It was a sad day in Chicago last night as the last installment of monthly comedy showcase The People Under the Stares came to an end. Rockin’ Rian Murphy, a washed up modern rock radio personality from the 90s warmed up the crowd with a few “Pornems” he has been developing over the course of the past year. Guess he’s going to have to find another gig and another place to showcase his perversions. Good luck with that, Rockin’ Rian!
Paul F. Tompkins unfortunately couldn’t make it, so local favorite and winner of the Taste of Chicago “Sierra Mist Comedy Competition” Mike Palascak opened the show to fill in the gap. Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, Palascak had just finished college. “I don’t have to worry about moving back home, cause I never left.” Turns out he also has a money-for-pizza scam and some experience with a Future Farmers of America gang in Wabash, Indiana.
Chicago’s prodigal son of laughter Fred Armisen came to the stage, with his luscious blonde coiffure dangling down to his shoulders. He informed us that if you’ve never seen a Fred Armisen show, he kills.
And we agree. He entered with a pile of newspapers and a WTF attitude to today’s current events. Fred has had enough of the lines the papers are feeding us… like never in a million- I mean how- what do they think they’re- …what? Such a brief set, he left us craving more.
Next up was Ron Lynch, a classy fellow who has developed a technique for comedy on the fly. Instead of remembering jokes, or even coming up with new ones, he’s got it recorded in a “choose-your-own-adventure” fashion provided by a mini-disc player able to skip and repeat jokes, which he operates like a creepy animatron from Disney World.
After a few more pornems from Rockin’ Rian Murphy, Heather Lawless came on stage to prove that not just the boys can get dirty. Heather, babe, we’re still wondering if the curtains do match the drapes, clapboards, carpet and shutters…
Finally the moment we’d all been waiting for. Would Fred Armisen come back on the stage? Much to our surprise, no. It was just this dude Jens Hanneman that Fred had picked up somewhere. I guess you would call it edumacation? The guy had this faint German accent, but he didn’t look German…or maybe he was one of those Argentine Germans… who knows? This guy totally schooled everyone on some drum techniques. Time signatures we’d never even dreamed of! Jens then challenged Sean Wilke, the drummer from Azita and Her Ass Shivers (the People Under the Stares house band) to a drum duel. We didn’t even have a chance to come up with a winner in our minds before Jens clearly stated that it was himself. Then Jens Hanneman joined Azita and Her Ass Shivers to a rendition of Lionel Richies’ “All Night Long.”
We only wish that it lasted that long and forever into the future. But all these have to come to an end. Goodbye The People Under the Stares.
