Review: Bear Down Podcast

Do you like Chicago Bears football and UCB Theater?  Well, not surprisingly, the podcast world has you covered.

The podcast runs weekly and features Matt Walsh of Upright Citizen's Brigade fame, screenwriter Scot Armstrong (he wrote Old School and a variety of other films) talking about the Chicago Bears football team, along with some friends of theirs who are Chicago bears fans.

This podcast is about 75% football, occasionally diverting into football-related topics, which is entertaining for the rest of us who don't follow football at all.

One example of these discussions would be which football team mascot would win in a fight were they to be real; for instance, could a bear actually fight a jet travelling 200 miles an hour?  One theory - the bear could gnaw on the wheels during takeoff.

Also, stories about Evel Knievel punching out a golfer, only to be restrained by Joe Namath? Done. 

I should point out that the football discussion is genuine, with Walsh and the rest really discussing the minutia of the game, from plays, to players to coaches, and a bunch of other things I do not understand because I do not follow football.

They still make it interesting for the non-fan, though, which counts.  For the comedy/Chicago Bears fan, this will probably be ideal, and perhaps group therapy for this season for how badly the Bears seem to be doing right now.

website: http://www.beardownpodcast.com/

Maria Bamford Meet-Up

The Lakeshore Theater in Chicago recently had a meet-up in which all the local comedians were asked to come on down to the theater and talk with Maria Bamford in a very informal manner.

About thirty comics, writers, or friends of either showed up to the event. The meet-up, at Maria's insistence involved everyone going around the room, introducing themselves like they were in AA, and then giving a brief background on who they were (comic, writer, other) and what they needed most to work on. Then Maria had everyone come up to the stage, where a mic was on and do one small bit that they were working on.

Maria herself did a joke or two about her boyfriend who happened to be there.

I should note it wasn't a lecture, it wasn't Maria giving pointers or tips about how to improve this or that, it was more a formal chat about what people were doing and where they were with their art. Also Maria noted in a very serious way that the road lonely, but moreso, she just felt it was good to meet people and find out what people are working on. She said it was more "selfish" than anything as she got more out of it than the people who were there, but that certainly did not seem to be the case.

The only advice she actually had to give was something she learned from Emo Philips about doing comedy: "You start off, you do stand up, people come and watch you, then more people come and watch you, and more people come and watch you. That's it."

I should point out that being that most of the people there were comedians, there was a lot of talk about working on overcoming fear, anxiety, OCD, depression, and trying to overcome the fear of being in public with other people. So, in a way it was almost like group therapy. In a good way. It was the feel-good Chicago comedian event of the summer.

After it was all done, Maria said her goodbyes, posed for a few pictures, and headed off for what must have been a needed rest before her nightly sets. Many thanks to the Lakeshore Theater for hosting this very nice event.

Messing With A Friend

Susan Messing is one of those people who is famous in Chicago, but outside of Chicago you probably have never heard of her. No, she wasn't on Will and Grace. The only notable recent thing you may have seen her in is the stripper in traction in Let's Go To Prison. No, wait, nobody saw that movie. Nevermind.

It's a shame. It's a really, really big shame that more people don't know of her, because she's fucking awesome. She's a quick wit, deft with characters, and even at 45, cute as a button.

If you're in Chicago, one of the places you can see her do her thing is The Annoyance Theater, where her show Messing With A Friend (get it? her last name is a verb!) is coming up on it's third year.

The premise is simple, as Susan usually introduces it: "I'm going to get a suggestion and then me and my friend are going to fuck around." By "fuck around" she means doing some improvised comedy scenes with a guest which changes weekly. Sometimes the guests are semi-famous like "That guy from SNL" and "I think that guy was on...what was that shitty sketch comedy show that I am glad is off the air? Oh yeah! Mad TV."

Most of the time she brings some of the most talented people around Chicago that you have never heard of to perform with her. Even then, Susan usually outperforms them. She is a lady who is not afraid to do anything, whether it be to swear up a storm, or sit on an audience member's lap, or chew their gum, or comment in character that she has to pee, then actually go to the bathroom for five minutes. It's kind of like having an Super-Plus Amy Sedaris perform for you.

If you are in the Chicago area and don't have anything to do on a Thursday night, I recommend stopping by this show. It is only five dollars, which allows you extra spending money for drinks at the bar.

Co-Ed Prison Sluts: The Musical

In Chicago, the longest-running musical is about a girl named Alice who is sent to a co-ed prison after killing her parents. While there she learns the ropes from a variety of prisoners who have interests from swearing in a theatrical prose to having sex with anything that moves. She also learns to fear...The Clown.

This production of The Annoyance Theatre was originally put on in 1988 and ran until 2000 when the old Annoyance Theater was demolished to make room for a Blockbuster, because there just aren't enough of those. Also, Mick Napier, author of the play, had his dog Kahlua as a cast member. Napier said the play would run until his dog died, and indeed the dog died.

The show was brought back for a limited run in July of 2008 in honor of its 20th Anniversary and it proved so popular it was given an open run.

So, the play itself now in 2009 is still not something you would want to take your Grandmother to. There's lots of swearing, songs about swearing, murder, cross-dressing and auto-erotic asphyxiation, but it all seems nice and quaint now. The play not as mind-blowing as I'm sure it was in 1988. I mean, in that time, we've had South Park.

Still, there is a reason that this show has run for so long - it's got some really catchy songs, it's really funny, and it's got a series of special guest dog cast members eating fake hamsters. If you are in the Chicago area on a Friday night and got $15, it's a good thing to see.