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1

Wow. Throw in a pillow fight next time.

Posted by frederick r | April 28, 2008 5:15 PM
2

That's pretty awesome.

Posted by Dougsf | April 28, 2008 5:19 PM
3

Sounds like a fun time, just offered up our venue to them if they ever want to take on the road to Bremerton. We need more comedy over here to forget what a joke the city already is.

Posted by Gabe | April 28, 2008 5:35 PM
4

the chai house is disgusting.

Went in there a couple weeks ago to see the pastry case looking more like a smoldering terrarium filled with fruit flies.

Posted by menelaus22 | April 28, 2008 5:39 PM
5

I've never been in the Chai House so can't comment on this incident with Comedy.

I do want to give them props for something that happened about a year ago: We live on a fairly narrow residential street that intersects Phinney Ave. One day a big box delivery truck from Mr. Spot's Chai House started parking overnight regularly on our street, causing quite the sqeeze for passing cars as people came home at night.

My partner and I tried a friendly approach and one day left a nice, polite note on the drivers door of the Chai House truck. We acknowledged that the driver probably lived close by, but we explained that this big truck was better suited to be parked on Phinney Ave. or on the much emptier/less-traveled side street around the corner from where it was then parked.

Much to our delight, the driver of the truck responded that very day by parking in the alternate spots. And did so from then on.

So at least one of their employees deserves some good karma for that neighborly attitude!

Posted by HL | April 28, 2008 6:23 PM
6

Man, I am loving Seattle's comedy scene! That was legendary shit right there.

Posted by YAH!! | April 28, 2008 6:31 PM
7

So...do we burn the Chai House to the ground? Cuz I think I wanna...

Posted by Probably not Mr. Poe | April 28, 2008 8:16 PM
8

Over the years the Chai House has always had wacky, flaky booking agents. Sometimes they favor you, but they're always wacky and flaky. Given the gentrification of Ballard, that building is obviously on borrowed time anyway.

Posted by Tiktok | April 28, 2008 8:17 PM
9

Good for PRoK. I've never lived in Seattle (if you don't count the three weeks after I was born there), and I don't go to comedy clubs.

But as a former performing musician and FOH sound guy, I say kudos for telling crappy-ass venues to fuck off.

Treating the entertainment (which is supposed to bring in the customers) like shit ain't a good business model.

Posted by drewl | April 28, 2008 8:43 PM
10

Who laughs at stand up comedy? Have fun in your cold park, bitches.

Posted by heywhatsit | April 28, 2008 9:29 PM
11

Sounds like sour grapes. Tell me anther legitimate venue that doesn't start making changes when crowds consistently dwindle and I'll point you to a series of other failed establishments.

Posted by Not Funny | April 28, 2008 10:04 PM
12

@11 Sour grapes? When people go to see live entertainment in smaller venues, the majority of the crowd is friends, family, and fans of said act, more than people off the street. Shitty treatment gets noticed.

Tell me of a legitimate smaller venue that treats their hired (or not) entertainment like shit and succeeds (not just get by) in the long run.

Posted by drewl | April 28, 2008 10:17 PM
13

Did you even read the story? The crowds didn't dwindle until the dumb-ass booker started bumping the shows. People would show up for comedy, and instead see some hippy playing the didgeridoo, and promptly leave and never come back.

The booker/barista didn't understand comedy and preferred to have empty houses so she could sit on her ass and not have to serve anyone.

Frankly, PROK was doing them a favor by giving them a free show (and customers) every week. They're doing shows at Sasquach and have their own stage at Bumbershoot this year. I don't think they'll have trouble find another coffee shop in Ballard.

Posted by Sylvester McStain | April 28, 2008 10:22 PM
14

"Who laughs at stand up comedy?"

Um . . . the 100+ people that packed Chop Suey every Wednesday? The 1000's of people coming to PROK shows at Bumbershoot this year? People with brains?

Posted by robotmonster | April 28, 2008 10:39 PM
15

"Who laughs at stand up comedy?"

All the people at The Stranger's Gong Show this weekend who helped local comedian (and Lo-Ball veteran) Solomon Georgio win first prize!

