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Alright folks that like to laugh but never go see live comedy—tonight is your last chance to take a glimpse at the Final Five in the Portland Amateur Comedy Contest without traveling to Gresham. This evening at 9:00PM, for the sweet price of zero dollars, Ian Karmel, Cody Smith, Sean Jordan, Tim Hammer and Anthony Lopez will duke it out for your laughs and love at Mt. Tabor.

But hell I say, go to a show in Gresham—it's colored the contest, as fan response is a part of the scoring. Portland comics need support of likeminded fans. I need to head out there myself to have a word with a few folks—whoever thought that Phil Schallberger and Christian Rickets weren't funny enough to make the finals deserves a lashing. Those guys are fucking brilliant.

"Gresham hates me," Schallberger said when I asked why he didn't make the finals. The sentiment was shared by a number of other comics.

Now, I get the idea that varied settings and audiences will in the end produce better comedians, and the best performer may yet win. But I'm not sure Portland proper played enough part in it's own comedy contest. Time will tell.

The remaining shows before the June 5th finale:

Tonight @ Mt. Tabor
Sunday May 30th @ Big Apple Pizzeria - Gresham
Friday June 4th @ The Hangout Bar & Grill - Gresham