones in Iowa are about 600-700. 

Yeah, I think The Englert’s at about that capacity. 

Yeah, pretty good size. I don’t know if I’ll fill it, but I’ll do my best. 

I was looking at the ticketing recently, and it seems pretty much almost full. I think the upper balcony has some open spots, but they sold really quickly. 

That’s awesome. I’m very excited. That’s very cool to know. The only time I performed in Iowa before was at the Hinterland Festival, so I haven’t been through recently. You have to go through a place a few times to get an audience. That was a music festival too. I didn’t know how that was going to go. I performed basically the end of the Billy Strings concert, which was the big event of the night.  

Afterwards, I performed for the people who were staying overnight in the camping section. I was nervous about that because it was both an outdoor stage, and everybody was in an energetic mood. It went really well. There were huge clouds of weed smoke floating my way the entire show. The audience gathered around the stage outside and it was pretty special. Definitely had a sigh of relief when it ended, but it was a really fun night, and the crowd turned out to be really great. Like I said, I think people who go to live music shows are open to new stuff. You know, it won’t necessarily go well all the time, but they’ll give you some smart attention at least for a little while, and give you the chance to win them over. 

Do you think that doing comedy sets is pretty similar to how musicians in their sets match the energy of the audience? 

Yeah, it’s not the same for all musicians. I know some of them are adjusting throughout their set. I think I have a little more flexibility as a solo performer. Like if I feel that something’s not working, or I need to do a quick adjustment during the set, or you know throw in the joke that’d hit harder to up the energy. I’ll be able to make adjustments on the fly and change my set completely, or even just talk with the audience in a way that the musician wouldn’t have the luxury to do. I feel like that’s the advantage of doing comedy live over music. There’s also plenty of musicians who adjust. When they’re having a bad show, they can also get stuck when it’s not going well. There’s pros and cons to each. 

It’s all a very receptive activity. 

Mhm. 

Is there anything else you wanted to say? 

Just I’m really looking forward to performing in Iowa again. This time indoors. Dan Wriggins is going to be there, so I think it’ll be another good show with both comedy and music. You know, it’ll feel like a proper night out on the town. 

Anything that people in Iowa City can come to expect at the show? 

It’s all new material, different from my special. It’s all new jokes. It’s at the point of the tour where all the material is new and fresh for me as well. It’s really exciting to see. I think it’s a good show, but there’s some stuff that I’m still figuring out, and I think that’s the most fun time to see a show, when it’s still forming. When you’re not sure how it’s going to go, that’s more fun. 

Tickets to see Joe Pera at The Englert Theater on June 14th are available here.

The post Interview: Joe Pera Goes to Shows with You appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Spencer Loucks acts as both a comedian and host for the night. His standup is more self-disclosing, both with anecdotes and observations. He makes jokes at the expense of the audience, but his smile betrays a lack of malice. One can’t help but compare his infliction to John Mulaney at certain times. Even after his set, as Loucks introduces the next comedian, his warmth is still present.

Aloe Mean is next. He tends to remain stationary but his voice, smooth and steady, pulls the listener in. He turns both inward and outward for his material, though one cannot forget that his set begins with the humble introduction, “My name is Aloe… like the plant.”

The third comedian is Eric/Nancy Persoon. They wear an impressive witch’s hat, adding to their already towering height. Persoon’s strategy for audience interaction is to pace the outskirts of the stage and maintain intense eye contact with specific audience members as they deliver their set with a magnetic intensity. They question the crowd’s lack of energy (a valid inquiry, as there is yet to be a group consensus on what’s funny and what is not). They talk about pop culture, such as the procreating agenda in How to Train Your Dragon 3, football, and gender. The material feels better suited for a younger crowd, as I know some college students who would be very interested in hearing Persoon’s five minutes on gender neutral Pokémon jokes. Still, they give it their all, and their commitment is admirable: who else would write the word “basement” on their chest before the show begins in order to provide a visual aid? Better yet, who pulls a second White Claw out of their cat-faced fanny pack mid-set? An inspiration, truly.