Posted by Solomon's Mom | April 28, 2008 11:09 PM
16

The Chai House really broke my heart. I'm a comedian who enjoyed performing there. I liked that room and it's a shame how things just got worse there real quick. I'm very happy the walk out was a success. Talent should always be treated with respect. It's not to say that we need to be treated like royalty, but just decently.

Posted by R | April 29, 2008 12:58 AM
17

Who laughs at comedy #10...HMMM, I'm going to go with:

1. PROK shows who have an ongoing line-up of fabulous, hard working talent that gets noticed by all the local media and has a great turn out at each and every event.

2. Comedy Underground and institution and launching pad for the past 20+ years also creating the Seattle International Comedy Competition.

3. Mainstage the third female run comedy club in the U.S. which has become a destination point often packing the house with fun and great headliners.

4. Even Giggles, bringing big name acts.

5. THE AMOUNT OF NATIONAL COMEDY ACTS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS WHO HAVE FILMED THEIR COMEDY SPECIALS IN OUR GREAT CITY OF SEATTLE...

hmmm... I dunno though I guess the fact that the two biggest festivals in the state Bumbershoot & Sasquatch both launched stages to feature this emerging and amazing talent shows me that people they just simply aren't laughing?

BEATS ME THERE #10 why don't you pull your head out of your ass and take a look around...

-Jen.

Posted by Lil Jen. | April 29, 2008 1:04 AM
18

PRoK is amazing, I even picked up on that from Mexico City. Don't do them wrong.

Posted by Grant Cogswell | April 29, 2008 1:12 AM
19

@16 That's what I'm talking about.

Posted by drewl | April 29, 2008 1:28 AM
20

If Mr. Spot's was treating thier performers like crap, why did you all stay for so long?

I'm not defending them, but I'd like to hear the other side of this story.

Posted by Jeff | April 29, 2008 9:08 AM
21

I'm going to have to back up my mother. Comedy shows have been pushed aside many times due to some lack of belief that it's an art that can draw a crowd. Local comedy shows should never endure this kind of treatment, especially when they are providing a small business regular customers. Lo-Ball provided me with a stage that helped shape my voice, build my dream and played an integral part in my development as a comedian. I am so proud of it and know that it will live on without the Chai House.

Posted by Solomon Georgio | April 29, 2008 9:19 AM
22

I'm with Solomon, the Chai house Lo-ball show was awesome. I learned how to crawl at the open mikes, I learned how to walk at the Chai house. I performed for free and paid for the beers I drank there, I packed the place with dozens of my friends who bought and drank plenty of beer and chai, and it was offensive to me that this business relationship was somehow not good enough for them. I can't wait until that place is a starbucks.

Posted by James Parkinson | April 29, 2008 9:26 AM
23

If Mr. Spot's was treating thier performers like crap, why did you all stay for so long?

They didn't treat us like crap for the first year and a half we were doing shows there. The original booker, Betty, was great, and so were all the now departed baristas. It was a fanstastic place to workshop your material.

The trouble didn't come until the place changed owners (twice in the past year!), and replaced all of the cool baristas with obnoxious pseudo-street kids who would get loaded and/or high before their shifts and be loud and obnoxious during our shows.

I was ready to walk four months ago when they started messing with the schedule (twice bumping our shows without notice so their friends could play the worst hippy guitar jams you could imagine), but my fellow PROK mates convinced me to try to work it out, because there aren't any other weekly comedy shows in Ballard, and we really need a good place for practice shows (most open mics in the city only give you 3-5 minutes).

I'm confident now we can find a better place that respects what we do. Thanks to everyone for your support!

p.s. you can read more about the walkout at the Lo-Ball blog:

http://www.ballardcomedy.com

Posted by Paul Merrill | April 29, 2008 9:48 AM
24

You know it's a damn shame. Comedy in Seattle having an incredible resurgence and all, and Mr. Spot's out of the loop. With any establishment, that's not the way to make press.

Posted by Nick McCord | April 29, 2008 10:29 AM
25

@17.

Lemme guess. You're a stand up comedian. Know how I can tell? You're not funny.

Posted by heywhatsit | April 29, 2008 11:32 AM
26

@25

You know how I can tell you're a douche-bag? Because you make sweeping generalizations on subjects you obviously know nothing about.

