Sabtu, 19 Desember 2009

No Christmas Business, But...



Hello Show Attenders,

Following a spectacular Holiday Spectacular show with THREE guests (Louis Katz, Amy Dresner and Chris Thayer), The Business will be dark for the Christmas holiday week. However, we will be back for a big New Years Eve Eve show on Wed Dec 30th 2009. No secrets revealed yet, but plans are in the works for some knockout guests.





...and as Jan crests on the horizon, The Business is proud to ba a part of SF Sketchfest 2010 on both Thur Jan 21st and Friday Jan 22nd. Still at the Dark Room, but joined by new guests and other great sketch groups. Check www.sfsketchfest.com for more details. These will be the only Business shows until February, so come by and get your Biz Fix.

THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT IN 2009!

Sincerely,
The Businessmen

Selasa, 20 Oktober 2009

Oct 14th Re-Cap



It was a veritable barn-burner of a show on October 14th at The Business! That is not to be confused with a barn-raiser, which connotes a successfully comedy show in the Amish community. Instead of churning butter, the audience churned with laughter. Instead of scorning technology, we used microphones to provide amplified sound. And instead of a bunch of guys with beards standing around and talking, our show had performances from Alex Koll and guest star Kyle Kinnane.

Sean Keane began the show discussing his childhood speech impediment, his illustrious career as a teenage musical theater performer, obscene phone calls, writing fake letters to the newspaper, and finally, how his dad started kissing him hello and goodbye at age 51. Truly a moving and unsettling set. Alex Koll followed, delivering a preview of his hosting gig the next night at the SF Weekly Music Awards. ("7:30 - Arrive. 8:05 - Introduce yourself. 'Hello. How's it going?'") He also explained the similarities between Charles Manson's parole board testimony and the menu at a really good Chinese restaurant. Chris Garcia followed with an extended impression of a ex-Live 105 employee turned alcoholic vagrant. Though thrown off by audience member W. Kamau Bell's repeated suggestion of "Fishbone" as a 90's alternative act, Garcia-as-hobo delighted the crowd.


Before the show, audience members were asked to fill out index cards listing something they were afraid of. The night's next performer, Bucky Sinister, opened his set by reading the cards and riffing off of each of the frightening topics. Perfect for October and the impending Halloween season! Bucky also explained to the crowd why it might be useful to have a tattoo, of your own hand, on your chest, flipping the bird. (Because when the cops arrest you, and your hands are cuffed behind your back, you can still flip them off.)


Guest performer Kyle Kinnane was delayed by an overturned Safeway truck on the Bay Bridge, but his set didn't suffer in the least. He did express dismay that the horrible traffic snarl was caused by something so uncool as spilled produce. We also learned some entertaining and, again, somewhat disturbing information, about what it is like to use a bar bathroom in a really bad part of Chicago.

Finally, headliner Hari Kondabolu continued the night's informal theme of hilariously unsettling personal confessions and finished with Kondabolu Klassics about Vitamin Water and gentrification.. It was perhaps the greatest show The Business has had, in terms of quality, variety, audience, and, of course, penis references.

Senin, 12 Oktober 2009

Hari's Back...




Wed October 14th marks the return of our most frequent guest, Hari Kondabolu! Officially known as the "Fifth Businessman", Hari never fails to deliver the word-goods on the stage-place. Get your tickets here:

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/83854

Kamis, 04 Juni 2009

May 20th Show recap

May 20th, featured our largest audience to date and the most interesting show to boot. After losing the traditional opening game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, Alex Koll discussed a variety of topics, including what song his father might sing if he had Alzheimer's (working title: "I'm Somebody's Dad"). Sean Keane followed with ten minutes, primarily about the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia and why people hate the dollar coin.

Special guest Eric Andre, visiting from LA, then performed fifteen minutes of energetic, crowd-pleasing standup. His mom was in attendance, so it was especially great that he killed it. Bucky Sinister - totally anchoring these shows every week - did his usual "rambly, ranty storytelling" to much acclaim. If you are interested in learning about cocaine, 80's gangs, door-to-door atheism recruitment, or even why Jared Leto gets his ass kicked so badly in every movie he's in, just listen to Bucky.

We then premiered the first three episodes of Elevator to Space, a new web series starring Alex, Sean, Chris, and Louis Katz. Special guest #2 Nato Green then came out for a segment called "Ask a Cuban", where he queried Chris Garcia on various Cuban issues, including racism, class issues, and why Cuban slang is so damn weird.

The show ended with an improvised talk show from our final special guests, NYC comic Hari Kondabolu and his brother Ashok. The Kondabolu brothers discussed the (media-created) phenomenon of blipsters, and Ashok openly speculated about how his life would improve if Hari had Aziz Ansari's career. I (Sean Keane) returned to discuss my interview with Gallagher, and Alex Koll also returned to chat about travel. Finally, the brothers showed a terrifying movie trailer, and The Business was done for the night.

Rabu, 03 Juni 2009

The Business: June 3rd

San Francisco can't get enough of the underground comedy sensation, "The Business", and neither can our fabulous guest stars. Fresh off a killer performance at the SF Punch Line showcase, New York City's (and Seattle's) Andy Haynes joins us this Wednesday, along with local legend Brent Weinbach (Comedians of Comedy Tour, Andy Kaufman Award).

To paraphrase Wooderson, that's what I love about The Business shows - they keep getting better, and the admission price just stays the same (Five dollars).

Selasa, 26 Mei 2009

The Business: May 27th

The Business keeps chugging along this week with a brand-new show, and a brand-new guest star - Seattle's Andy Haynes, from "Last Comic Standing" and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival.

You can call The Business "butter", because these shows are on a roll! (If you're a vegan, you can call The Business "organic hummus" for the same reason.) Even in the face of rave reviews and ever-increasing audiences, The Business still costs just five dollars. Because we care.

UPDATE:
Haynes and Garcia are OUT, Janine Brito and Mike Spiegelman are IN!

Senin, 18 Mei 2009

The Business: May 20th

This week on The Business: Chris, Bucky, Sean and Alex welcome back comedian Hari Kondabolu. Along with a full dose of our regular titters and tee-ha-ha's, Hari and his brother Ashok will present a special session with The Kondabolu Brothers.

ALSO JUST ADDED:

We have comedian Eric Andre, and a cameo appearance by Nato Green, asking the questions we've all wanted to know about Cubans. Still just five bucks, still BYOB, still waters run deep.

Minggu, 10 Mei 2009

The Business: May 13th

The Business has a very special show this week, May 13th. It's Chris Garcia's birthday, so he made a wish to have two hilarious friends join the lineup this week. And it came true! Hari Kondabolu ("Live at Gotham", "Jimmy Kimmel Live") and Sheng Wang ("Live at Gotham", "Just For Laughs" festival) join us this week for SF's best underground comedy showcase. Still just five bucks, still BYOB.

Sabtu, 02 Mei 2009

The Business: May 6th

This week, Sean Keane and Alex Koll will be off somewhere, tumbling through ointment as the say. In lieu of this, The Business welcomes Joe Tobin and Kevin Camia to the fold.

Rabu, 29 April 2009

The Business: April 29th

The Business returns this week with its full cast and a warm-up performance by San Francisco Regional Air Guitar Champion "The Awesome." Fresh and smart meets loud and sweaty tonight at 8pm.

Selasa, 21 April 2009

The Business: April 22nd

Sean Keane returns to The Business. Please come witness this amazing spectacle of mother natures richest pageantry, and BYOB.

The Business: April 15th

Sean Keane will not be with us on April 15th, but in his place will be:

Special guest for April 15: NATO GREEN!

Nato Green continues the great tradition of smart, biting, Jewish comedians like Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Joe Lieberman. Nato is the mastermind of Iron Comic, Laugh Out the Vote, Laughing Liberally Local 415, and the New Jew Revue. He's appeared in the Progressive Reading Series and SF Sketchfest 2008.