Well it’s been another week, which means another week of; you guessed it, HECKA FUN! “Hey alright, giddy up!” Its common knowledge fun and laughter go hand in hand, but media democracy? Sure it does and that’s why stand-up comedy is media democracy.
My girlfriend and I went to an underground, once a month, awesome, and, FREE comedy club. FREE! Free comedy’s always funnier or way worse, but in this case really funny. On a side note this is the place where I bombed in front of my parents, my girlfriends parents, and about 30 of my friends showed up, got way too drunk, and as a result one of them was beaten in the street, awww good memories.
The name of the show is Speech Therapy Comedy a first Friday of the month comedy show, at 9pm, held at, Il Pirata bar and restaurant(Italian for pirate), in Petrero Hill at 2007 16th St. @ Utah. Il Pirata, or as I like to say “The Pirate!” is a slight step up from a dive bar/sports bar, it’s dimly lit, with flat screens displaying sports games, a restaurant in a separate room where the comedy is held, only separated by a doorway and a curtain, along with two heated outdoor patios, and from what I’ve read “The Pirate” turns into a dance club at night, but were not here to dance we’re here for the hilarity! As for the bar it includes over 18 beers on tap at reasonable prices ($4-5 a pint) and strong mixed drinks too. The restaurant offers good quality affordable priced pizzas, salads, pastas, calzones, and sandwiches’ (pirate food I guess). In both rooms round, red, cushy, booths hug the walls with small tables and stools speckled near the bar. In the 2nd room where the funnies are made the floor is crammed with foldable chairs set in rows and to left of the stage is a DJ booth where the organizer, Akiko(I don’t know how to spell Akiko), of the show spins intro music for the comedians to take the stage to.
The comedy room, painted with underwater seascapes, and a naked mermaid, gets packed, so it’s wise to show up slightly earlier or close to 9pm or you’ll have to stand. The show has one headliner, 7-8 other comedians with the world famous Tony Sparks hosting, and for the most part they’re all good, but of course there’s a couple bad ones being a bad comedian myself I know my kind. Some of the more hilarious comedians were Stroy, Marvellus, and Kasseem Bently (he doesn’t have a myspace). Each comedian gets 10 minutes with the headliner getting 15-20. At times the show can drag due to too many comedians, especially if you get stuck watching 2 bad comedians in a row, but just go to the bar with all the filth balls and drink the unfunniness away.
But where is the media democracy? How can we enjoy jokes without our media democracy?! Worry not friends. Wikipedia explains “Its proponents advocate monitoring and reforming the mass media, strengthening public service broadcasting, and developing and participating in alternative media and citizen journalism” Well, if I’m not mistaken stand-up comedy is all 3. This Stand-up show and most others are noncommercial forms of media funded by voluntary donations from the public and individuals, with alternative opinions to that of the establishment, and the act of citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information, by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis. Also, stand-up and media democracy have been described as grass roots. Check mate! Stand-up is media democracy!
My girlfriend and I went to an underground, once a month, awesome, and, FREE comedy club. FREE! Free comedy’s always funnier or way worse, but in this case really funny. On a side note this is the place where I bombed in front of my parents, my girlfriends parents, and about 30 of my friends showed up, got way too drunk, and as a result one of them was beaten in the street, awww good memories.
The name of the show is Speech Therapy Comedy a first Friday of the month comedy show, at 9pm, held at, Il Pirata bar and restaurant(Italian for pirate), in Petrero Hill at 2007 16th St. @ Utah. Il Pirata, or as I like to say “The Pirate!” is a slight step up from a dive bar/sports bar, it’s dimly lit, with flat screens displaying sports games, a restaurant in a separate room where the comedy is held, only separated by a doorway and a curtain, along with two heated outdoor patios, and from what I’ve read “The Pirate” turns into a dance club at night, but were not here to dance we’re here for the hilarity! As for the bar it includes over 18 beers on tap at reasonable prices ($4-5 a pint) and strong mixed drinks too. The restaurant offers good quality affordable priced pizzas, salads, pastas, calzones, and sandwiches’ (pirate food I guess). In both rooms round, red, cushy, booths hug the walls with small tables and stools speckled near the bar. In the 2nd room where the funnies are made the floor is crammed with foldable chairs set in rows and to left of the stage is a DJ booth where the organizer, Akiko(I don’t know how to spell Akiko), of the show spins intro music for the comedians to take the stage to.
The comedy room, painted with underwater seascapes, and a naked mermaid, gets packed, so it’s wise to show up slightly earlier or close to 9pm or you’ll have to stand. The show has one headliner, 7-8 other comedians with the world famous Tony Sparks hosting, and for the most part they’re all good, but of course there’s a couple bad ones being a bad comedian myself I know my kind. Some of the more hilarious comedians were Stroy, Marvellus, and Kasseem Bently (he doesn’t have a myspace). Each comedian gets 10 minutes with the headliner getting 15-20. At times the show can drag due to too many comedians, especially if you get stuck watching 2 bad comedians in a row, but just go to the bar with all the filth balls and drink the unfunniness away.
But where is the media democracy? How can we enjoy jokes without our media democracy?! Worry not friends. Wikipedia explains “Its proponents advocate monitoring and reforming the mass media, strengthening public service broadcasting, and developing and participating in alternative media and citizen journalism” Well, if I’m not mistaken stand-up comedy is all 3. This Stand-up show and most others are noncommercial forms of media funded by voluntary donations from the public and individuals, with alternative opinions to that of the establishment, and the act of citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information, by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis. Also, stand-up and media democracy have been described as grass roots. Check mate! Stand-up is media democracy!
Posts
