NEIL HAMBURGER

The High Dive

Seattle, Wa

July, 9th 2010

When I saw Neil Hamburger perform for the first time, I had no idea what I was attending.  Mac Dawg was opening the show with his old Judas Priest cover band, Hell Bent For Aids Research, so I was mostly there to check that out.  This was easily 9 or 10 years ago and the show was held at an Olympia, Wa staple known as Le Voyeur.  In essence, the place is a grimy-ass dive bar that used to pay us with nothing but a 5 dollar bar tab (per band member).  It’s the the type of joint that, more times than not, involved traveling acts passing an empty beer pitcher around and relying on donations for gas money, just to get to the next town.  This event was slightly bigger, so I’m sure that there was probably a slight door charge but, whatever it cost, it was entirely worth it.

That whole show was actually pretty crazy.  First, Mac Dawg‘s group knocked out their set, which featured no less than 5 covers of “Hell Bent for Leather” and a moment of excessive live nudity.  Next was the hairy, Canadian duo of Canned Hamm, who serenaded us with crowd favorites like “Karaoke Lady“, while wearing little more than ascots and briefs.  When the headliner finally took the mic, he was fully clothed in his trademark tux.  Hamburger‘s aesthetic also involves a greasy comb-over, large eyeglasses, and an armload of mixed drinks that spill and tumble to the floor around him, as he staggers through his generally painful sets.  His disheveled appearance is standard and his “anti-comedy” often staggers and lurches between clever, biting wit and intentionally terrible, popsicle-stick-caliber puns and riddles.  Through creating his alter-ego of “the world’s ‘worst’ stand-up comedian“, Gregg Turkington manages to confuse the lines between audience and subject… brilliance and stupidity… comedy and… severe discomfort.  We’ve written about Neil before and should have an interview posted with “America’s Funny Man” soon enough, so I won’t go too deep into his back-story for now.  What I will say, however, is that the best parts of his routines come from the uncomfortable dynamic created between the character and his unsuspecting audiences.  I’ll never be able to fully relive the experience of watching his work unfold for that very first time, but, based on what I’ve witnessed from his current tour, the magic has definitely not been lost. (more…)

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Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers

Chateau Ste Michelle Winery

Woodinville, Wa

June 19th, 2010

“Steve Martin Banjo Tour,” were sweeter words ever put together?  Turns out, some things might be better in my “Wild & Crazy” Imagination.” Last month, I was lucky enough to get tickets to see the legendary comedian/banjoist perform with North Carolina‘s Steep Canyon Rangers; part of the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery’s annual summer concert series. I was thrilled at the opportunity. But –now– I kinda feel like a “jerk.” I was, unfortunately, just a little let down by the whole Steve Martin banjo experience… and, now I am putting it out there for the whole world to see.  The following is my totally neurotic review of the whole experience.

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FOR DAY ONE, CLICK HERE

I woke up from the blazing heat in my tent.  It was about 7:30 – 8 o’clock in the morning.  By the time that I would manage to get myself shoed up and standing, the outside would already be slightly chilly and overcast.  This is a pattern that I would become accustomed to over the next couple of mornings; wake up early to the heat and then immediately put a sweatshirt on and hobble around looking for a different line of outhouses.  We were camped pretty deep into the grounds, which meant that our Honey Buckets took a while to be maintained and were usually “full” in the morning.  Such is the way of the music festival.

Apparently, Patrick has trained in the culinary arts and that fact, along with his generosity, resulted in us eating pretty well in the mornings.  He was in a really good mood from getting to see My Morning Jacket the night before, but the festival wouldn’t really be starting for me until today.  That morning, Jesse and I also got the chance to speak more about music.  We were both really excited about the opportunity to finally see Pavement and had different songs that we were hoping to hear.  I was betting on “Range Life“.  We knew that once we got into the venue we would be in there all day, so we tried to decide at which point we needed to head in and what we were willing to miss out on.  The collective decision was to wait and go in to see They Might Be Giants at 3:20. (more…)

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I got a handful of hours to sleep before the alarm went off.  As we packed up the rest of our shit, I dropped the needle on some vinyl as a soundtrack to get my head together.  First was 6 and 12 String Guitar by Leo Kottke and then some Ranking Dillinger.  When our ride arrived, it was the type of large white cargo van that every small scale touring band dreams about traveling in.  The driver, who had offered us a ride, was a guy named Jesse.  He’s in a local band called, Smile Brigade and his girlfriend, Briana is one of Thea‘s really close friends.  Also traveling with us was another couple by the names of Patrick and Angel, who turned out to be really good people.  I had encouraged Kim to pack light, not wanting to assume too much space in another persons vehicle, but it was clear that we would have had plenty of room.  Patrick and Angel went the smart route by bringing a cooler of food and a Coleman stove to cook with.

