KajusX

Really enjoyable episode! I'm very happy to see Jeff starting to make some podcasting rounds. He is a delight on Harmontown, and between his own anecdotes and the ones Greg Proops regales his audiences with on The SMartest Man in the World, his reputation precedes him. Thanks for having him open up, Elizabeth! (minor note: Jeff isn't the VP of Harmontown, just as Dan isn't the President. Harmon is Mayor and Davis is Comptroller.)

All of this Bill Burr talk is REALLY making me want to hear Bill on CBB paired with a crazy character, say in a PFT or Andy Daly variety...

Oh my god I came here as soon as I caught my breath from laughing uncontrollably! So fucking funny!

That's the thing: SNL is not necessarily a good representation of a comedian's individual voice. I liked Horatio fine on SNL, but he was largely featured with Fallon in most scenes I found memorable. He left SNL in 2006, and in 2007 was in the ASSSSCAT special on Bravo which I was lucky to catch as it aired. That's when I first was like, "Whoa!" Horatio was also in The Upright Citizen's Brigade: ASSSSCAT! dvd that came out a year later in 2008, which I bought instantly, but it's a completely new recording, not the Bravo performance (it's still great, of course). I am very happy that Sanz moved to LA and has been regularly showing up on i4h and CBB for the past two years, and like other people have already said, his i4h episodes are great and deserve a listen. Here is the Bravo special, which I just found on youtube:

I like how Horatio always has shades on like recording a podcast is his own personal poker championship.

While I appreciate the critique of my comment, my motives for including i4h are performer-based. When praising their comedic prowess, it is a must for me to acknowledge the direct correlation that some of CBB's best character guests are also some of i4h's standout performers. I personally consider the two shows to have an intensely symbiotic relationship with each other. i4h is an extension of UCB in pedigree and style. UCBLA is where CDDR/CBB lived for 10+ years (example-- Andy Daly's album Nine Sweaters was recorded during CDDR shows over a number of weeks, and some of those characters have appeared on the podcast). Now these improv darlings appear on i4h and play with a myriad of voices, then go on CBB and knock their characters out of the park. The two go hand in hand.

I just want to second all the comments heralding the talents and appearances of Lapkus, Sanz, and Gabrus. They all BROUGHT. IT. All year. On CBB as well as improv4humans. Sanz's i4h appearances (w/Meadows and Huskey) at Bumbershoot almost made me lose all of my oxygen laughing, and he has an amazing 3-ep stint on the CBBLIVE2013 tour (see: Coco Marx with ALW and Kurt Braunohler in Detroit), and when the voting started, Chico Davis' ep immediately jumped up on my list. 2013 was the year I could not help but stand up and pay attention to Lauren Lapkus. She raises the bar of any show she is on (her i4h episodes are all must-listens), she is insanely quick-witted and sharp, her style of humor is subversive in a way that seems light-hearted and innocuous but quickly snaps down and digs in, and those eyes could bore holes through Jupiter. I love the i4h VPN episode where she plays Amy the ape, showing she doesn't need words to command a room. Lots of physical comedy in that ep. Gabrus' Gino is an amazing intern (I can't believe Gabrus has only been on CBB twice, and both times as Gino!), and I can only hope 2014 brings us a Wompler/Gino/Reardon high school drama ep, MAYBE with Rust and Neil in there somewhere as any number of their deranged, perverted minors. Lastly, EUGENE CORDERO. He's excellent! He has a way of delivering lines that get me EVERY TIME. ("I PET A TIGER." - i4h). I voted for his eps as well, and while it was nice to see Filipino Blockbuster get included as a b-b-b-bonus-s-s-s-s clip, I was hoping one of his eps would get voted in proper. I lit up every time he appeared (2 times?) on S02 CBBTV. I think his appearances on i4h probably outdid his CBB ones, but man alive, Titans of Comedy was so good. Nathan Fielder perfectly played put-out/annoyed by Cordero's Jazz Jazz and his insisting to take Fielder with him to his barber shop. It all escalated so naturally and perfectly. And when Jazz Jazz won WYR? Forget about it. SO funny. Also, Ben Schwartz got the word out on one of these Best Of eps, but I watched the House of Lies Live, and if you like Bennie Schwaz, Lapkus, and Cordero, they're all there doing their thing masterfully, and in support of the other HoL actors not as skilled in the ol' improv game. Cordero especially has a great line delivery when asked to remember what he said to his girlfriend (Bell) that caused their breakup. Lastly, and I cannot say this enough, if you have not bought the CBBLIVE2013 Tour episodes, UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HI BATMAN! go buy them.

