Queerly Beloved: A Night Out With Femmes and Friends

 

A quick shout-out to Suite Bar and its "Femmes and Friends" comedy show, which Damian and I attended last night. Although we mainly went to see rising star Conor Janda -- hilarious as always -- the whole lineup was pretty entertaining, most notably Amy Cui, who had us dying! 

Find Amy HERE

Find Conor HERE

After his set we fanboyed over Conor, telling him how much we like his "Boys Club" web series, which you can watch HERE.

We’d never been to Suite Bar, which technically sits on the Upper West Side (109th and Amsterdam) but is a bit of a trek from our place near Lincoln Center. Still, it’s adorable -- super welcoming, with a big bar, comfy leather booths, karaoke nights, and the requisite drag shows. Not sure why it has two Instagram accounts, but you can find Suite Bar online HERE.

Note: Femmes and Friends happens the last Monday of each month -- mark your calendars -- and you can learn more HERE.

Eat your heart out, Bobby Womack! 

Sit and Laugh While You Stand Up for Free Speech

It's for a great cause -- plus with a lineup that includes the hilarious Adrienne Iapalucci and sexy Matteo Lane, this is going to be a riot! 

The National Coalition Against Censorship Benefit

Nov. 6, 2023

9:30 p.m.

Gotham Comedy Club (in Chelsea)

208 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

$30

Tickets HERE.

Comedian Shane Gillis Fired From 'Saturday Night Live' Over Past Racist Remarks

I'm guess I'm fine with "Saturday Night Live" axing Shane Gillis before he even started over past racist remarks that cropped up after the show announced it was hiring him. But it's probably worth noting that many other comedians would probably also not be "not ready for prime time," including Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Ricky Gervais, Joan Rivers, Chelsea Handler, Michael Richards, Norm MacDonald, Trevor Noah, Sandra Bernhard, Amy Schumer, Lisa Lampanelli, David Cross, Bill Maher and so on.

"After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL," a spokesperson on behalf of SNL creator Lorne Michaels said. "We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL." The spokesperson added, "We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard."

The Wall Street Journal reports that Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang joined the online discussion about the “SNL”'s new hire with an offer to discuss it in person with Gillis. “I prefer comedy that makes people think and doesn’t take cheap shots. But I’m happy to sit down and talk with you if you’d like," Yang wrote on Twitter, adding that he did not think Gillis should be fired from “SNL.”

Thoughts?

Aussie Gay Comedian Joel Creasey Brings 'The Hurricane' to NYC

Never heard of him, but think I'm gonna go check Joel Creasey out this weekend. Even if he's not funny, he's much easier on the eyes than that Josh Thomas!

He's only 25, but gay comic JOEL CREASEY has already become one of Australia's most popular personalities -- on par with Kathy Griffin or Sandra Bernhard here in the US. He has opened for Joan Rivers, scored two TV specials and even starred on the reality TV series "I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" opposite Marcia Brady. Now he returns to NYC with an all new evening of standup. Time Out calls him "an inevitable star" and we couldn't agree more. Don't miss this chance to see him in an intimate venue in the U.S. -- it could be your last!

JOEL CREASEY LIVE!
Aug. 5 and 6 at 7 p.m.
Laurie Beechman Theatre,
407 West 42nd Street at 9th Ave.

Tickets HERE.

Follow HERE. 

(I'll be the judge of his kissing.)

Eddie Sarfaty Is 'Playing in Traffic' This Sunday

Come see the handsome stand-up Sunday at the Metropolitan Room. Tickets HERE.

Eddie Sarfaty Is 'Playing in Traffic'

Come see the handsome stand-up next Sunday at the Metropolitan Room. Tickets HERE.

Sandy's on Fire in 'Feel the Bernhard' at Joe's Pub

I've seen Sandra Bernhard at least a half-dozen times. But last night's performance at Joe's Pub was definitely the best I can recall since I saw her in Hermosa Beach(?) back in 1990, when she was gearing up to promote the film adaptation of her classic "Without You I'm Nothing" stage show. 