Meredith Kachel deserves credit for bringing the audience to life. She is quick to establish report, charming immediately with the question “are we a sleepy college town or do we all wanna kill ourselves?” Kachel is also quick to call her own brain out now that she is a month into being engaged. With an equal give and take of teasing, she launches in on her material. She tackles the subject of her cousin, Gillian, who she impersonates with a nasally Barbie impression and a fist resting on her hip. Everyone who leaves the Comedy Showcase will remember (at least for two days) that Meredith Kachel’s cousin Gillian named her baby in order to obtain the initials of Buffalo Wild Wings. Kachel’s delivery benefits from being willing to shout away from the microphone. Her material on rich people, and how she fits into the equation by entering affluent houses, is what gets the audience to finally realize that they are at a comedy show. When she leaves the stage, the energy is palpable for the first time in the night.

Next is Arish Singh. He calls the audience out by beginning their set with a racism-themed joke, then stating “that’s my impression of what people want me to say at a comedy show.” He is also quick to call out the lone heckler, a wobbly Jack Sparrow, who stumbles in during his set. This hint of willingness to go to the mat blazes beneath his neutral face as he goes into his set. His material is more politically oriented, as he discusses Justin Trudeau’s blackface, Bernie Sanders (“I’m tired of him yelling at me… I wish he would just spit in my mouth already”) and Ilhan Omar. There is a barrage of puns in the middle of Singh’s set, which he delivers with no relish. Ending on one last note of confrontation, the audience is keyed into the momentum, just in time for the last comedian.

Cameron Gillette needs to be witnessed. He carries himself with the physical expression of someone doing improv, and his animation is captivating. There’s one dip if you know to listen for it, when he tells a joke that has appeared on the internet before, but beyond that, his material is only describable as “zany.” One minute, he talks about being a contemporary blues artist, the next minute, he mentions having been to jail. The last joke is by far the most elaborate: what starts with a simple premise of “what did the butt say to the boobs” turns into proving that time travel is real, only to find out from a piece of paper taped beneath a table, “everyone in the future is dead.”

The sets combine into an eclectic range of delivery and topics, and when the lights come back up, you are still somehow in your uncle’s weird basement.

The post Witching Hour: Comedy Showcase @ The Mill 11/1 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Martin was very prevalent in most of our generation’s younger years. With that affect, the crowd was filled with a good mix of both older and younger adults.

Martin is currently in the middle of his Wandering Mind Tour. He is best known for his rise to fame in the late 2000s, with such spotlights as his Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin and acclaimed comedy specials, Demetri Martin. Person. and Demetri Martin: Standup Comedian.

Martin’s current tour showcased all the aspects that he specializes in, be it quirky puppets, a large note pad filled with both puns and humorous images, and his rapid fire use of one liners whilst playing an acoustic guitar.

This show presented a comedian that is truly an expert in his niche style of comedy. It was fascinating to see a comic who can demand an audience’s attention even though he is often soft spoken and firmly standing in one place.

This event also showed that even after almost two decades that his craft hasn’t evolved greatly. Martin’s views are so similar to his past material, it seems some of these jokes could have been performed 10 years ago. The greatest aspect of an artist that has been performing for decades is watching their art/craft evolve over time, but I’m hesitant to state if Martin’s has.

The aspect of this show that was truly attention grabbing and unique was the way Martin would talk about death and aging in the small breaks between his other jokes.

Martin started the show with simple, yet cleaver observations of the famous Englert Theatre, pointing out a very overlooked aspect of the theater, that it has both green and red fire exit signs.

Then bizarrely, the audience witnessed the artist receive a phone call on stage. Martin’s cell phone was in his pocket and left on ringer. At first this seemed to almost be a bit that may have ran throughout the show, but since it never occurred again, it must have been an actual slip up made by Martin. This hiccup was played off very well by the comic, but still it was a very uncommon and unmannerly thing to happen during a professional show.

The show then continued with Martin moving on to his classic large notepad. This bit was built around Martin conducting a very humorous interview with a hand drawn demon from hell. This interview covered everything from the petty bureaucracy of the flaming underworld, the point system that deems if someone will go to hell or not, and finally explaining why Martin himself will go to the doomed afterlife.

Martin then continued to his desired improvements to sports, so less athletic-minded people will enjoy them. After ten or so minutes of very clever and surprising way to spice up sports Martin, went back to his notepad, finally ending his show with an acoustic guitar rifting, spouting out his normal clever and very funny observational humor one liners.

