If you want to know what is happening in the local comedy scene check out www.seattlecomedy.net. And every Wednesday for the next few weeks is the Seattle Laff Off comedy competition at the Mirabeau Room. After the competition ends, ComedyNight starts, which is the a weekly showcase of Seattle's best comics out of the alternative comedy scene. People like Eugene Mirman, Reggie Watts, and Todd Barry have all performed there, along with great locals like Kevin Hyder, Peter Greyy, Emmett Montgomery, Owen Straw, Geoff Lott, Reggie Watts, etc, etc. There is a great scene locally, but they are just starting to get the attention outside the comedy club scene that they deserve. Hopefully soon the Stranger will write more about these comics and labels like Suicide Squeeze and Sub Pop will start paying attention to the people in their backyard as much to the ones in New York.

And just for the record, Reggie Watts from Seattle has a blossoming international comedy career well under way - and he has been a semi-regular at Euegene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale's shows "Invite Them Up" in New York, as well as winning awards and accolades at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest last year.

There are great local comedy nights happening monthly at the Capitol Hill Arts Center and the Sunset Taven in Ballard as well.

It's kind of too bad, Jennifer, that you're leaving for the Bay Area...because we could have a great time checking out the various locations where comedy happens in Seattle and meeting some of the very talented people who make it happen.

Of course the "indie rock/indie comedian" bond you mentioned in this Slog entry is a tenuous one at best...possibly as tenuous as the rock/wrestling connection of the 80's. (And ironic, since there's also a growing comedy/local wrestling connection...)

What's happening with the local scene? Well, there are still two dedicated comedy clubs in town--a third club, in Bellevue, recently closed down. Sadly, none of the comedy clubs agreed with Dan Savage's plan from a few years ago to marry comedy clubs with strip clubs--although I'd suggest that's a good thing, considering the predominance of not-going-to-look-that-good-naked body types found in stand-up comedy...

The trend for the kind of comedians you might see on Comedy Central, though, is to avoid the clubs and play at The Moore or The Paramount--a trend that has both good and bad elements to it.

There are other areas opening up for comedy--one nighters, theatre events, video projects, alternative venues...although it seems like there are fewer comedians performing at The Showbox, The Crocodile Cafe and Neumos than there were a year or two ago. Possibly that's just a fluke of the schedules of both comics and bookers, making it seem like that trend fizzled out.

You asked if the Sub Pop connection help? It can't hurt, but I don't necessarily think think it will help. I mean, it's not like there are A&R guys in the comedy clubs signing the bright new talent (Fahim Anwar, Andy Peters, Geoff Brousseau, Joe Larson, Hari Kondabolu, Lizzy Pilcher, Andrew Sleighter, Jeff Dye, Blaine Reeder, and Dartanion London are all names in addition to those mentioned in the previous reply that people should be watching out for) nor are they interested in the truly gifted performers who have worked this area for years and still not found the notoriety that they deserve (like Duane Goad, Tracy Tuffs, Ty Barnett, Dan Moore, Gabriel Rutledge, Harrold Gomez, or David Crowe.)

Many of these performers are moving elsewhere, not because there isn't opportunity to perform in this market--because, there is--but because they've done all they can here.

Part of that is because there is little to no press coverage of stand-up comedy in this town--in the P-I, the Times, the Weekly or The "known-to-be-uninterested-in-stand-up-comedy" Stranger...much less any interest from local television or radio (both Bob Rivers on KZOK and Marty Riemer on The Mountain support comedy, but not LOCAL comedy)--and to make the next step, comedians need to be noticed by more than just your average weekend local comedy club patrons.

I mean, was there even the slightest coverage of the 26th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition held this past November--a comedy competition that has the late great Mitch Hedburg as one of its former winners and was won this year by a great comic out of San Diego named Lamont Ferguson--in any local media? For that matter, did any of the local media treat Mitch's untimely death, last year, as an important story?

We get it. Stand-up comedy isn't taken seriously in this town...other than by those of who perform it.

So, ultimately, no, I don't think that Sub Pop's interest in David Cross or Eugene Mirman will help the local comedy scene that much. I mean, we already know that both of those guys are funny...and having their comedy cds come out on a label known for rock bands doesn't really change anything for anyone else. Having them perform on the same bill as a couple of rock bands in a rock club doesn't introduce those audience members to OTHER funny performers nor does it suggest to those audience members that they should seek out more information on other regionally available comedy entertainment options they haven't previously explored...

It probably only means that The Stranger does a review of the Eugene Mirman cd and continues to ignore the local stand-up comedy talent performing seven nights a week in venues all around them.

Like I said...it's a shame you're moving, Jennifer...because there's a lot more to the local stand-up comedy scene than you'd guess, if you knew where to look and wanted to find out more...

pgreyy--www.seattlecomedy.net

Gotta agree with PGREYY. I took in a show at the horribly named Giggles recently laughed my balls off. The local comics weren't that bad and it does seem odd that the weekly papers choose not to cover comedy at all. I guess that might take space away from the upcoming Fall Out Boy previews they'll be writing...

I appreciate all the feedback here....I love good comedy and honestly I had no idea where to look locally..it was only during Bumbershoot or when big names came to town that I got to see stuff...

"it was only during Bumbershoot or when big names came to town that I got to see stuff..."

Yeah. That's true for a lot of people...and because Bumbershoot doesn't hire local comedians, when the big names come to town and avoid the clubs but instead go do theatre shows they don't hire local comedians to open for them, and the horribly misnamed "Seattle Comedy Festival" booked by House of Blues didn't include a single local stand-up comedian (the only local in any of their shows was Reggie Watts, who was booked for the Charlie Murphy & Friends show, and I think even Reggie would say that he's not a "stand-up" comedian in the traditional sense of the term) it means that people that might enjoy stand-up comedy but don't frequent the local venues regularly will likely never encounter some of the better performers in town.

And, to the two lists above of talented local comedy performers I could add names like Rodger Lizaola, Scott Moran, Douglas Gale, Ahamefule Oluo, Camy Lyn, Tony Moser, Beka Barry, Monique Derry, Drew Barth, Meghan Hounshell and still others. Each of these comics I'm mentioning have very distinct styles--some of them are further along in developing their talent while others are new faces on the scene, broadening the scope of what Seattle comedy can be.

And so many people, like you, Jennifer, may never get a chance to see any of these performers...simply because they don't get the opportunities to play at the places where you go to see live comedy.

That's just how things work out in the Seattle comedy scene.

Again, that's why I shrug my shoulders and believe that the signing of Eugene Mirman to Sub Pop won't impact the local scene at all.

I mean, great for Eugene...great for Sub Pop... And we'll read the article in this week's issue of The Stranger and realize that might be the extent of the coverage that stand-up comedy gets for the year.

You'll have an easier time in the Bay Area. Lots of good comedy clubs and mixed-use venues offering up lots of good national and local talent that get written up regularly in the various local papers.

Well, that's what we hear anyway...

pg--SeattleComedy.net

I have to agree with Peter here, not just as a compatriot, but also a fan of the comedy scene AND the music scene in Seattle.

You cannot judge the entire scene on one show. You SHOULD NOT judge the entire scene from one show. See www.seattlecomedy.net as the hub for Seattle's comedy scene. Check out a week-night show to get a better feel of local talent in front of an intimate audience. (Even bad comics can kill in front of a full house) Just show up to laugh, and you'll be surprised at how good some of the local talent really is. Much of it is very funny, and also, will not make you dumber for having heard it. Seattle deserves good comedy.

Thanks - GLott

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