WSOC 4/28/17
The World Series of Comedy went down at the cabaret in Hilarities.
With 17 comics and a host, we definitely were kept up to date as to how Clevelanders were feeling.
And they were feeling great! On a Friday night with lots of entertainment choices, an entire room's worth of people showed up for the WSOC show. And nobody seemed at all disappointed. The comics were many and they were solid. Here are a few highlights from what we saw...
Our host was Tracy Chapman look-alike Mike Ivy. I'm not sure how fast his car is but he fears his mom is having legal problems. He didn't do much joking around as there were a lot of comedians on the bill so speed was necessary. Maybe I should've saved the Fast Car reference for here? Oh well. No time for regrets, the first comic was already on his way...
As a relatively new Clevelander, Spyder Jones is beginning to understand the pain we have endured as sports fans. Well, maybe understand isn't the word. He does understand pain after living in Youngstown for a while though. He once simultaneously saw a movie and heard a documentary about the same movie. Spyder is afraid he might like bananas. Very afraid.
Logan Rishaw started out sweetly with a story about a dead grandma. Not just any dead grandma, HIS dead grandma. Who seemingly is not actually dead. I'm not sure anymore. But it was funny.
He is in a somewhat open relationship. "Somewhat" being the key. He has no problem with drug tests.
Or maybe he does. Misery has him mixing up his days and nights. Or maybe he is just on British time.
Also, his version of British time may differ greatly from yours.
What would our founding fathers say today? Jason Moliterno knows but it may surprise anyone else.
He has thoughts about the original Christian high school. He whistles at certain disabled people.
He wants to quit his job but then he will seem rude in certain social circumstances. He is aware of his biblically-proportioned weaknesses.
Josh Lawhorn learned to dance in an unlikely place. He doesn't understand why Drug Mart should be dangerous. He sometimes flees better than he fights. But remember, he dances like a Marine!
He has met local celebrities but his car was disturbingly cluttered at the time.
Greg Kennedy rapped his way into the hearts of the audience right off rip. Then he humble-bragged about his career. As well he should. At least the humble part. He is not a mover or a shaker. And he doesn't want to be a bouncer. How is he single?
He doesn't know!!! We need a sitcom featuring his exploits wooing women in weird places. Many good laughs were had during Greg's set.
Liz Blanc is a teacher. And like all teachers she has shown movies in class. But that's where the similarities end. Her students like to sarcastically cheer her up and she enjoys meeting their parents.
Unless she's shopping. That gets awkward. She walks at the gym but she is not just learning. After all, she knows how treadmills work. She knows she went a little macro on cheat days. So why tempt her? Liz is a very fun comic with good timing. She won a contest that had a lot of strong performances. Congrats Liz!!! Oh sorry, SPOILER ALERT!!! My timing is obviously not as good as Liz's.
Skitzo Bill did not ask how everyone was doing.
He did not ask anything. He barreled right into his set like...well, Skitzo Bill. He didn't take the bus here to waste time. Or maybe it was just the drugs kicking in? He has a solid plan to win the lottery. Maybe not fast, but solid. He sometimes feels awkward explaining short cab rides. Bill may not know why the caged bird sings but he knows why certain fast food employees are so happy. He's probably never getting the $5 he loaned to a fellow mental patient. Skitzo Bill delivered a great set and placed a strong second after the tie-breaker. Damn! SPOILER ALERT #2!!!! There was a tie-breaker.
Joey Zsa Zsa high-fived his way into white hearts.
He may soon have to go to Our Lady of Google instead of church. Abe Lincoln got described very succinctly. He avoids dogs differently now that he's a little older. Not better, just differently. He is concerned at the life skills being taught to his daughter based on her supplies list. He also doesn't want her to snitch him out. He could've given his mom way better jewelry if he had the big box of crayons when he was a kid.
Steve Mers started with some playful, musical bigotry and swerved right into why his grandma is basically racist against herself. Steve was not a competitor, he was tasked with killing time while votes were tallied. He takes his Doors references literally.
He sees nothing wrong with all-male festivals.
He is only counter-PC to a point....
And then it was time!
(Pretend you don't know)
The results were announced and
winner Liz Blanc (surprise!!!) quit her teaching job on the spot. But she is tenured so she just showed back up to work today. Like it never happened. What are they gonna do?? Skitzo Bill was a close runner-up and several other comedians were great too.
Congratulations to all the comics that performed and also to Hilarities for a great show. They did a great job keeping the energy up by moving quickly through the contestants. That pacing was a key part to the show's success. And it was much appreciated by the happy crowd.
Stay tuned to find out how Liz Blanc does at the next stage of the WSOC in Cincinnati. And check out pickwickandfrolic.com for upcoming shows.