Fact: We live in a city whose prodigious comedy output almost made me add a dumb aside to that headline, like, *gentle elbow to the ribs*, "More like, when is there NOT a new comedy show in town? Amirite?" That was a trick question. I'm definitely right. All that being said, I was extremely excited when Jason Lamb emailed me earlier this week to announce the first-ever "Minority Retort" comedy show, scheduled for Friday, January 23 at Curious Comedy Theater.

Lamb, who's co-producing with Jeremy Eli, describes Minority Retort as "a new, people of color comedy showcase here in Portland." It'll be a monthly show, and the premiere lineup is very promising indeed: Crystal Davis, Katie Nguyen, David Mascorro, and Anthony Lopez, with Nathan Brannon headlining.

Perhaps because I have a predilection for dry, deeply silly humor, Katie Nguyen is one of my favorite comedians in town. Her stand-up material is weird, in a wonderful way, with jokes about everything from Urban Outfitters' smug advertising to some pretty gross implications of yawning in public. Anthony Lopez and Nathan Brannon are also almost painfully funny. I'll be covering the first show for Blogtown. You'll know it's me by my laughter-crumpled, Carrie Mathison expression during all of Katie Nguyen's set. See you there!