Another intriguing aspect of Martin’s act was a moment where he discussed his thoughts on humor based around his private life. Martin explained how he had two children and a wife, but felt comfortable using his experiences with them as a material for his shows. As a creative, this helps paint the unique constraints Martin puts on himself to find humor in other aspects of life that other comics can’t.

This show was something that many probably haven’t experienced in person before and probably won’t ever again. This style of comedy is something difficult to find in the age we live in, but it is definitely Martin who leads the way into it, even if it hasn’t evolved much over the past few years.

Check out the links below for some great videos of Demetri Martin:

Martin on Ellen

Martin on Stephen Colbert

The post Demetri Martin @ The Englert Theatre 2/8/19 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

There are few comedians that have left such an impact on comedy as Carlin. He told jokes that tore down the social barriers that society creates for us. He loved to lift the curtain of these barriers and show everyone the ridiculous wizard behind them. I know many older readers know Carlin as a household name, but to many young readers and people from my generation he may be faceless.

I remember being shocked as a kid by two traits of Carlin’s. One: I had never heard some of those cuss words he was saying, let alone how often he was saying them. Two: I never heard someone make people laugh by just standing up on stage and yelling things you find true at people and get a laugh.

George Carlin was introduced to me at a very early age, which if you know anything about Mr. Carlin’s work, that may not have been a great decision. Carlin’s material, crude in some natures, would tackle subjects like politics, race, and religion with an artful form. He would make broad and outlandish claims and through his wide vocabulary and argument you would be right at his side laughing.

Carlin was a man who loved to make others laugh. He was always self-proclaimed “Class Clown”. His comedy started in the late 60s and he performed up till his death in 2008. His work is very famous due to its ability to take a very dark and cutting look at things, and bring them front and center.

He gets his laughs due to his great way of expressing the anger people are feeling at that time in words. His humor might not have worked in today’s world, but during his time, his comedy gave a voice to the frustration of the time. His comedy came out in great strength after great draw backs in our nation, such as the War in Vietnam, President Nixon’s Resignation, and 9/11.

Carlin had the skill to dive into a topic and find a truth in it. He used humor to tear into these conversations, and sometimes they came out as rage filled rants. All of them said something sincere about the that moment in time and how many were feeling.

Check the links below for some of George Carlin’s Work.

Religion is Bulls**t

Stuff

George Carlin on Muhammed Ali and the Vietnam War

The post Ozzy’s Spotlight – George Carlin appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Writers of Color Reading

Fatimah Asghar, a Pakistani-Kashmiri-American poet and Fulbright fellow, leads with Writers of Color Reading Series for this year’s Witching Hour. Asghar co-created and wrote an Emmy-nominated web series called “Brown Girls”. Other readers include Natalia Reyes, Siyanda Mohutsiwa, Bruna Dantas Lobato, Aimee Fredericksen, Leon Pan, and Joe Emanuel.

This reading series will take place at The Englert Theatre on Saturday night starting at 8pm.

Julie Byrne

Julie Byrne, performing a concert co-presented with UI student organization SCOPE, is an atmospheric guitarist and vocalist. She has released two albums and two EPs in her career, the most recent titled “Not Even Happiness”. This recent album is inspired by Byrne’s first time witnessing the Pacific Northwest, and it is clear that nature drives her as soon as the album starts playing. Along with being a musician, Byrne is a seasonal park ranger at Central Park in New York.

Byrne will begin her set on The Mill’s stage Friday at 9:30pm after Squirrel Flower plays at 8:30pm.

Puddles Pity Party

Puddles Pity Party is described as “the sad clown with a golden voice.” He remains completely silent when he isn’t singing in a deep, melancholy voice, which caught public attention after his cover of Lorde’s “Royals” went viral. Puddles has performed his acts around the world and was a runner-up on America’s Got Talent. Puddles is an entirely emotive artist, and his work can reach everybody’s heart in some striking way.

The event will begin at The Englert Theatre at 8:30pm on Friday night.