Saying "I hate stand-up" is like saying "I hate music" because Dave Mathews sucks. You don't think Patton Oswalt is funny? Or Sarah Silverman? Or David Cross? Or Conan O'Brien? Or Craig Ferguson? Or Jon Stewart? Or Woody Allen?

Really?

Maybe you should stick to something you know about: like making crappy tea at the Chai House and driving away customers.

Posted by Paul Merrill | April 29, 2008 11:59 AM
27

My hat goes off to Paul for treating the situation with dignity and tact all while flying a HUGE middle finger to the booker of the Chai House.
Look, the Chai House show wasn't only a great stage for up and coming comics, it was one of the few, if only, "All-Ages" shows in the Seattle area. Seattle comic Hari Kondabolu started the room in an effort to provide young comics a venue where they could perform in front of a real audience and meet other working comics from all over the city. The show was really a goodwill-melting pot that created and fostered an amazing fellowship and a feeling of community among artists who had previously not experienced such a thing. The results were always positive. Over time the show got a lot of rave reviews and media attention from both local and international press (the show was featured in the Alaska Air In-Flight Magazine!). Early on, the staff and the booker were not only supportive of the show but helped with the postering, booking, seating and even the sound. The attitude was of a business wanting desperately to make things successful.
Once the booker (Betty) had left and the staff began to turn over, rather quickly, the support structure started to buckle almost immediately. The once happy staff were replaced, although not everyone there is an emotionally stunted bike messenger, and some of the staff tried very hard to weather the storm and most fell by the wayside. The new bookers were inexperienced, and uneducated about the programming they were walking into, anyone remember "Punk-Rock Night"??? What a fucking disaster!It seems that most bookers don't like taking advice from anyone anyways and prefer to fail, miserably and often, on their own. The communication broke down quickly and the show, all the shows, started to suffer as a result. The customer base changed and the quality of regulars definitely changed. The audience had a hard time finding us and when they did they sometimes had to witness a show where the comics had to compete with an acrimonious staff and all of their friends hanging out trying to heckle the comics from the back of the room. Did I forget to mention that the show was FREE!!?? Paul and the PROK booked, promoted, designed their own artwork, and wrote press releases in order to build an audience. Never once did anyone put any expectations on the Chai House to do anything other than provide customer service to the people coming to THEIR venue to enjoy THEIR business while being simultaneously entertained FOR FREE by comics DONATING THEIR TIME FOR FREE!
While trying to build their calender of sad-sack performance artists and solo hand drum stylists, they unfortunately ostracized an entire group of people whom they could benefit from: customers.
Also, the comedy scene in Seattle is HUGE!
There is a different show almost every night, sometimes two or three to choose from. National headliners come through town
and sometimes they even show up on the independent stages all over town. There is a massive scene and four operating clubs in the city! If you're not laughing at stand-up comedy it's not because of a lack of talent.
Bottom line? Now we don't have an all-ages venue for young comics to be scene and
workshop. Bummer.

Posted by Derek Sheen | April 29, 2008 12:00 PM
28

Hey @25!! Have fun making hand drums out of broken dreamcatchers, held together with trust-fund check stubs and a paste made from tears. Don't be such sore loser.

Posted by Derek Sheen | April 29, 2008 12:05 PM
29

@ 26&28...

I'm a hippie who works at Chai House? Where did that come from? At least mimes are silent.

Posted by heywhatsit | April 29, 2008 12:27 PM
30

...thus making mimes the perfect target for ridicule.

Posted by Derek Sheen | April 29, 2008 12:33 PM
31

@29

I'm sure your opinion of an extremely popular art is valid in some morbid dimension where happiness isn't allowed to strive and joy is killed by little Nazi toy soldiers carrying hate-spears. However, in this reality, we book shows and entertain people far more than the obscure acts that can be pulled from the random gutters of Ballard. Your weak attack is honestly not appreciated when it's already been proven that Seattle comedians are good group of people who work hard for the community and look to make things better for their city. Of course, with the internet allowing you to be faceless, I can see how the attraction of bringing up a stupid argument against a valid cause can not be restrained. But now you're three comments in and that's just plain retarded. Give your keyboard a rest and go do something productive. We appreciate the attempt to make yourself matter.

