T.J. Miller Surprises Gotham, Dolph Ziggler Judging Comedy, and Paid or Pain Moves to SiriusXM
Jeffrey Gurian is a writer and comedian in New York who loves to Jump Around. Follow his regular column right here, to find out what’s happening in comedy, and who Jeffrey Gurian ran into this week in and around New York. This week Jeffrey covered the scene at New York Comedy Club, Gotham, the Village Underground, New York Comedy Club…and a castle.
Sal Vulcano, Big Jay Oakerson and Kurt Metzger Head Up Comedy 101 at Village Underground
I’m sure you’ve all heard about Comedy 101 already at The Village Underground, sponsored by The Interrobang and hosted by Ron Bennington and Gail Bennington so I won’t repeat all the details of how great it was, but I will share with you my personal experience of the show. The concept is that experienced comics get to “mentor” inexperienced comics in a way that adds new meaning to the word “mentor” mostly because there isn’t any mentoring going on. The experienced comics/judges in this case were Sal Vulcano, Big Jay Oakerson, and Kurt Metzger. Sal and Jay have been doing a bunch of mash-ups lately and really play well off each other. Kurt plays well off anybody. I don’t know if he plays well WITH everybody, but he definitely plays well OFF anybody. He’s really sharp. The show was hilarious with non-stop comments from the judges. Unbeknownst to me, I happened to be seated with my date under a spotlight. Somewhere in the middle of the show, Kurt yells out, “ Why is there a spotlight on Jeffrey Gurian?” and from that moment on, I became a reference in the show. It was a crazy sold-out show with lots of loyal IBang and Bennington fans in attendance, who all can’t wait for the next one! Me included!
T.J. Miller’s Surprise Appearance at Comedy Juice
Afterwards we all hung out in the street for a while taking photos with the fans, and then we left to catch at least part of Comedy Juice at Gotham Comedy Club. Just as Comedy Juice was ending for the evening, and everyone was getting ready to leave, the host announced a special guest had just come in. And out of nowhere who appears but T.J. Miller, who wore one of his usual unusual outfits, with kind of a golf hat, sport jacket and loafers that he himself made fun of during his set. One thing with T.J. you can always count on him to do the unexpected. He’s always got so much going on too, and he talked about his upcoming films Emoji Movie: Express Yourself due out in 2017, and Office Christmas Party due out this year.
Dolph Ziggler Spotted Judging Rel Battle Roast Battle
I must have built in radar for Roast Battles because I always happen to walk into New York Comedy Club when one is going on. Emilio Savone said it’s amazing that I always happen to be there. Maybe they have one every night and that’s how it happens. Anyway, this night was fun as usual, with the main battle being between Marc Gerber and single mom comic Julie Kottakis. They seemed to have had some history between them. But it was one of the judges that took center stage this time. None other than WWE wrestling superstar Dolph Ziggler was a judge and in town to participate in a championship bout at SummerSlam at the Barclays Center against Dean Ambrose. He’s the #1 contender for the title. Dolph, who told me his real name is actually Nick Nemeth said he chose the name Dolph Ziggler about 7-8 years ago because he had always been a big fan of Dolph Lundgren. He said he wanted to be a wrestler since the age of 5 when he went to a show at the Richfield Coliseum, in Cleveland, Ohio where he’s from. He does approximately 300 promotional events a year, and just got back from Australia, New Zealand and Japan and after SummerSlam was off to Mexico. The dude is also a stand-up comedian and one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet. While in town Dolph has been doing charity work and particularly visiting children’s hospitals to spread a little cheer and hope to the sick kids who are his fans. And of course, he’s pals with my good pal, wrestling legend/stand-up comic Mick Foley.
