At the end of June, Richard Bain left for LA. He’s gonna see if the folks in Hollywood like his jokes. And if there’s any justice left in the world, one of Portland’s heavyweight stand-ups ought to make it.
I first saw Bain at Suki’s open mic, around five years ago. There were a lot fewer comics going up back then. It was before Bridgetown. Before Helium. Before young Portland comics ever thought about booking their own shows, much less charging for them.
In those days it was mostly just open mics, at the Boiler Room and other odd spots. But Suki’s had a singular twisted allure. “It’s brutal,” Bain once told me of the room. As such, it forces comics to work.
The ones who killed there with regularity—Bain, Don Frost, Ron Funches, and others—went on to become the top shelf of Portland’s burgeoning comedy scene. The developed talents who could soar past friends and connoisseurs, and crack up anyone in earshot. Good enough to go pro.
So it was fitting then that the culmination of Bain’s weeklong bon voyage party, thrown by Portland’s extended stand-up family, took place at Suki’s. True to the comedic stereotype, it was brash, an outpouring of jabs deflecting honest emotion. Bain’s contemporaries, many of whom are harnessing skills in their own right, paid tribute in their sets. Bain himself teared up. It was a big deal, and his moving on leaves a substantial hole. He will be missed.
But as one local comic ventured forth, another was crowned. After a grueling, six-days-a-week, month-long slog of shows scattered from Portland to Gresham to Milwaukie to Molalla, Don Frost emerged as winner of the second annual Portland Comedy Contest.
That Frost easily took a contest designed to gauge reliability is made all the more impressive in that he doesn’t write traditional jokes or bits. Instead, Frost simply flies off the handle into neck-vein bursting rants about whatever’s on his twisted mind. Already a touring professional, Frost joins the fine company of Ian Karmel who, after taking the contest a year earlier, has become perhaps Portland’s most recognized stand-up.
This Thursday, July 14, Karmel, Funches, Shane Torres, Tim Hammer, and others come together for Cheap Date, a brand-new monthly showcase at the Hollywood Theatre. It’s an impeccable lineup with every right to succeed—all onboard are worth paying for.
The same can’t be said for a number of the other comedy shows that have popped up around the city recently. Whereas five years ago there was little beyond open mics, today Portland sees a stand-up scene on the verge of becoming overzealous. Though the bubble isn’t necessarily going to pop, there is that risk. Contraction will happen.
Comedy hurts when it’s bad. Much more than a shitty band, an awful comedian has the potential to turn audience members away from the art as a whole. Among this new glut of shows, many are too frequent, housed in unsuitable venues, or simply short on stand-ups with experience and raw talent. Some bars are charging admission for stand-ups who just aren’t yet worth paying to see. Learning to work a room and finding one’s voice in stand-up can be a long and winding road. Luckily, there’s a place for such incubation: the open mics. No doubt it can be treacherous, but hacking through those difficult rooms can pay off. Among others, Bain, Frost, and Funches have proven as much.
Totally agreed. I love this art more than any, controlling a room on your wit is amazing to do as it is to watch. Most comedy is based on pain, so It makes sense in this social environment we live in Comedy will rise, I leave you with this.
Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven. ~Mark Twain
For once, Andrew R. Tonry, you and I totally agree. Sincerely, Shawn Fleek
Ian Karmel is the best. He was my instructor for the “standup comedian” course at the Brody Theatre. Great training, solid advice; not to mention fun. He got me off in the right direction; the rest is up to me.
Gary Jones
“Ian Karmel who, after taking the contest a year earlier, has become perhaps Portland’s most recognized stand-up.” This is like saying that someone has becoming the world’s most renowned mime. That being said, Ian is without a doubt in the top tier of Portland comics.
If you ask the average Portlander who their favorite local comedian is, they’ll ask you to leave em alone. This is not a reflection of Portland’s comedic talent, but rather a condemnation of the logistical side of Portland’s funny side. Indeed, before a bubble can pop, it must first inflate. With four legitimate comedy clubs in the city, one could assume that the bubble has reached a threshold. Not true.
For the sake of the argument thought, let’s say that the “bubble” does pop. What does this mean?
It means that 3 of the 4 comedy clubs shut down. Since someone like Ron Funches is rumored to receive $50 a weekend at Helium, I doubt this will throw Portland comedy into a depression. The open mic nights will continue, and the booking companies that put on profitable shows will continue unabated, even boosted by the lack of expensive competition. Sorry, but when a Corona costs $5 at a venue, its business model lacks credibility.
