Farley Elliott

Oh noes! Photo by whoshotya via LAist Flickr. Welcome back folks! This week has a lot of podcast action going on all over town, but the big news has to be the 8th Annual LA Improv Comedy Festival taking place at iO West. Some of the best in the city will be on hand to receive their respective accolades and take some stage time for themselves. Don't let that stop you from catching the...

Waddup bird?! Photo by hercwad via LAist Flickr photo pool. There's plenty of great comedy to get out and see this week, especially at Largo. They've got The Mighty Boosh's Rich Fulcher and Paul F. Tompkins on back to back nights. Otherwise, there are a few benefit shows (which always get love here), the iO West Harold Competition winds down, and the big MaxFunDrive bash at Meltdown Comics (which is secretly killing comedy lately),...

What a hipster mime. Photo of via trustcandy on LAist Flickr pool. Largo is simply a juggernaut this week with comedy (not to mention their Chuck Pahlaniuk speaking engagement on Tuesday). They've got some of the best stand up you'll find this week, and that includes Comedy is Dead being back at Hollywood Forever. Let's keep it short & sweet this week: hit me up to get listed, and get out to see shows!...

Sitting knee to knee in the hot, dark, rectangular back room of a coffee shop on Santa Monica Boulevard, it’s easy to think you’ve been lied to. Hoodwinked. This comedy thing, it’s nothing but blank, bleak spaces with one brick wall and a silent cry for touch up paint. Bamboozled. But then you look around, and realize the only reason your knee is getting cozy with its neighbor in the first place is because...

Well, sort of. The End Times Opry, a popular New York City genre-fusion show, will be making its West Coast debut at the Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock on May 21st at 8pm. With live music, street poetry, stand up and sketch comedy all on the evening’s docket, End Times feels more like a celebration of life than a nod towards darker days ahead. Originally started as a creative collective in North...

He sure is thirsty! Photo by victoriabernal via LAist Flickr pool. The Hollywood Improv isn't going to have trouble pulling in spectators and celebrities alike, as David Spade and Jim Breuer all drop in for sets throughout the week. Over at UCB, two epic shows (Prison Freaks and The S.W.A.) are taking place, ensuring grumbling diners at Birds and happy fans waiting in line. As always, feel free to email me if you've got...

There's a bunch of great benefit shows all over the land this week, so now's your chance to be philanthropical and giggly at the same time. There's also some big names on the horizon, with Russell Brand, Janeane Garofalo, and Elephant Larry all putting up some limited engagements around town. Combine that with regular show stalwarts like Harold Night at UCB, Worst Laid Plans, and the opening of the LA Comedy Festival AND the...

This cat hates comedy. Photo by lucyrk via LAist Flickr. Guys, I'm not joking around when I say this may be the best week of comedy we've had so far this year. Carol Burnett and Tim Conway are at Writer's Bloc, the Sarah Silverman cast is at Largo, the writers of Conan O'Brien are all doing stand up, Jon Dore is doing a show, Tang is at iO West, UCB has The Apple Sisters...

Rawr! Photo via eviloars on LAist flickr. This must be storytelling week, because The Moth, Mortified, Dirty Laundry and Sit N' Spin are all taking place within a few days of each other. You can at least make one of those, right? Thankfully, there's also a heaping helping of improv and stand up to round out the days and make this a fantastic week of comedy. If you're interested in trying to get listed...

Bobcat Goldthwait at last year's LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival. Photo courtesy LA Comedy Shorts Film Fest. Downtown has been working awful hard lately on putting together some great independent comedy events. Most notably this year has to be the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival, a five-day event dedicated to short comedic films, from newcomers and big names alike. Patrick Warburton, Brian Cranston, Jane Lynch, the Funny or Die crew, and a bunch of...