The Business w/ Nato Green @ Dark Room Theater (12/1/2010)

Tonight. 2263 Mission St. San Francisco. 8 PM. $5. 

The Business is happy to welcome back our regular guest star - and unofficial Fifth Businessman - Nato Green, SF Weekly’s Best Comedian of 2010. He’s an SF native, a political satirist, a Huffington Post blogger, a father of twins, and the creator of the popular shows “Iron Comic,” “Laughter Against the Machine,” and “Laughing Liberally 415.” We’re happy that we were able to collectively bargain for his appearance this week.

Mr. Green is gearing up for an exciting month of shows, including a New Mexico performance with Marc Maron (and Businessman Alex Koll) and a series of New Year’s Eve shows at the SF Punch Line with Greg Proops. Nato’s getting in all these amazing shows before 2010 ends, and his turns back into a pumpkin. An organic, locally-grown pumpkin, which will later be slow-roasted and combined with a selection of artisan cheeses. Because while Nato is the top comic for 2010 only, he will be SF’s Biggest Foodie indefinitely.

We’ve also got the rest of your favorite Businessmen - Alex Koll, Bucky Sinister, Chris Garcia, and Sean Keane - helping you kick off a December full of treats. Since all of our fans are on the Nice List, admission is just five bucks. 8 PM, Wednesday, Dark Room.

via Facebook

Nato Green with envy to anybody who goes to this show. I’ll be there, Madrone, and everywhere. 

Wednesday Comedy Wrap-Up (10/13/2010)

Alameda Comedy Competition @ McGrath’s Pub. 1539 Lincoln St. Alameda. Featuring Jen Dronsky, Duat Mai, Ben Kolina, Nina G, Roman Leo and Robert Keith. 10 P.M. Hosted by OJ Patterson (THAT’S ME!) (I might bring candy, I never know what I’m doing with this crazy, crazy show.)

The Business @ The Dark Room Theater. 2263 Mission St. $5. 8 PM. Featuring Rachel Swan and W. Kamau Bell. (In the spirit of the indie, lived in element of the Dark Room, every audience member should be hit with a face full of flour).

Special Ladies Night at the Brainwash. 7th and Folsom. Free.99. 8:00 PM. (If you’re a lady comic you pretty much know that this is a pre-booking show [Facebook, E-Mail] because this night, Erikka Innes will be performing a 30 minute set to prepare for a CD Recording). Hosted by Kristee Ono.

Stud Open Mic Comedy. 9th & Harrison. SF. Sign Ups 8:30 PM. Show 9:00 PM. Hosted by Kelly Anneken and Ricky Luna. (Silly and frightening).

Wednesday Comedy Wrap-Up (9/15/2010)

Open Mic @ McGrath’s Pub. 1539 Lincoln Ave. Alameda, CA. Sign Ups: 9:00 PM. Show: 9:30ish. (Two OJ Hosted events without a flyer. I’ve been slipping. Lo Siento). 

Stud Open Microphone. 9th & Harrison. San Francisco, CA. 8:30 Sign Ups. 9:00 Show. 

Ladies Night Open Mic. 1122 Folsom St. San Francisco. 8 pm (Sign Ups: 7:30). 

The Mission’s longest-running comedy show welcomes a stellar group of guest stars this week. Andy Haynes, Ron Funches, and Karl Hess are riding a rocket ship to superstardom, and we’re lucky that they’ve decided to refuel at the Business along the way. We’ve also got Chris Garcia, Alex Koll, and Sean Keane to round out the show, available to you for the pittance of five American dollars.

Andy Haynes is a comedian from Seattle who now makes his home in New York City. He was part of the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal this summer, and last week he made his network televison debut on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.”

Karl Hess is an LA comedian who also performed at the Just For Laughs Festival in July. He’s performed at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival and the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, and hosts the semi-weekly Sunday Sunday Sunday Show in Westwood.

Ron Funches was raised in Chicago, but has found a home in the Pacific Northwest. He’s competed in the Seattle International Comedy Competition, and performed at Bumbershoot and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival.

8 PM! Five bucks! A show for the ages!

San Francisco State University and Rooftop Comedy (www.rooftopcomedy.com) present a screening of “Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted Animation”!
The screening is free to all SF State students and only 5$ for the general public. Come for a screening of “Spike and Mike” originals as well as feature the comedy of host and local comedian Sal Calanni and SF State student comedians Jules Posner, Jesse Fernandez, and Spencer Devine.

Event Information:
Date:
September 15th, 7pm
Location:
Zach Adams Hall at the Cesar Chavez Student Center, 1650 Holloway Ave.
Admission:
Free for SF State Students, $5 for the public

Jabari Davis and Associates present Janine Brito. 8 PM. $20. 140 Columbus Ave. San Francisco. (Also featuring Stuart Thompson). 

First Night of the Wharf Room “Walk the Plank” competition. The brightest of the up and comers scrapping over at 256 Jefferson St. San Francisco CA. 8:00 PM.

Wednesday Comedy Wrap-Up

McGrath’s Pub. Open Mic. 1539 Lincoln Avenue. Alameda, CA. Hosted by: OJ Patterson. Sign Ups: 9:00. Show: 9:30. (I’m feeling weird. Odd aura. Don’t know how this is going to go. Didn’t even have time to make a flyer. Hmmm. Come through anyway. Or not. Odd aura.)

Stud. 9th and Harrison. San Francisco, CA. Open Mic. Sign Ups: 8:30. Show: 9:00.

Our last show of the summer is going to be spectacular, as we welcome three great guests to The Business. Adam Lowitt, Sal Calanni, and Kevin Hancock will all be gracing our stage, along with regular Businessmen Alex Koll, Bucky Sinister, and Sean Keane. Labor Day is approaching, so come out to see comedians doing great work. Your knees will be “weekend” by laughter! (Note: Show will not contain such horrible puns)

Adam Lowitt …is an Emmy-winning producer of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” who performs stand-up all over New York City. He has also contributed to Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.”

You can see Sal Calanni cracking up audiences at comedy clubs all over the Bay Area, and you can see him get his ass kicked on an episode of “Trauma.” He also wrote the film “Lucifer’s Crewcut,” and runs the weekly “Sal & Angelo Podcast.”

Kevin Hancok is a regular at Cobb’s Comedy Club, the Sf Punch Line, and at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Recently, he made a memorable appearance at the Hubba Huba Revue’s Caveman Show, thus justifying his huge and spectacular beard.

The show starts at 8, and admission is just five dollars. The Dark Room is located on Mission between 18th and 19th Streets, across the street from our informal sponsor, Cancun Taqueria.

Plus the Madrone Art Bar show (TWO STOPS DOWN)

and

Comedy at the Whitehorse Inn

Wednesday Comedy Wrap-Up (8/18/2010)

Open Mic Comedy @ McGrath’s Pub. 1539 Lincoln Ave. Alameda, CA. Sign-Ups: 9:00. Show: 9:30. Free. (I’m back at the helm. Last time was really energetic, and full of talent. Open-Mics are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you’re going to get, BUT I’m also bringing chocolate)

Stud Comedy. 9th and Harrison. San Francisco, CA. Sign Ups: 8:30. Show: 9:00.

Ladies Night @ The Brainwash. 1122 Folsom St. San Francisco, CA. Sign Ups: 7:30. Show: 8:00 (Approximately).

Zach Chiappellone @ The Purple Onion. (Jabari Davis and Associates). 140 Columbus Ave. San Francisco, CA. 8 PM. $20.

Jericho @ SF Improv Festival. Eureka Theater. 215 Jackson Street. $15. 7:30PM

Business @ Dark Room Theater. 2263 Mission St. San Francisco, CA. $5.

The Business, San Francisco’s best alternative comedy showcase, is proud to welcome three fantastic out-of-town guest stars for our August 18th show. From Los Angeles, we have comedians - and accomplished actresses - Jodi Miller and Stacey Scowley, and from New York City, we have comedian - and accomplished clown - Jeff Seal. It’s a homecoming for Ms. Scowley and Mr. Seal, so the shows will be extra special. So special, we might just crown a king and queen at the end.

Along with these amazing special guests, we’ve got the usual Businessmen you know and love - Chris Garcia, Sean Keane, Alex Koll, and Bucky Sinister.

The extravaganza gets started at 8 PM at the Dark Room, 2263 Mission Street in SF, between 18th and 19th Streets. Admission? Just five American dollars.

Jodi Miller is an actress and writer with over twelve years of standup experience. A native of New Jersey, she’s appeared on a wide variety of TV shows, from “Law & Order” and “The Sopranos” to “Chelsea Lately” and “Rob and Big.” She’sthe co-host of the award-winning “The Damage Report” on LA Talk Radio.com, and her book, “WTF College: How to Survive 101 of Colleges Worst F*#!-ing Situations”, is currently a featured choice in bookstores nationwide and on Amazon.com.