"Feel the Bernhard" was short, sloppy (she stammered on stories and she relied heavily on notes on a music stand, even while singing songs that most of us know by heart) and even included one entire segment lifted from another show of hers. (It was a greatest hit, so I'm not really complaining.) Yet despite all this, the whole was still far greater than the sum of its parts. The song selection was sublime, (I want to spoil it for you, but I won't. For those who question her singing ability, I find it's best to take it with a grain of salt.) Her take on politics, celebrity and consumerism were poignant and hysterical -- quietly reminding me that she may not have invented observational comedy, but she perfected it.  (She even made herself laugh a couple times.) And her singularity -- after yet another year of being inundated by people famous for being famous and actual celebrities I've never heard of -- enveloped the room. 

Afterward we skipped the T-shirt purchase/meet-and-greet, choosing instead to bask in the embers of the Bern. Sandra is like one of those beautiful tigers at the zoo. You can sit there and look at them all day, but you know there's a cage separating you for a reason. Instead, I signed up for Sirius XM so I can get a regular fresh dose of "Sandyland." I've always appreciated Sandra Bernhard. I can recite "Without You I'm Nothing" from top to bottom, and "The King of Comedy" is one of my favorite movies of all time, largely because of her firebrand performance. But it's only now as I close in on 50 --with her now 60 -- revisiting her countless appearances on David Letterman and Howard Stern that I realize my life would have been less fun without her in it, and I kind of want to savor every moment moving forward.

Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl on Fire

  Don't even know where to begin with Tig Notaro's HBO comedy special, "Boyish Girl Interrupted." After seeing her recent Netflix documentary, I was truly concerned she'd lost her comedic mojo since becoming known at the "cancer comic," a title she neither shunned nor embraced. Where could she go from that infamous night at the Largo in which she brought the house down talking about how her life might be over soon? (Indeed, "this thing" was definitely "on.") Turns out I had no cause for concern. In an hourlong set of entirely new material, Notaro returned to top form with her slow-building observational humor that is truly like no other comic out there. No reason for me to spoil the jokes for you -- just be prepared to never hear a pig-snort laugh the same way again. Kudos, Tig! Truly sublime.

In what might be called an unfortunate moment of timing, Natasha Leggero had a comedy special the same night, "Live at Bimbo's," on Comedy Central. Tash has been one of my favorites for about a decade, but she seems to have abandoned her "Reinvented as a New England Socialite" persona for a more traditional kind of standup that I didn't think suited her nearly as well. There were still some funny moments, but not unlike her show "Another Period," the set was very uneven, a fact that might have been amplified by the fact that Tig is a tough act for anyone to follow.

Comedy Trio Plays Its 'Tards' Right

Can't rave enough about Unitard's "House of Tards," a smart sketch comedy set by downtown notables David Ilku, Nora Burns and Mike Albo, whose one-man show "The Junket" was one of my favorite theatrical performances of last year. Sending up everything from New York ennui experts and social-media slaves to healthy-eating hedonists and Park Avenue moms with "an edge," "House of Tards" is 60 minutes of laugh-out-loud bits with surprisingly few misses. It's been extended for two more Thursdays at the Stonewall Inn (upstairs), and trust me when I say the Jihad Comedy Jam is worth the price of admission! Tickets and info HERE.

  With Mike and my friend Greg after the show

Tig In

  Tig Notaro's stand-up routine at Largo from back in August is now available on Amazon HERE. Not only is it being heralded as one of the best sets in the history of comedy, $4 from each download will go directly to Notaro, "of which a portion will be donated to charities associated with fighting breast cancer."

Make Me Laugh, Bitch

The New York Times profiles the plethora of gay comedians out there, each waiting for their moment in the spotlight. While some have had success -- Mario Cantone and Billy Eichner come to mind  -- no one has even come close to becoming the male equivalent of Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell or even Wanda Sykes. My pal Dave Rubin has a theory: “With gays, we still don’t have the first guy Television likes their gay people as sidekicks on the Bravo network or as fashion experts. I’m just not sure how far we’ve come from one of my favorite Homer Simpson lines: ‘Marge, I like my TV loud, my beer cold and my homosexuals flaming!’" Read HERE.