We were traveling as 3 couples, each with our own spacious row in the van.  This was actually a less stressful format than the 5 grimy chain-smoking dudes in a dusty sedan system that I was accustomed to.  As usual, Kim packed all of the shit that I wouldn’t appreciate until much later, like Q-tips, wet-ones, sunscreen, etc.  Angel was prepared to the point where she had festival info and lineup schedules printed out in protective sleeves.  I can travel fine like an old-timey hobo, with a stick and a bandana, but, in retrospect, that hasn’t necessarily always proved the best way to go. (more…)

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Another link was just sent to me that forced me to drop everything that I was doing to make it a priority.  I was very focused on sifting through and digitally retouching hundreds of photos from last weekends Sasquatch festival.  Then I got a heads up from photographer Lars Peterson directing me to what is the greatest thing I’ve seen since that WEEN set on Monday night.  I’m not exactly sure what this video is all about, but it appears to have been filmed at some sort of talent contest in the Philippines.  You will notice a trophy off to the side of the stage [pictured above] as well as the words “lipsynch” and “contest” plastered across the the bottom of the back wall in glittery letters.  From what I can tell, the top of the wall reads “Sulucan Youth & Volunteer Movement“.  One thing that I am sure of is that this video is ridiculously amazing and that it’s necessary to view it from start until the very end.

The original video seems to have come from a Facebook page of a man by the name of  Thinnz Catipay.  From there I searched it out and tracked it down on youtube.  The following video even credits Catipay through the following comments in the youtube info section “Video extracted from facebook. Uploaded by Thinnz Catipay.“  We don’t speak the language or understand the comments so, if you know more about what’s going on here, please comment below.  Either way, we’re getting plenty of enjoyment from it, as is.

Enjoy! (more…)

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CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Stop emailing us mother fuckers!  It’s over!

We originally posted that we had 10 pairs of tickets to give away (5 for each show), but we worked with our contact at the Seattle Theatre Group to up that to 50 pair at each show (yep 200 tickets!)  and we’ve actually given all of those away too!  I recognize that we easily had 100 more entries that didn’t make the cut (basically, came in too late), but hey, we gave away a lot of free stuff and I personally compiled the list and emailed everyone.  It took all fucking day, so appreciate it!  If you’re bummed out that you lost… sorry, but damn a lot of people did win!  Congratulations!

It seems like Janeane Garofalo has been around forever.  Since the first time that I ever became aware of her as a cast member on the short-lived Ben Stiller Show (canceled in Jan. of 1993) her careers has taken multiple twists and turns.  She’s made some really shitty movies and she’s been a part of some really good TV shows.  Through it all, the one thing that has remained is her role in the stand up comedy game.  This weekend, Garofalo will be traveling to Seattle to perform 2 live shows at the historic Moore Theatre.  The Moore has operated as the location for multiple live comedy tapings in the past and this event will be no different.  The actress/comedienne will be utilizing her back to back shows to tape an upcoming DVD release and we are offering you an opportunity to attend the filming for free!  Who knows, maybe your crazy mug will be burned into a high grade plastic disc to be viewed via laser by future generations.

Our friends at the Seattle Theatre Group have again teamed up with Monster Fresh to offer us the opportunity to kick down a pair of passes to 8 of our readers.  That’s right 8 PAIRS!  That means that 16 of you will be able to see this show for free and, if you’ve never seen a live comedy show before and/or ever been to the Moore Theatre, this is your chance to check some things off of your tragically pathetic bucket list.

The shows will both take place on Saturday, May 8th.  There is both a 7:00 and a 9:30 show.  We are giving away 4 pairs of tickets to each.

HOW TO ENTER

We’re doing this shit real simple like.

First off, go to our official FACEBOOK PAGE and become a fan by clicking the “LIKE” button.

Next, just email us at MonsterFresh@gmail.com and tell us your facebook name (if different) and which showing you need a pair of passes to.  Winners will most likely be chosen based on how quick they email us but, if it’s close and you feel like sending us a shitty joke or something along with your entry, that might tip the scales in your favor.

Make sure to let us know which show you want tickets to and if you have a priority or not.  Keep in mind that, if you don’t have a preference, you will have a better chance of getting passes, but be honest.  We don’t want to get entries from anyone that will not be able to actually attend the performances.  We are offering you free passes, so don’t fuck someone else over just because you “might” go or because you like winning shit.  Leave these open for the other people would be happy to use these.  We will be holding contests in the future and all that you’re gonna do is make yourself ineligible, if we think you’re sketchy.

All right, that’s it!

Thanks jerks, and good luck.

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