But for the organizations that are serious about expanding and improving the Portland Comedy Scene, any noticeable “pop” of the bubble will be nothing but an opportunity in disguise. There is an abundance of bars in Portland, many with stages and sound systems that suit comedy. The venues that can accommodate more than 100 people are crying out for entertainment options that will pack their bars during down nights. These are the showcases that will bring in audiences and enhance the reputation of comedy in Portland in the long run, at a grassroots level.
Indeed, this is where newborn booking companies come into play. They will be the ones that get 200 people into a venue on a Wednesday and pay the comics for their talents. They will be the ones that lift the comedy scene into a regular weekly attraction around Portland. No working class couple is trying to go to Helium where they can buy a $9.50 six ounce martini, especially during a recession.
Let’s thank Allah for something called “Creative Destruction.” As Augie Smith has pointed out, nobody can make a living as a comic by just doing gigs in Portland. And even though, as one would have it from the author’s past articles, there may be only six or seven comics in Portland, our city still has the potential to renew a type of cheap, live entertainment: affordable, accessible and engaging stand up comedy shows, that happen multiple times a week at venues spanning the Metro Area. Such a concept would hopefully intrigue the author, but again, judging by his past articles, the author may have already picked his horses. As a writer myself, I doubt that, and am willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt.
Let’s be real: artistically, Portland has ALWAYS punched above its weight, and rightfully so. We are overdue for a comedic breakout. But an article like this, that focusses on a comedy show that isn’t even the biggest in its area this week, does no justice to just how burgeoning our city’s comedy scene is.
The author is correct that comedy tends to be a bubble-bust dynamic, but one would hope he branches out beyond his usual suspects. After all, the Oregonian certainly has, and they’re practically a non-profit organization now. The least the Mercury can do is be honest to the actual comedy scene, and not just to a few favored sons.
Portland has a fantastic, burgeoning comedy scene. I don’t think it is anywhere near a bubble. Austin is a similar city in size and spirit and supports a comedy scene that seems to me to be 10 times as big as ours.
We haven’t even started to understand that there is comedy beyond stand up in Portland. At Curious Comedy Theater, we do fantastic improv and sketch comedy (as well as stand up) and people don’t even know what that is yet. New York, LA and Chicago all understand the varieties of comedy and Boston, Austin, and other smaller cities are following suit.
Bridgetown, Helium and Curious are bringing consistently good to great comedy and many of the smaller comedy shows cropping up – whether stand up, sketch, or improv – are great, too. The ones that aren’t good won’t last. The ones that are good to great will.
I look forward to the conversation evolving from reactions to the newness of a comedy scene in Portland to actual reviews of comedy – what is solid and what isn’t and why – like we see for music, movies and theater. I know we are getting there. Slowly but surely, we are getting there.
@hookerwithapenis
Anyone who reads this will know for a fact that you are crazy and inexperienced. Why don’t you post your real name? And who are these favored sons? In every scene there is a section of kooks who think of stand up comedy the same way the movie “Hackers” thought of hacking. I smell corn.
We take our battle to the streets! Well, the court of pulic opinion.I think the original author whoever it may be delivers an honest critique while remaining fairly on-point and objective. I’m guessing the four are Harvy’s, Helium, Curious and Brody. I’m glad I got that by the way. For a second there I thought the Crab Bowl bay have been being recognized as a legitamate comedy club. My thoughts on the showcase’s however, the “old guard” which only realy took office about a year and a half ago, consisting of many of the names mentioned in the article, are agains the showcases, unless they are their own. And the reason for this is simple the big names in Portland Comedy are gettin’ paid. Paid large by the large comedy houses. They discurage the younger from comedians fron doing the showcases in a feeble attempt to control the comedy scene. But what really happens is. The younger comedians are getting more and more showcases that the big names not only refuse to go to, but also aim to deminish. And what happening is the younger comedians are getting more stage time in nicer venues than the open mic’s. Rooms conducive to more realistic experience in the real world where the the folks come out to see some crazy comedians. Every attemp to hold back art backfires and explodes in your face, no Fruedian refrence intended. But all in all comedy is bustleing and continues to grow. In part by the big names and big name comedy houses, but also in part to all the hard-working small show producers who help foster a new generation of stand-up comics.