Even Funnier Than Chuck

I had never heard of Amy Schumer until this weekend, but I'm pretty sure she' my new favorite comedian of all time! Apparently she killed it at the Roseanne roast -- which I ended up seeing except the beginning, when Amy was on. But I did catch Amy's Comedy Central special, "Mostly Sex Stuff," and Michael and I were literally crying laughing so hard in our Montauk bungalow as the rain fell down. She borrows from several of my favorite comedians -- the Wendy Liebman misdirection gets me every time -- yet manages to have a style all her own  Anyone else a fan?

Tig Notaro Tells It to My Heart

Dragged my flu-ridden ass out of bed last night just long enough to see the long-planned screening of "This American Life Live" with a group of friends in Union Square. The show featured two of my favorite writers (David Sedaris and David Rakoff, who gave the most heartbreaking dance "recital" of all time) and one guy I'm dying to learn more about (Ryan Knighton). But the highlight of the evening -- by a HUGE margin -- was comedian Tig Notaro, whose custom-made-for-me story about Taylor Dayne was quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life!

This one will get you.

Just Say Said Julie!

So I dragged Michael to Joe's Pub on Saturday night to see everyone's favorite easy Earth Girl, Julie Brown. I was kind of embarrassed to even ask him to go and I was certain we'd be the only people in the audience. We got there about a half-hour before showtime and would you believe the line was stretched out long and far along Lafayette Street? (Naturally, the crowd could have easily doubled for one of Kathy Griffin's audiences.)

We quickly decided a table was in order and sat down to Smell the Glamour. Sure, Julie had simply dusted off those old backing tracks from the '80s and showed a couple of old clips on an occasionally uncooperative video projector above the stage, but that didn't stop the show from being a complete hoot. Looking sexy and fit as ever, Julie came flying out singing "I Like 'Em Big and Stupid" (from her classic 1984 EP, "Goddess in Progress," which is about to be reissued on CD!) and never looked back. Part stand-up, part audience participation (think boys in wigs during "Girl Fight Tonight!" from 1987's "Trapped in the Body of a White Girl") and part storytelling, it was easy to remember why Julie was one of the shining moments of '80s MTV. What's interesting (or perhaps surprising is the word I'm looking for) is that Julie really is a very talented pop songwriter. When I first heard her Madonna parodies from "Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful" (like "Happy Place") I remember thinking they were every bit as good as anything Madonna's ever released. On Saturday night she did the terminally infectious "Party in My Pants" and I still feel the same way. From there she launched into "Vague" -- complete with updated celebrities during the rap portion (who'd have thought Nicolette Sheridan would actually be in vogue again, though?). When she finished her crowd-pleasing encore of "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" she was so excited that she came back out just to wave and announce that she didn't have anymore songs. (Truth be told she hadn't done "Earth Girls Are Easy," which happens to be one of my faves, but ...) Afterward she lapped up the "backstage" attention as she patiently posed for photos and signed CDs and DVDs. A fun night with a really funny lady. (Question: When is "Strip Mall" coming out on DVD???) Visit Julie's funny Web site here. and her Facebook here.

Spellbound With Amy Sedaris

Amy channels her inner Jerri Blank, above, and shows her pretty smile, below.

What a fun day yesterday turned out to be. I was reading the Daily News at Starbucks after having lunch with my Mikey when I noticed a listing for a wine tasting/book signing with my girl Amy Sedaris. I ran home and gussied myself up a bit and then got Michael to meet me over at Bottlerocket Wines and before I knew it Michael was snapping photos of Amy and me. Later, she got up on top of a desk (as you may recall from her appearance on "Martha," she is quite petite) and demonstrated one of the arts and crafts projects from her hilarious book "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence," and then she took questions from the audience. During the Q&A she made a Ruth Buzzi joke (right up my ally) and then commented that no one probably knew who Ruth was. Later when she was signing my book I told her that I certainly knew who Ruth was, and that in the early '90s I used to frequent an El Pollo Loco on Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood that had an autographed picture of Ruth hanging above the cash registers -- the one and only celebrity photo hanging on its walls! She giggled and later I realized that in addition to cutely misspelling my name (North Carolina schools? She also asked a guy named Anthony how that was spelled!), she incorporated out mutual love of Gladys Ormphby into her autograph. What a doll! (See the rest of the photos here.)

Amy gives the crowd what they want, above, and then shows how much cuter she looks in glasses than I do, below.


"I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence"