Farley Elliott

Photo courtesy ~db~ via LAist Flickr pool. As the week slows down in anticipation of the July Fourth holiday, you can expect a great mix of shows to be heating up. Gravid Water is back at UCB on Sunday, Largo has Brian Posehn, Patton Oswalt, Greg Behrendt and more - all tonight. Oh, and Albert Brooks is at the Writers Bloc. Good golly! If you'd like to tell me I'm doing a great job,...

Matt Braunger at Brunch. Photo courtesy Sam Varela. In this town, you’ll spot about as many new burger places as you will alternative stand up comedy shows. That is, a lot; especially along Sunset Boulevard as it drags its way from the beach to Elysian Park. (OK, maybe Pacific Palisades isn’t a hotbed of comedy, but you get the idea). So when The Park on Sunset in Echo Park - with their fantastic Wednesday...

The name Groundlings is ubiquitous to not only the comedy landscape of Los Angeles, but to all of America. As a smallish school along a particularly shop-heavy strip of Melrose, Groundlings has helped to usher in fresh face after fresh face to the homes of millions of Americans.

Photo courtesy OCFF, by Lisa Rose. It’s Saturday, May 28th - Memorial Day weekend for those of you keeping track at home - which means if you’re reading this, you might just be looking for something to do tonight. Now, don’t be ashamed; one of the benefits of living in a city like Los Angeles is that there’s so many options, all the time. And when the trifecta of food, movies, and the outdoors...

One half of a racecar bed? Photo courtesy dopey via LAist Flickr group. This week is absolutely buried under a mountain of great indie shows. From the first ever Brunch through Dave Foley stepping in at the Also-Ran Comedy Hour, there is an absolute plethora of great (and cheap) shows to see around town. If you'd like to see a show listed here in the future, email me and I'LL DECIDE YOUR FATE. MONDAY...

Photo courtesy ihatemyscreenname via LAist flickr. Well, Brent Weinbach sure is the star of the week. He's all over town, prepping for the upcoming Bridgetown Comedy Festival. Elsewhere, yours truly has a show, Benson is at Largo, and there's more than enough improv to go around. Let me know if you'd like me to list a future show, and I'll try to make it happen. MONDAY 4/11 Mystic Mondays, 10:30p Del Close Theater at...

Photo courtesy Radiolab. Oh look, another New York transplant is heading out west - at least for a night or two. WNYC’s Radiolab, the popular public radio / podcast storytelling show with a scientific bent, will be at Royce Hall on Wednesday (sold out) and Thursday evening as part of a three-city tour, eventually culminating in Seattle at the end of the month. For those of you not familiar with Radiolab, it is consistently...

Photo courtesy theuglyyou via LAist Flickr pool. This week, LAst Laugh is keeping things close to home (with the exception of Bert Kreischer down in Irvine all weekend). You can run over to the Melgard Public house or Largo on Monday, then move east for shows at UCB, iO West, or The Complex on Santa Monica. A week of great shows, and you don't even have to get on the freeway! If you think...

Imagine, if you will, a down-and-out porn director, desperate to make a legitimate film. Naturally, his reputation precedes him, and the only people willing to make his dream come true are the ragtag crew members from his porno sets. So, armed with skeezy studio money earmarked for a particularly boorish production, the director finds himself secretly filming legitimate cinema…with porn stars. Not exactly ‘high brow’, but then again neither is spending an afternoon in a papasan chair eating Cool Ranch Doritos and nursing a headache.

Photo via WSJ, courtesy the Poehlers. Amy Poehler has been a recognizable face in American comedy for years, with a successful stint on Saturday Night Live and her current role as Leslie Knope on NBC’s Parks & Rec. She’s also a founding member of LA’s own Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, as well as real-life wife to everyone’s favorite Will Arnett. But what was Amy like as a kid, or growing up and going to...

Photo courtesy UCLA Live. In the mood for something subversive? You're in luck. The ever-peculiar John Waters will be taking the Royce Hall stage on February 23rd as part of the ongoing UCLA Live season. Parents: you've been warned. Waters is best known as a charming (if eccentric) countercultural icon, having helmed such cult films as 1972's Pink Flamingos, Cecil B. Demented and the original Hairspray (which was turned into a hit Broadway show,...

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...