@ hookerwithapenis
Did you attend Cheap Date? I didn’t…because they were SOLD OUT when i got there. How dare you imply that these comics would put on a show that didn’t meet or beat the standards of any other show in the city that night. They are amazing comics and the fact that they refuse to associate with the likes of you is a testament to many of us of your incompetence. “Young” comics…examine yourself and your material HONESTLY and ask yourself…would i feel satisfied as an audience member if i was the only person performing and had paid to see myself perform? If the answer is no then you are stealing from the public and being untrue to yourself and your art by allowing someone to pay you to do a set no matter how enticing it seems. He is right about one thing…one bad performance can put a sour taste in an inexperienced audience member’s mouth and can deter them from seeing standup again at that venue. However, in my experience working during paid and free shows, that phenomenon increases for every dollar paid to see the show. You may perform in front of a “200” person audience and get paycheck for doing so…but more than likely, if you do something like that too soon in your career, you will lose the RESPECT of that audience…and ultimately you are not respecting yourself. I started my journey into the world of comedy by watching others…attending countless open mic’s and just sitting in the audience supporting my friends. Those comics earned my respect because i saw them putting their blood, sweat and tears into their work. Watching them take the sting of every silence and enjoy the elation of every laugh. Watching them grow as comedians and progress from the bottom of an open mike list to being asked to do a showcase. Watching their art develop…had any of them been lured into one of these paid gigs too early in their comedic development I venture to say that it would have done little if anything for their career but give them a false sense of accomplishment and deter them from putting everything they had into perfecting their art. The process is grueling…but those refined by fire will emerge beautiful. To the comment above…there is no reason that a young comic in portland shouldn’t be able to perform in at least 3 shows a week if they put in the work and contact the appropriate people. I have watched comics who are consistent and strong and have put in the work be rewarded for that with invites and performances in many of the showcases around town. Yes there are clubs that “edit” their shows and yes it can be frustrating as a comic. But to say that they are holding back art is going a little far. There are plenty of showcases or open mic/showcase combinations that are run by wonderful, hard-working people who are happy to give new comics a shot. You are almost certain to grace helium’s stage the first time you sign up on their open mic list and when you get discouraged by not being chosen every week remember that the comedy scene IS flourishing and continuing to grow as you pointed out and that the up and coming comics deserve the same chance which means someone else will have to sit out. Are there politics involved, i’m sure there are. But if you don’t like it, move on and put your time and talents elsewhere. But those “big names” deserve to get paid and i hardly doubt that the “large” payments they receive are enough to park a luxury car in their driveways. Just because they are paid does not mean they themselves are doing anything to discourage younger comics…in face many of them fully support younger comics or spend their time teaching and grooming them…and most of them are well loved and respected by the community. Which leads me to my last rant….@hookerwithapenis…How dare you use Ron’s name to further your BS argument. He is an amazing person with a big heart both for people in general and for Portland comedy. He works hard for himself and his family and certainly deserves more respect than that from a piece of crap like you. I would rather get on a stage with him for free in front of a 3 person audience than be associated with one of your shows no matter how much you paid me. And i think there are several of us that feel the same…maybe more after this article and discussion so i guess in a way i should thank you. To all those working their tails off to “make it”….i congratulate you and keep up the hard work. To those who want an easy hand out for crappy sets…you will never get anywhere and you are shooting yourself in the foot.
“Comedy hurts when it’s bad. Much more than a shitty band, an awful comedian has the potential to turn audience members away from the art as a whole.”
This is a good highlight of the double standard, but I just wanted to chime in that fear of shitty comics is about 30% of the reason I stay away from shows by unproven talents: fear of an obnoxious crowd is the other 70%.
The fake conversation format of stand-up really invites the drunks/assholes/dum-dums to try to participate, and it is really, really annoying, even worse than the “Freebird!” dickbags at concerts.
@Mandy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph
Read up on this new invention, and how it might be used to make your 800 word rant decipherable. Other than being visually inaccessible, its pretty accurate. It was wrong for me to mention Ron Funches.
Comedy Is OK is the best comedy show in town. It’s $5. Try it, you might like it.
It’s so weird how the most innocuous little topics will incite the most rabid comments. Digging on some of the tag names, though — here’s atcha, hookerwithapenis and homo666. As soon as flamingtesticles signs on, it’s a home run.