Stand-Up Comedy

[AlexOzzyCake]

Stand-up comedy is a comedic routine in which a comedian performs in front of a live audience whilst speaking directly to them. How do you feel about stand-up comedy? Do you have a favourite stand-up comic? Who's the last stand-up comic you saw perform? Would you ever consider doing stand-up comedy? What's your favourite stand-up joke you've heard? Discuss anything and everything related to stand-up comedy. :D

[droomph]

I think it's cool, blah blah blah. I listen to it all the time, most of them are fine :) I hate the people who talk though. Unless asked, shut up. It's his performance.

One note to the aspiring comedian though - leave your sexual adventures out, unless it pertains to the joke. Talking about Ron Jeremy's big dick only isn't something anybody finds funny.

[Harlequin]

When I think of stand-up comedy I tend to think of local comedians and then Australian comedians first, since they're the ones I am exposed to in some shape or form most often, usually through television. I won't bother to mention any names here, as they are beyond under the radar and are more or less insignificant in the big wide world of stand-up comedy. Buuuuuttt, my all-time favorites have gotta be Joan Rivers and Kathy Griffin. At least, those were the first two who came to mind when I saw this thread. They've essentially got the same schtick, yes, but Joan Rivers has about three millennia of experience on Kathy herself, plus E! Channel more or less dances to Joan's every whim. I love them both! Truly funny people imo

Would I ever perform stand-up comedy myself? Haha, okay, goodbye, seeya later.

[AlexOzzyCake]

Originally Posted by droomph

I think it's cool, blah blah blah. I listen to it all the time, most of them are fine :) I hate the people who talk though. Unless asked, shut up. It's his performance.

You mean when the audience speak? I find it pretty funny 'cos the comedian usually comes up with hilarious replies and strikes them down haha. Plus it really helps showcase just how clever these people really are when they can come up with such great stuff on the spot like that, it's nice knowing the they're not just reading from a script the whole time. :3

Originally Posted by Harlequin

Joan Rivers

Oh lord I love her. Her voice is pretty grating not gonna lie but she's such a funny woman, I absolutely love watching her live shows. It's a shame they're hardly shown any more in the UK for some reason since I'd love to watch her perform more often. D:

Personally my favourite stand-up comic is Sean Lock. He's really sarcastic with his comedy and tells a lot of jokes which other comedians could never get away with and this suits by humour perfectly. At first I didn't really like him much since it took a while to get used to his style of telling jokes, but after hearing him tell one about beating up an imaginary budgie I started to give him more of a chance and now I absolutely love his work. I'm dying to see him live in person but having to make do with TV recordings at the moment!

And no I'd never try performing myself, I'd be way too nervous for that haha.

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Stand-Up comedy reveals the truth about the world in a humourous. It's like these comedians know better about how the world works than scientists and philosophers. Take George Carlin for example. One of his stand-up comedies involved him poking fun of environmentalists preaching to everyone that we need to save the world, and he then says that the world doesn't need any saving because it heals itself from a disaster. He insists us that we should do our daily routine on destroying the Earth until we're gone, and the planet will restore to its former self years later. It's important to take comedian seriously while laughing at their jokes at the same time.

[gimmepie]

I love stand-up. It is one of the hardest things in the world to do really, make people laugh for half an hour or more but it is one of the easiest things to watch if the comedian is any good.

Would I ever do it myself? I actually kind of want to, but on the other hand I'm usually funnier on the spur of the moment.

My favourite stand-up joke... "he's on the lamb... he needs a girlfriend immediately" or Louie's segment on Hide and Seek.

I like a lot of comedians and tend to not remember their names but a few who I do remember are Tom Cotter, Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin, Greg Proops (His improv is better), Drew Carey (See Proops), Louie, Danny Bhoy, Carl Barron, Becky Pedigo, Jim Owen... yeah I REALLY like stand-up haha. I'm really liking Louie, Danny Bhoy and Cotter at the moment though so I'd say those are my current favourites.

[bobandbill]

No mention yet of the likes of say Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey or even an older one like Robin Williams who just spews out comedy? Hmm!

I enjoy watching standup comedy. Probably not something I would do myself but I don't think I'm too bad atm in talking to an audience... it would take a fair bit of practise though, haha.

[AlexOzzyCake]

Originally Posted by bobandbill

Bill Bailey

I love the others that you said, but Bill Bailey is a comedian that I find quite confusing. It may just be due to not hearing much of his work, but after seeing his Cosmic Jam tour and songs like this coming up:

I found out that his comedy doesn't really appeal to me. I don't know whether or not all of his stand-up is like this since he's really funny on Nevermind the Buzzcocks, but based on the tour that I've seen and his general style of performance, he just doesn't really do it for me. Although I've heard soooo many positive reviews of him so I'd love some links to his better work if anyone has some!

[Antemortem]

I haven't seen any live, but my favorites are Wanda Sykes, Joan Rivers, and Jeff Dunham (the ventriloquist stand-up comic). I die everytime I hear Wanda Sykes, and Joan Rivers is a classic. Jeff's is purely dry adult humor that's always very fun and enjoyable. I've yet to hear his latest performance, Minding the Monsters, but I'm aching to do so.

[droomph]

Originally Posted by Antemortem

Wanda Sykes,…and Jeff Dunham.

Wanda Sykes is kinda…too "big" for me. For me, black comedians always talk about how white people are inferior (like we don't understand enough!) or have an annoying little something. But sometimes, she can be funny. Though just like other comics, I would rather not talk about Bush or the current events. Keep the jokes ageless. That's why Louis CK and such are so successful - the only time they mention current events is when it's a national event that will be remembered for a very long time (eg 9/11) or just told in a way that the situation is explained to you while it's funny (eg Lewis Black and the Janet Jackson ordeal).

And Jeff Dunham…I don't know. His characters are sorta lame, though when he does it solo without the puppets he's pretty funny.

--

Margaret Cho is a good one, though her style is too "LGBT-community current events" and a bit slow for the laughs.

List of my favorites:

Louis CK
Craig Fergusson
Jim Gaffigan (though his older ones are already old farts to me…)
Tom Papa
mayyybe Brian Regan
50% of the time Mitch Hedberg
reminds me, Demetri Martin.

And one other that I love but I can't remember the name of. He's like Demet-

oh right! Dan Cummins.

[gimmepie]

Originally Posted by bobandbill

No mention yet of the likes of say Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey or even an older one like Robin Williams who just spews out comedy? Hmm!

I enjoy watching standup comedy. Probably not something I would do myself but I don't think I'm too bad atm in talking to an audience... it would take a fair bit of practise though, haha.

How could I have forgotten Robin Williams! The man is a comedy god! Don't really know the other too though.

Originally Posted by Antemortem

I haven't seen any live, but my favorites are Wanda Sykes, Joan Rivers, and Jeff Dunham (the ventriloquist stand-up comic). I die everytime I hear Wanda Sykes, and Joan Rivers is a classic. Jeff's is purely dry adult humor that's always very fun and enjoyable. I've yet to hear his latest performance, Minding the Monsters, but I'm aching to do so.

I just watched her (Wanda Sykes') comedy central special it was great
I have also started to quite enjoy Sue Murphy and Lewis Black. Murphy is great at making fun of herself whilst Black does a lot of political jokes and ranting yet both are absolutely hilarious.

[AlexOzzyCake]

Whilst talking about stand-up comics there's the inevitable moment when certain names will arise which challenge the limits of the art, not always for the better. Specifically in this instance, I'm referring to Frankie Boyle. His humour is so dark and controversial that he's even had to publicly apologises for telling certain jokes on more than one occasion, and yet he's still rated as one of the best comics of our time. Personally I really don't like his stand-up at all; his style seems to just be "I'll offend the audience, now I'll offend black people, now I'll offend homosexuals, now I'll offend..." etc etc until he's offended everyone he can. Ordinarily I don't mind offensive jokes like that at all, but in his routines he gives the perception that he's doing it just to insult people with the humour taking second priority. And he used to be a teacher for small children haha. But I might be in the minority here, so what do you guys think about Boyle's sense of humour?

