High Altitude Laughter

March 1st, 2007 at 05:09pm rochelle 35

Last night I checked out the HBO Comedy Arts Festival and the laughter was abundant in the tent when "Windy City Sketch"  took the stage. This featured event showcases Chicago improv groups. The stage opens with "Misled" a sketch comedy group that will flash you back to memories of last year laugh out loud comedy group "The Whitest Kids U know". My favorite "Misled" sketch they did was their interpretation of 4th grade notes-it is laugh out loud funny! From there we were introduced to the comic stylings of "KevInda" where the introduction was shocking, explosive and downright funny. Their genius lies in their political satire and their ability to embody characters we all know. My favorites included the "Coffee Shop" girls and the reading of "Curious George" a book that will never be read the same...next "Windy City Sketch" concluded with the comedic performance of "RagDolls" and their sketch show "Moist" which provided laughter with their take on Feminist's along with their tribute song to raising kids. After the fun in the tent I was lucky enough, so I thought, to snag a ticket to see the main event "George Carlin, Still Bringin' It". The highlight of the show was the retrospective film clip of George Carlin that HBO created prior to him taking the stage. After that it was a long night at the Wheeler. George told the audience he was 69 and that he was actually would be performing a "workshop" in it's adolescent form. He had his notes and some of his jokes worked. I enjoyed his new synonym for the word "fellow" and his list of advantages of being 69.  I am sure his "die-hard" fans were pleased however after 40 minutes some of the audience left and I saw others sleeping. In the show George Carlin has a bit on how he hates when people "Don't know when the conversation is over"  and a bit when people are just "circling the drain"- there was such a disconnect from the material to the audience it was almost like George was talking about himself. Anyway overall the night was fun and I heard from other attendees that "The Rocky Mountain Comedy" and "Stand Up B" were both hilarious. For a full schedule of events log onto http://hbocomedyfestival.com

Entry Filed under: Politics, Aspen, Nightlife, Comedy, Pop, HBO Comedy Fest