Stacey Scowley is an actress and comedian, born and raised in Danville, CA, and currently living in Los Angeles. She’s made guest appearances on a number of TV shows, including Nip/Tuck, My Boys, Cold Case, Come To Papa, Monk and Alias, and she has a recurring gig on Family Guy. She has also appeared in the movies Walk Hard with John C. Reilly, Eagle Eye with Shia LaBeouf, and Loveless in Los Angeles.

Jeff Seal is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the Clown Conservatory of San Francisco. He’s an improviser, actor, clown, and comedian who has appeared on “The Late Show With David Letterman.” He’s performed with the California Shakespeare Theater, and at the New York Clown Theater Festival. In 2009, he co-wrote and starred in, “Kill Me Loudly: A Clown Noir,” a brutal comedy about desire, betrayal and murder - done by clowns.


* * *

The Business: Four comedians (Sean Keane, Chris Garcia, Bucky Sinister, Alex Koll) each curate one quarter of two hours for five bucks. Professionals doing more bang for less buck. All forms and styles exploited; The comedy equivalent to an “Everything Bagel”. We regularly welcome special guest stars, ranging from standup comics to spoken word performers to authors to burlesque dancers.

SEAN KEANE is a comedian and writer who performs at all the finest clubs and colleges in the SF Bay Area, and some of the mediocre ones, too. His sportswriting appears all over the Internet. He’s a three-time Iron Comic champion, a three-time performer at SF Sketchfest, and won the 2008 Twisted Biscuit competition. He’s contributed to McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, ESPN the Magazine, and the “Fantasia In Best Show Minor” DVD.

CHRIS GARCIA performs all the damn time at the SF and Sacramento Punch Line, Cobb’s Comedy Club, and has been part of SF Sketchfest, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, the Aspen Comedy Festival, and The Onion Comedy Series.

BUCKY SINISTER describes himself as a misunderstood literary genius, a middle-aged comedian and a reluctant self-help guru. He has written three books of poetry, one of which also contained some short stories. His latest book is Get Up: A 12-step Guide to Recovery for Misfits, Freaks, and Weirdos. Bucky came out with a comedy CD before he ever did a gig at a comedy club.

ALEX KOLL is a San Francisco based Funnyman and Entertainmenter of variable power and speed. In 2009 he performed in the “New Faces” showcase at the prestigious Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, garnering a “Best of New Faces” nod. He appears on Comedy Central’s “Live At Gotham” 2009 season, and has also performed at the SXSW, Vancouver, The Bridgetown Comedy Festival, SF SketchFest and the Bentzen Ball. As a filmmaker, Alex has created award-winning videos for IFC.com, SuperDeluxe.com, Revision3, and Rooftop Comedy. Alex is also the two-time winner of the San Francisco Regional Air Guitar Championship; No kidding. He is currently flightless and unable to lay eggs.

Wednesday Comedy Wrap-Up (8/11/2010)

Jabari Davis & Associates: Live at the Purple Onion. 140 Columbus Ave. 8PM. $20. (My good friend Stuart Thompson is back from a successful stint in Los Angeles to do a few shows. This will be one of them. He’s alarmingly good and keeps me on my game. And he’ll keep you in your seats). 

Stud Open Mic. 9th & Harrison St. 9 PM. Free. 

McGrath’s Open Mic. Guest Hosted by Josef Anolin. 1539 Lincoln Avenue in Alameda, California. Sign Ups at 8:30. Show at 9:00 PM. (I’m contractually obligated to attend this)

Ladies Night at the Brainwash. Hosted by Kristee Ono. Sign Ups: 7:30. Show: 8ish. (Always a good time. Female friendly. Girlfriend friendly?) 

The Business welcomes back one of our favorites this week - Caitlin Gill, fresh off her highly-acclaimed weekend performances at the Hemlock Tavern. We also welcome back regular Businessman Alex Koll, fresh from his tour of the East Coast. “Welcome Back, Kotter” remains off the air.

As always, The Business delivers the finest alternative comedy in San Francisco for the low price of $5. Show begins at 8, and the Bring-Your-Own-Burrito remains in effect.

Via Facebook

Business @ Dark Room Theater. 2263 Mission Street. $5. 8 PM. (I saw an off chance performance of Caitlin Gill at a Justin Scales show… HOLY CRAP! Blown away. Also… rumor has it she makes good pizza. Sadly the pizza won’t be at this show.)