[outfox]

I haven't seen anything from Frankie Boyle, but I do have a thing for dark/surreal comedy. Doug Stanhope is morbidly funny and offensive, he's one of those comedians that's in-your-face with his opinion. That's normally not my style but he's brilliant in that he can break your heart but keep you laughing at the same time. Mitch Hedburg isn't really dark, but if you like drugs and enjoy the absolute bizarre, he's your guy. I think he's brilliant. (Well, was.)

It takes a lot of genius to be a good stand-up comedian. Silent moments during a comic's show are just excruciating.

[gimmepie]

If you want some slightly darker stuff you could try Steven Lynch, some of his stuff his pretty messed up.

[jsziede]

I could watch stand-up all day. I definitely couldn't be a stand-up comedian, though, because I never find myself in hilarious situations. My favorite comedians are Daniel Tosh, Amy Schumer, and, recently, Anthony Jeselnik

[AlexOzzyCake]

Originally Posted by jsziede

I definitely couldn't be a stand-up comedian, though, because I never find myself in hilarious situations.

The majority of comedians aren't actually in the situations that they describe (if they were then I'd be pretty worried about some of them!), so I don't think this'd be a problem haha. From what I've heard (although this could be entirely wrong), they tend to come up with an idea for a joke first and then attempt to tailor an every-day situation to fit the theme of the joke, in which case with enough time most people could become a stand-up comic imo. But there's a difference between being able to write the jokes and being able to perform the jokes in an interesting way, so maybe I'm not giving them enough credit haha. It's certainly not something I'd be able to do, standing up infront of that many people sounds terrifying .-.

[AlexTheRose]

George Carlin

He's the best comedian to ever grace the world with his presence. The things he predicted in the 80s became a reality in the 90s, and the things he predicted in 2005 and 2008 are true now. Click

[outfox]

Originally Posted by jsziede

I definitely couldn't be a stand-up comedian, though, because I never find myself in hilarious situations.

Gifted comedians can turn ordinary situations into something amusing, often offering a unique perspective on reality. But yes, not everyone can do it. It takes a special mind.

I'm surprised I'm only just now seeing Carlin on the list. I'll toss Woody Allen in. His stand-up required a very specific audience, I personally think he was brilliant, although lately- and understandably- he's gotten a little stale. His vintage audiobooks I really enjoyed, but Mere Anarchy was only decent in comparison to earlier works.

[Holofoil]

I have been getting into stand up lately, It is pretty funny. I'm sure it would be more funny being there live. So far I have only saw the newer famous ones like chris rock, louis ck and others though I will be checking the ones noted in this thread out too, thanks.

[Pleiades]

Love stand-up. Tried doing it myself, failed. My favorites so far are Adam Ferrara, Mitch Hedberg, Eddie Izzard, John Caparullo, Kathy Griffin and Joan Rivers.

[Elendil]

Stand up in general is awesome. I love the early mass appeal stuff like Carilin, Dangerfield, and Steve Martin, but I love so much more the like of CK. Louis, Seinfield, Chris Rock, Hedberg and so on. I hate stuff like Mencia, Ansari, Cook and what not. God I'm in the mood for some Carilin right now. Forgot the amazing Bill Hicks as well!

[Mr Cat Dog]

I'm really, really picky when it comes to stand-up comedy, as there aren't that many stand-ups that can make my laugh out loud in the way that a sitcom or other piece of narrative comedy can do. Off the top of my head, stand-ups that I do like include Dylan Moran, Joan Rivers, Chris Rock and Russell Simmons. Though my favourite is undoubtedly Louis CK, who I'm actually going to be seeing next month! Which is kinda exciting, as I've never really been to a comedy show before. Hopefully it'll be good, but seeing as I love his stand-up and his eponymous TV show, I have a hard time believing it won't be amazing! :D

[Kura]

I really like Donald Glover :3 I think he's reealllyy funny! I've never seen anyone big, but I like going to the comedy clubs from time to time.

[Insomniac]

I don't think stand up comedy is all that funny to be honest. :( I just don't like it.

[Elendil]

After watching some Maher, I have to say the guy is pretty cool. Riffs hard on Republicans, and is a blatant Atheist? Sure, but you gotta give him credit at being that and funny at the same time.