Jack Lion and Jaimie Branch

Electronic, jazz-infused trio Jack Lion will be opening for Jaimie Branch, an experimental jazz trumpeter. Jack Lion, based in Iowa City, draws from each member’s formal jazz training for musical inspiration. Jaimie Branch, also a recording engineer and presenter will be performing with a band full of long-time collaborates for Witching Hour.

The concert begins with Jack Lion at Gabe’s on Saturday at 10pm.

Janelle James and Liza Treyger

Janelle James is a comedian, providing hilarious commentary on aging and family life along with her raunchy storytelling. Liza Treyger recently released her first half-hour Netflix comedy special, used to work on Chelsea Lately, and was a cast member on MTV’s “Joking Off”. The two female comedians’ sets will meld together to create a perfect, humorous evening.

James and Treyger will perform at The Englert Theatre starting with James at 9:30pm on Saturday night.

Parts Unknown Dinner

In the wake of chef Anthony Bourdain‘s death earlier in 2018, the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and the Chef de Cuisine of St. Burch Tavern, Gabe Branch, collaborate to present the Parts Unknown Dinner. Bourdain was not only the host of a food-based television show, but made an extreme effort to fully appreciate and understand the people who showed him cuisine from across the word. He wanted to know the people, not commodify their food.

The dinner will take place at St. Burch Tavern on Saturday at 5pm, but has sold out in advance.

Passes are still available, and some events have individually priced tickets. For the first time this year, Witching Hour Festival is also selling student passes at a discounted and very affordable price. If you’re interested in attending the festival, check out passes here!

The post Witching Hour: KRUI’s Top Picks appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Jay Pharoah took the stage tonight at The Englert with both electric energy and genuine emotions for the idols of his past. I have been a fan of Jay Pharoah since I first saw him on SNL years back and was very excited to hear he was coming to town. His comedy icon Eddy Murphy definitely influences his comedy and it is a style not seen that often in today’s comedy culture. Pharoah’s comedy also comes from his great skill for impersonating celebrities such as Eddy Murphy, Kanye, Kevin Hart, President Barack Obama and countless more.

The night was fill with a atmosphere of hilarious antidotes and moments of great love. Pharoah often would take a break as say just facts and truths, such as police brutality in America and what Trump’s America is. He spoke of loving and acceptance, this created a really sweet space to hear comedy.  The parts I was very surprised by and I loved the most where they moments of sincere love and emotion. Jay Pharoah was in the middle of an intimate story about his mentor Charlie Murphy (Who recently passed away) when he was interrupted by some annoying audience’s members cell phone ringtone. I was disappointed because Pharoah was starting what seemed to be a very important and life changing moment in his life when he was told his mentor passed away. Seeing this kind of raw emotion on stage during a comedy show was very out of the normal and I saw it as something special we were about to share in but sadly due to the constant bullshit of cell phones during shows, we’ll never have that moment again.

I don’t want to set this comedy show as an emotional hour, it was filled with funny stories of Pharoah’s experiences with Night Clubs, his travels overseas, and his hilarious views on marriage and childhood.The opener, AJ Foster is a young up and coming comedian that I can see great promise for. Foster’s honest commentary and quirky stories complimented Pharoah’s stage presence very well and I can see why he tours with Pharoah often.

All in all, this show very entertaining and definitely one to remember. It was almost two hours long and it was packed with content. Pharoah’s charisma and energy made the time go so it was smooth and something to greatly enjoy. This kind of stand up scene is what should keep growing in this city because there is definitely an audience for it.

For really funny/interesting videos of Jay Pharoah look below for some of my favorites.

Jay Pharoah Drops A 6 Minute Freestyle!!

Principal Frye: Hell-oween Ball – SNL

Jay Pharoah Has a Staring Contest While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

Jay Pharoah Impersonates Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Will Smith + More

The post Jay Pharoah @ The Englert Theatre 5/11/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Truly a laugh-filled night, with a wide choice of penis jokes and nerd pop culture references fill the Englert Theater.

Podcast “Hollywood Babble On”with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman was recorded in Iowa City in front of a crowd eager to hear what the host would say/sing next.

I have been a lifelong fan of Kevin Smith and was sitting 4 rows in, with my Kevin Smith Jerseys on proud. I was excited to see this show.

I have followed Smith’s other podcast “Fatman On Batman” throughout my life but “Hollywood Babble On” has always slipped by me, until now.