Posted by Solomon Georgio | April 29, 2008 1:12 PM
32

@29

I'm sure your opinion of an extremely popular art is valid in some morbid dimension where happiness isn't allowed to strive and joy is killed by little Nazi toy soldiers carrying hate-spears. However, in this reality, we book shows and entertain people far more than the obscure acts that can be pulled from the random gutters of Ballard. Your weak attack is honestly not appreciated when it's already been proven that Seattle comedians are good group of people who work hard for the community and look to make things better for their city. Of course, with the internet allowing you to be faceless, I can see how the attraction of bringing up a stupid argument against a valid cause can not be restrained. But now you're three comments in and that's just plain retarded. Give your keyboard a rest and go do something productive. We appreciate the attempt to make yourself matter.

Posted by Solomon Georgio | April 29, 2008 1:12 PM
33

Ahhh thanks Paul!

I liked the shows that the Chai House and what I remember most about them was how incredibly packed they ALWAYS were you had to cram in and really try to find a seat or come early.

I work with a lot of local restaurants and clubs and it absolutely astonishes me at the poor business sense of someone who would turn away free or cheap entertainment based on their own personal styling? If there was a crowd a paying (meaning chai sipping) crowd of people coming each and every week with the added bonus of outside promotion (not to mention the WEEK OF FUN!); press and community support, why on Earth would you turn that away? Businesses spend years trying to find a gig and shows that draw even half of what the Chai House drew from that show.

Its a disrespect to the audience and disrespectful to the customers too!

Hey Derek, Solomon, James & Paul lets get an interpretive dance company started so we can wrangle the remaining audience... TO THE PARK!!!

Oh 29... Did your dreads straighten again? It's gonna be okay... you'll get it next time there, kiddo! You just keep at it.

Posted by Lil Jen | April 29, 2008 1:18 PM
34

the only place dreadlocks look good are on a yak's ass

Posted by seth | April 29, 2008 2:09 PM
35

Now I'm a hippie nazi in dreadlocks. Awesome. For people who supposedly enjoy a good laugh, you guys sure are depressing.

Posted by heywhatsit | April 29, 2008 4:11 PM
36

@32 Is that a glimpse of how you'd handle a heckler? Call him "stupid" and "retarded"? That's sharp.

@33 You want to get an interpretive dance going in the park and you condescend to me? HA!! Finally something funny in this post.

Posted by heywhatsit | April 29, 2008 4:22 PM
37

Don't you have a significant other to torture?
All you've done is just pop your head in and out like a "Whack-a-Mole" and try to agitate
people. Honestly, the way we would handle a heckler like you is to first alert the bouncer of the club, and then have you escorted out of the club without a refund, because comedy is not a two way conversation where you get to agitate the performer and then hide under your table. Oh, after you've been shown the door we would probably make fun of you for the rest of the night. And, yes, in the exchange you would probably be called a "retard" more than once. It means "slow", by the way. You just don't seem like a very nice person who is capable of having fun unless you're making someone else miserable. Have fun "Stormin'" the message boards!

Posted by Derek Sheen | April 29, 2008 5:32 PM
38

Don't you have a significant other to torture?
All you've done is just pop your head in and out like a "Whack-a-Mole" and try to agitate
people. Honestly, the way we would handle a heckler like you is to first alert the bouncer of the club, and then have you escorted out of the club without a refund, because comedy is not a two way conversation where you get to agitate the performer and then hide under your table. Oh, after you've been shown the door we would probably make fun of you for the rest of the night. And, yes, in the exchange you would probably be called a "retard" more than once. It means "slow", by the way. You just don't seem like a very nice person who is capable of having fun unless you're making someone else miserable. Have fun "Stormin'" the message boards!

Posted by Derek Sheen | April 29, 2008 5:32 PM
39

Its called sarcasm, look it up dreadful boy wonder. Shit.

You're just made that I didn't ask you to help choreograph it with me... and NO, it won't be to PHISH.

-Jen.

Posted by Lil Jen. | April 29, 2008 7:19 PM
40

You're just mad...

Posted by Lil Jen. | April 29, 2008 7:43 PM

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