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Stories

Graffiti artist/yarn bomber HOTTEA's "Inner Workings" a...

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Ring Ring Poetry: a literary hotline

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The Primrose Path: 'Of course I'm loud, I'm Russian'

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Target Field screens The Sandlot this Sunday

By Patrick Strait
The 12 best things about gay marriage in Minnesota

By CP Staff
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Comedy

Professor Blastoff's David Huntsberger on the tour: "We were going to use a Winnebago, but we ended up getting a mini-van instead."

By Patrick Strait Fri., May 10 2013 at 11:00 AM

Categories: Comedy

L-R: Tig Notaro, David Huntsberger, Kyle Dunnigan

Over the past year, podcast hosts have become almost pseudo-rock stars. They tour the country, draw in hundreds of fans to their live shows, and pull impressive guests in every town they visit. But that doesn't mean they're living the rock-star lifestyle.

Comedians Tig Notaro, Kyle Dunnigan, and David Huntsberger are the captains behind the successful Professor Blastoff podcast, and they're currently traveling the country, via mini-van, letting live audiences share in the action. Before the trio hits the Cedar in Minneapolis this Sunday, we talked with Huntsberger, who at that time was hanging out with his fellow hosts at Dunnigan's mom's house in Connecticut, to chat about their first-ever podcast tour.

Tags:

David Huntsberger, Kyle Dunnigan, podcasts, Professor Blastoff, Tig Notaro

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Comedy

Lizz Winstead celebrates her 30th anniversary in comedy Saturday

By Olivia LaVecchia Fri., May 10 2013 at 9:48 AM

Categories: Comedy

photo by Mindy Tucker for City Pages

Happy 3-0!

One night in 1983, Lizz Winstead was watching The Tonight Show with a friend. After cracking up over George Carlin, the friend turned to Winstead and suggested that she might be good at comedy herself.

Six months of clandestine joke-writing and comedy-watching later, Winstead did it: On December 18, 1983, she hit her first open mic at Dudley Riggs.

This Saturday, Winstead will celebrate 30 years since that first standup performance. In the decades since, she's created TV shows like The Daily Show and O2Be, written her new memoir, Lizz Free or Die, and most recently, prepared to create a documentary about the state of women's health care across the country. On Saturday, onstage at the Woman's Center of Minneapolis, Winstead will reflect on all of it.

"I'm doing something I really have never done before," explains Winstead. "I was trying to figure out a way for me to address this milestone, and I realized the best way to do it is anecdotally. So it's going to be an evening of storytelling."

See Also:
- COVER: The life of Lizz Winstead: The Daily Show creator returns home to Minnesota
- Slideshow: Comedian Lizz Winstead: Behind the scenes

More »

Tags:

Anniversary, Brian Unger, Comedy, Frank Conniff, Gene Winstead, Lizz Winstead

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Comedy

Parks and Recreation writer Joe Mande comes to Acme

By P. F Wilson Mon., May 6 2013 at 10:31 AM

Categories: Comedy

Headlining comedian Joe Mande has a day job, albeit a cool one. As a staff writer on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, he still manages to perform standup around the country, sometimes featuring for Aziz Ansari, one of the show's stars. Some get into standup as a way to get into TV writing, while others start in a writer's room before being seduced by the freedom of the comedy club stage. "I never really had a plan, to be honest," says Mande. "I started doing standup in college, liked it, and started getting writing jobs through that. I really enjoy writing, and love to do it as much as I can."

More »

Tags:

comedy, Joe Mande, Parks and Recreation, standup

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Comedy

Tracy Morgan on the end of 30 Rock: "It's just a chapter in your life. It's not like my aunt or uncle died, you know?"

By Nicole Crosbie Thu., May 2 2013 at 11:30 AM

Categories: Comedy

Photo by Clay Patrick McBride

This Saturday, funnyman Tracy Morgan will be in Minneapolis for his latest standup show, Tracy Morgan: Excuse My French. Best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (Brian Fellows, anyone?) and his role as Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock, Morgan says his standup material is edgy, funny, and even thought-provoking.

"I get my material from life, living, and my experience," Morgan says. "I talk about sex. I talk about racism. I talk about some of the dark things going on in the world right now. I talk about the joy in my life. I talk about family situations, and I inject my sense of humor into them."

Tags:

30 Rock, comedy, Pantages Theater, Saturday Night Live, standup, Tracy Morgan

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Comedy

Watch (formerly local) standup Pete Lee on Letterman

By Jessica Armbruster Thu., Apr. 11 2013 at 11:51 AM

Categories: Comedy

"I feel like some comics, or any type of artist, really, think that you have to be a tortured soul or something in order to be a great," Pete Lee explained in an interview last year with City Pages. "I don't agree with that at all. You can be a nice person who works hard and succeeds, and that's what I've always tried to do."

