In Portland, we’re set in our ways. There’s always stuff going on,
but it’s the same stuff that happened last week or last month or last
year. First Thursday. Last Thursday. Musicfest NW. Ohhh, another
restaurant opened by Bruce Carey. Another Band of Horses concert.
Another film fest where everything is filmed by bike. I know, I sound
like a curmudgeon, but I can’t get excited about the same thing again
and again… unless we’re talking about my “Katie-and-two-bodybuilders”
fantasy, but that just never gets old.
Anyhoo, it’s time to get excited. It’s time to put on your going-out
jeans and that slutty tank top you’ve been dying to wear and head for
SE Hawthorne, because Portland’s hosting something new. This Thursday
through Saturday, March 6-8, is the first annual Bridgetown Comedy
Festival, starring all sorts of hot and hilarious comedians, who are
making the trek to Stumptown from all over the country. There’s Patton
Oswalt, Eddie Pepitone, the dudes from the “Guys with Feelings”
podcast, and the Andy Kaufman Award-winning comic Brent Weinbach. There
are loads of comedians who’ve performed on Comedy Central, including
Tig Notaro, Jonah Ray, Michelle Biloon, Howard Kremer,
Bush-impressionist James Adomian, and Natasha Leggero. There’s Jerry
Seinfeld’s little brother Chip. There are Portland natives Matt
Braunger, Morgan Murphy, Rylee Newton, The Famous Mysterious Actor’s
Show Players, and festival organizer and comedian Andy Wood. And there
are tons more.
I know I’m throwing a bunch of names at you and you might not know
any of them, but answer me this: Do you like to laugh? Do you like to
drink beer? And do you want to be part of Portland history? If you
answered yes to one or all of these questions, it’s time to go online
to bridgetowncomedyfestival.com and buy your $20 three-day wristband. If you’re broke, each individual
show will cost you $9 at the door, but then you’ll miss out on comedy
show-hopping from the Mt. Tabor Legacy to the Bar of the Gods to the
Eagles’ Lodge to the Hawthorne Theatre. And there’s also the risk that
you won’t get into the more popular shows, like Patton’s Saturday shows
at 8 and 10 pm at the Mt. Tabor.
It’s my thought that Portland and comedy will enjoy a long love
affair, starting this weekend. After all, we are a low-budget town
filled with prankster hooligans, so what better place to become the
West Coast’s new comedy hub? And even though one day the Bridgetown
Comedy Fest will be old hat, you’ll always be able to say you were
there when it started.