This show was truly energetic and amusing. Garman and Smith play off each other very well and bring a level of connect that helps even the most estranged fan become enticed by the humor happening in front of you.

Yes, the jokes being said on the stage are not for the weak of heart. Liam Nesson’s dick jokes, cheesy German accents, and great Ralph Garman celeb impression are just a few of the inventory this show brings.

Kevin Smith is known for movies he has written and directed such as Clerks (1994), Mallrats (1995), and Dogma (1999). Ralph Garman is known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show and his voice work on Family Guy.

This show went on for about two hours and had very few bumps, with only the occasional audio error. Smith and Garman followed a definite structure for a show and filled it with their strong charisma and stage presences.

I will definitely be subscribing to “Hollywood Babble On” from here on out. The show was filled with fans and that helped create an environment where everyone was just looking for a good time and see two people we all enjoy.

This is a podcast so I highly recommend listening while you do some mundane chore. This type of podcast always heightens the excitement and humor of mowing yards or laundry folding.

I even waited after the show and got to meet both Kevin Smith and Ralph Garma both of which were insanely nice.

Also after have a brief exchange of kind words, handshakes, and a photo it definitely was an exhilarating night. Mr. Smith was nice enough to sign my jersey and I got a photo with both of them.

I was definitely over the moon happy and so grateful they let me hang out with them for a bit. This has been one of my favorite experiences while working at KRUI so far. I would never have had the chance to meet someone who has made such a large impact on my life otherwise.

For links to YouTube channel of “Hollywood Babbles” or other related content see below.

Kevin Smith YouTube Channel

Ralph Garman: The Man of 60 Impressions

Frank Sinatra’s Ghost Sings a Song for Donald Trump

The post Hollywood Babble On @ The Englert Theatre 4/29/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

He spoke for 2 hours and captivated the whole audience the entire time. He even took questions at the end and I’m proud to say I got to ask him one myself. I asked who his influences as a comic were. He answered immediately with the names of such legends as George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Eddie Murphy.

When writing the promo for this event I did a lot of research into his career and became very familiar with some of his material but the show he performed today was all new bits and jokes. It’s always a sign of a great comic when they don’t reuse jokes from years past. He rapport with the audience was great and I could see on his face he was enjoying himself in Hancher.

During the Q&A, he was asked some pretty tough questions and was even asked why he doesn’t make any more shows about the current political climate in Egypt. He response was intelligent, honest, and funny. He spoke about how he had the viewership of 44 million viewers each show yet when his arrest warrant was issued they all turned on him in a second. He spoke how he feels now if he makes shows about this topic from the US it would feel wrong and not complete.

His new plan is to create a career where the population can see a middle eastern man on stage and not have fears and stereotypes be brought to people’s minds. He hopes that in making more people aware of middle eastern entertainers in America, that the world will then look at the incredibly wrong things that are happening in Egypt and take action. Someone in the audience shouted that he has given up the fight against the military dictatorship of Egypt but Bassem was quick

with a retort. He called out the young man in the audience saying how he was exiled from his home, missed the death and funeral of his father, suffered many more emotional and financial repercussions due to his badass protest of the dictatorship when in Egypt. He said he didn’t mean call out the young man but Youssef’s shut down was awesome.

He was there promoting his book Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring. “Youssef recounts his life and offers hysterical riffs on the hypocrisy, instability, and corruption that has long animated Egyptian politics.

From the attempted cover-up of the violent clashes in Tahrir Square to the government’s announcement that it had created the world’s first “AIDS cure” machine, to the conviction of officials that Youssef was a CIA operative—recruited by Jon Stewart—to bring down the country through sarcasm. There’s much more—and it’s all insanely true.”-Amazon

Bassem Youssef is a political satirist that we need at this stage in history and I highly recommend looking into him. Whether it’s his TV spots, Web series, Live Performance, or reading his book. He has a mind that is made for this generation and I think truly is causing a change in the world.

To look at his book Click Here.

For more videos about Bassem Youssef See below:

CBS Interview

Putting Out the Unwelcome Mat • Democracy Handbook with Bassem Youssef

The Daily Show – An Egyptian Satirist in America – Bassem Youssef

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