This take on the art of standup runs throughout Lee's sets, which affectionately poke fun at his wife, gender politics, and growing up a poor geek. The self-proclaimed nice guy got his start onstage at Acme Comedy Co. as a college student at the University of Minnesota. His hard work has definitely led to success. Since relocating to New York City post graduation, Lee has appeared on VH1's Best Week Ever, NBC's Last Comic Standing, and Comedy Central's Premium Blend. He also hosts the Nonsense Podcast with actor Jay Ferraro.

Another sign that his career is on the upswing: Earlier this week Lee killed it on The Late Show with David Letterman. Watch his magnificent set after the jump.

Related stories:
Pete Lee: The most interesting man in comedy

Tags:

comedy, David Letterman, Pete Lee, standup

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Comedy

Acme headliners attempt to avoid crashing and burning

By Patrick Strait Wed., Apr. 10 2013 at 10:44 AM

Categories: Comedy

What happens when you take four comedy-club headliners, lock them in a room together, and tell them they have to come up with an entirely new set of material? We'll soon find out.

All this week, Acme Comedy Co. is doing something completely different (and, some might say, bat-shit crazy), with the second installment of Crash & Burn.

Related stories:
Tim Harmston talks Acme history before 20 year anniversary showcase
Acme Comedy Co: Best little wedding chapel in comedy

Tags:

Acme Comedy Co., Crash & Burn, Emily Galati, Mike Lukas, Tim Harmston, Tim Slagle

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Comedy

Bill Burr spoils the end of Breaking Bad, investigates the Juicy Lucy

By Patrick Strait Thu., Mar. 21 2013 at 11:30 AM

Categories: Comedy

Koury Angelo

Bill Burr has made a name for himself by being a cranky dude.

The 44-year-old Massachusetts-based comic has been grinding away for the past 20 years, establishing himself as a "comic's-comic." Over the past few years, Burr has seen his fan base jump thanks to a unique Netflix-first model of releasing his latest special, a hugely successful weekly podcast, and a role on a little show called Breaking Bad. But at the end of the day, he's still the same angry guy. This week, Burr roles into town for two shows at the State Theatre that are guaranteed to have his signature gives-no-fucks attitude.

Before he steamrolls our fair city, we managed to sit down with the comedian to talk about the Juicy Lucy, Minnesota Wild hockey, and the end of Breaking Bad.

Tags:

Bill Burr, Breaking Bad, Minnesota Wild, standup comedy, State Theatre

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Comedy

Seth Meyers: "If people have enjoyed SNL at any point in the last 10 years, they will enjoy the show"

By Nicole Crosbie Wed., Mar. 20 2013 at 9:35 AM

Categories: Comedy

Photo courtesy of NBC

Recently Seth Meyers, head writer for Saturday Night Live and Weekend Update anchor, took a break from working on sketches with Justin Timberlake -- who Meyers describes as "the best host of the modern era" -- to chat with City Page about his upcoming standup show at Treasure Island Resort & Casino.

"I think if you know my Weekend Update persona, my standup is fairly close to that," he says. "I like to talk about current events, and I can tell stories about my own life that would be indulgent to do on SNL."

Tags:

Saturday Night Live, Seth Meyers, SNL, standup comedy, Treasure Island Resort & Casino

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Comedy

Pauly Shore in New Hope: "I'm just excited to give people a piece of the Wieze"

By Patrick Strait Tue., Mar. 19 2013 at 11:02 AM

Categories: Comedy

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and think to yourself, "I wonder what Pauly Shore is up to these days?" Us too.

It turns out "the Wiezel" is not just surviving, but still actively slaying audiences across the country, including some towns that you wouldn't expect to see one of the biggest names of the '90s taking the stage.

This Friday and Saturday, the man responsible for some of the greatest films of our generation will be making a stop in New Hope at the New Hope Cinema Grill for four shows guaranteed to satisfy your inner-Bio-Dome fan. Before he wiezes the juice this weekend, we chatted with Shore about his career, his newest project, and what it's like to be a comedy vagabond.

Tags:

New Hope Cinema Grill, Pauly Shore, Son in Law, standup comedy

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Comedy

Paula Poundstone kicks off Wits spring season doing...something

By Patrick Strait Tue., Mar. 12 2013 at 10:10 AM

Categories: Comedy

Paula Poundstone is coming to town this Friday night, but she has no idea why.

"I'm really excited about it, but I'm not really sure what I'm doing," she says without the slightest hint of sarcasm. The iconic humorist will be the featured guest (alongside Robyn Hitchcock) for the Minnesota Public Radio's first Wits event of 2013.

"They told me there will be sketches, which I love, but I don't really know what else to expect. I asked if I needed to prepare anything and they told me no, which is perfect for me. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Related articles:
Wits announces spring season