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NYC standup comedy shows worth checking out

People often ask me what shows, besides my own, they should check out in NYC. I'm posting this entry to satisfy that need and will update regularly. Much of this list was informed by my friend and comedian Myq Kaplan.

One-stop shopping for good NYC shows: The Comic's Comic blog.

specific shows to check out (starting with free ones):

other cheap shows:

other free shows:

other great shows:

  • Moonwork, some saturdays in the village ($20 to get in, worth it, great shows, includes free beer)
  • Sacapuntas!, first wednesday of every month at Bower Poetry Club. (hosted by Dan Allen)

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A very nice review of Sage Standup at Bar 82, which I host every Tuesday

My new glasses?
Me messing around with some experimental glasses at Bar 82 one night this past summer.

Many thanks to Diamond, who wrote a flattering piece about our now-three-year-old show. Yep, I've been hosting this show for three years! Here's an excerpt of the review:

The atmosphere at Bar 82 is unlike any other. It’s intimate and compact. In a sense, the acts have no choice but to interact with the crowd, whether it’s tough or not. But hey, it’s New York, what do you expect?

A lot of pressure is put on the host to keep the crowd awake in between acts but bearded Baratunde Thurston enjoys the challenge, especially at Bar 82.

“I love performing. I also write and have done on-air work, but there’s nothing like performing,” said Thurston, clad in a gray sports coat and burgundy glasses. “Performing in front of people brings an energy that you can’t get on Twitter. This is like coming home. Even though I perform a lot of places, I don’t miss many shows here.”

Bar 82 is definitely worth a look-see. Their prices are reasonable for drinks and the Sage Comedy Show is free of charge with no drink minimum. Why wouldn’t you?

Tomorrow night we have the amazing W. Kamau Bell in the lineup, and I'll be out of town the rest of the week, so it's your last chance to see me until next week, New York! Full info at SageStandup.com

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My standup set at SXSW: from divorce to Farmville

I got to do three standup shows while I was in Austin for SXSW Interactive, including doing a guest spot for Doug Benson's show. The video below is from the show right after Doug's. It's seven minutes and took place at The Velveeta Room on 6th Street. It is very funny.

 

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Boston Weekend: Shows and Office Hours

Hey kids. Couple things. I'm in Boston doing a few appearances this weekend, and I'm very excited to return to my creative home. For you Facebookers: info is in this event. Friday at The Comedy Studio Friday April 25th The Comedy Studio 1238 Mass Ave, 3rd Floor of the Hong Kong Harvard Square, Cambridge MA you should make reservations I'll probably head over to Cambridge 1 afterward to eat and sip on some wine and hold palaver Saturday Office Hours! Office Hours Return! Back in college, I used to host office hours in my dorm because I liked pretending I was a professor. It was a time for people who knew me but not each other could gather and unite over a common enemy. A few months back, I did the same thing in San Fran to a rousing success. I reconnected with old friends and both cracked and jailbroke my iPhone, so back in the town where it all started, I proudly present the return of Baratunde's Office Hours Saturday noon-4pm-ish Diesel Cafe, Davis Square, Somerville MA Saturday Night At Harvard What could be more fun than a Saturday night at an Ivy League university? How about a Saturday night at an Ivy League university during pre-frosh weekend overwhelmed by the swarm of acne-riddled high school seniors? That's what I'm talking about! Harvard Standup Comics Society 8-10pm Science Center C Admission: $1 Other things going on in my life. I've been on Comedy Central.com again talking about the PA primary. This was recorded before it happened I'm taking a vacation from my obsessive blogging of this election because I'm a bit exhausted and, yes, bitter. Read more here: Someone blew up a car on my street, taking out several other cars

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Flashback: My First Message To My Yahoo Group Standup List (2002)

Today I got a notice from Yahoo Groups that someone was unsubscribing from my "baratunde-standup" list. I set this thing up in 2002 and last used it then. It was when I first started doing standup. I looked back to the very first message, and here's what I found:
Subject: Baratunde LIVE again??? Defying all conventional wisdom as well as environmental considerations, the good people at The Comedy Studio have invited me back after my performance of exactly one month ago. This is rather significant for me, considering that my last performance there was due only to my being in a comedy class. But not this time. This time, it's a REAL GIG. With REAL audience members. And REAL tomatoes. So why am I telling you this? Well, many of you owe me money and/or favors. Your presence at my show would go a long way toward forgiving some of this debt. Others of you just had the ill-considered fortune to leave your email addresses within my grasp. For those who saw the last show, I'll be doing SOME of the same material, but I'm mixing it up with a little something new. This Friday May 31 The Comedy Studio 3rd Floor of the Hong Kong Restaurant in Harvard Square 8pm cover between $7 - $10 based on level of body odour lata, \[email address removed] comedian / writer / tech-geek www.baratunde.com
For my Boston folks, I'll be returning the weekend of April 25th for a show at The Comedy Studio, where it all started six years ago.

Friday April 25th The Comedy Studio 1238 Mass Ave, 3rd Floor of the Hong Kong Harvard Square, Cambridge MA you should make reservations

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