Aries Spears Brings Political UnCorrectness to Gotham
My man Aries Spears was headlining Gotham later in the week, and said it was great to be back in such a sexy city, and then went on to do a very sexy and raunchy act. He’s like a comedy philosopher with very strong views on race and the transgender thing that’s become so popular these days with all the to-do about Caitlyn Jenner. He’s also very politically incorrect, which is refreshing, and the audience loved it. He spotted two muscular black guys in matching too tight tops in the audience and used them as his foils the entire night. He started out by saying, “You know that shirts come in medium too, right?” And he promised them he’d bust on them like the Lionel Richie song, “ All Night Long” … and he did. At the end of the show, they came up and bought his merch and were laughing their asses off. He also does amazing impressions including Stallone and Schwarzenegger, and at the end of his well over an hour set, we chatted briefly on his way over to the merch table. He told me he’s shooting a new special in Philly next week that will probably be for Showtime and he just shot the film Lemon, out in LA, a dark comedy with Nia Long, and Michael Cera about an out-of-work actor who tries to stop his life from unraveling after he’s left by his blind girlfriend played by Judy Greer.
Jay Nog’s Paid or Pain Joins SiriusXM
I went back to attend the first night of the SiriusXM taping of Jay Nog’s Paid or Pain which he co-hosts with Mehran Khaghani, who wears more outrageous jackets than I do! The place was packed and it was like a gladiator’s ring with the audience calling out for “Pain” for the would-be comics who entered the contest. Dominatrix Lady Zombie holds court and hands out the punishment to comics who choose from “The Deck Of Pain.” One guy got whipped so hard she broke a one inch thick wooden stick on his butt. Of course, he acted like it didn’t bother him cause his girlfriend was sitting right in front, but it had to hurt! They had a fake orgasm contest as well as a banana eating contest and for some reason, there are actually guys who enter these contests, when no one really wants to see them deep-throat a banana, or fake an orgasm. Maybe I should speak for myself! Anyway the show is a hit, and the over-all judges were none other than my girls Corinne Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson from the Guys We Fucked podcast!
Wil Sylvince Hosts Short Film Fest
Popped over to the SVA Theatre on West 23rd Street to catch the second night of Wil Sylvince’s NBC Universal Short Film Festival. Packed house for the semi-finals and they gave out all different kinds of popcorn and bottles of water. Lots of comics in attendance including Marie Faustin, Aminah Imani, and one that absolutely shocked me. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see a beautiful girl with dreads and beads in her hair who could tell by the look on my face that I didn’t recognize her. And she was right. It was the first time I saw Zainab Johnson with hair. It’s her new look, and it’s great!
In Hot Water Gets a Very Special Guest…Me
I got to experience the insanity that is Geno Bisconte and Aaron Berg’s Cumia Network podcast In Hot Water when I came on as a guest to talk about my two new books, Laughing Legends and Man Robs Bank with His Chin. I followed Kevin Brennan who seemed to have a lot to yell about, and stayed on to yell some more during my segment. Had no idea he was Neal Brennan’s brother. Also had no idea that Berg puts on wild costumes and does crazy shit during the podcast, however I shouldn’t be surprised to find out ANYTHING about Aaron Berg. Very unique dude. In one segment he ran out and came back wearing a gorilla mask claiming his name was Harambe. It was a really fun show and they said they’d have me back on a day with less yelling.
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In Other News…
Joe Gerics got in touch to let me know about his 3rd annual Free Stand Up Festival coming up at many venues in NYC that he’s co-producing with Andrew Ian Bayroff. Seven nights and 14 shows running from September 9th through the 15th. It’s an inter-borough festival running in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, featuring both established and new talent.
As I announced on Bennington this past week, I took a night off from comedy to attend Sir Ivan’s 60th birthday party at his castle– yes, a REAL fucking castle!– in The Hamptons. The theme was “Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden”, where almost everyone was semi-naked, and I walked around the party in my underwear like a total shmuck! They carried Sir Ivan around in a sedan chair where he sat in a throne wearing a toga, and a bejeweled headdress, referring to himself as G-d, while drones flew overhead filming the entire thing. I promised to post a few photos.
At Sir Ivan’s Castle Party.
And with that, …. I’m OUT!!!
Jeffrey Gurian is a comedian, writer and all around bon vivant in New York City. Subscribe to his YouTube channel, Comedy Matters TV. Photos below Jeffrey Gurian with Dolph Ziggler, Wil Sylvince, Aries Spears and Zainab Johnson.
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