I was very happy to see Halfway to China breaking the top 3. I only wish in the selected clips they included Don DiMello's description of the 'Chocolate Lady' who has 'no idea what's going on.' That line destroys everyone in the studio, and is one of my favorite things DiMello has ever said. Here's to a great year! Cheers!

If you haven't picked up the CBBLIVE Tour 2013 episodes and you loved PFT's Alan Thicke noises, then I urge you to at least buy the final show of the tour (Washington DC, Show 2). That show is where PFT really introduced that particular character trait and it is INSANELY entertaining.

A 'rotating roster' is probably a more accurate descriptor of what actually occurred during what looks to be a fairly continuous recording (we at least know it was recorded on the same day, indicated by Scott's and PFT's wardrobe in the two group photos). The only thing reshuffled on the podcast so far as I can tell (I'm still listening) is Nick Lowe's performances, placed before and/or after the segment breaks. So for those fans out there who fret over whether a recording is continuous or not, uhhhhhh don't fret?

This is going to be so good, you guys. So good. I am dying over here. Between Nine Sweaters, every single Comedy Death Ray Radio appearance, every Comedy Bang Bang appearance (the podcast, the CBBLive 2012 & 2013 tours, and the TV show), and the smattering of appearances on SuperEGO, Andy Daly is about to achieve critical mass wherein I will begin grinning so widely that the top of my head will fall off, leaving only a neck stump, a bottom jaw, and a tongue violently flailing around. And oh my god, you guys, it's going to be making the most disturbing sounds of what one will think is supposed to be mirthful joy, but it will be so off-putting. So insanely off-putting that when the paramedics arrive they will vomit in the corners of my studio apartment like it's their first day on the job.

OK! THAT'S IT! THE BRAND BRAND BRAND HAS KILLED ME. GOODBYE, WORLD!

I discovered the line up by flipping thru the photos on my earwolf app, and my jaw dropped further and further with each photo. Listening now, Nick Lowe just finished his first song, and I am freaking out over what is coming next.

I've been re-listening to the whole tour this weekend, and boy oh boy, these shows are so great. I'm currently up to episode 9: NYC Show 1. Some more stand out moments for me are as follows: As I made mention in my previous comment above, Horatio's Chico Marx at the Detroit show with Kurt Braunohler is amazing, with that opening joke really setting the bar for the whole performance. By the time ALW comes out to pitch his idea for a Downton Abbey-inspired, city-wide play about the social classes of Detroit-- revealing he bought all of Detroit to do so-- then suspecting Scott torments him because Scott is really a demon, the zaniness naturally progresses into Kurt and Chico revealing they too are demons before whisking ALW away on a Christmas Carol-inspired journey into the future to show him the error of his ways. Horatio's entire run is pretty magical. The Chicago show with Sanz as Aspera!'s Victor Ramos flows well as off-the-cuff conversation, especially when John C. Reilly shows up, leading to a very memorable WYR, and the episode becomes more and more manic after the concept of stage-'Pivening' is introduced. Ramos and Reilly then continually attempt to 'out-Piven' each other, much to Scott's mock-chagrin. Of course, songs are sung. The Cantina Band Song in particular is performed on a number of shows and is always a delight. Another delight was Ep 8: Toronto, with PFT's Alan Thicke and the always funny Sean Cullen. The highlight for me is when the gang decides to do an improv exercise after Alan reveals he has a new game show idea he wants to pitch. Sean casts himself as a CBC TV executive with Scott as his assistant Cheryl. Alan goes on to pitch his idea for 'What Do You Think Will Happen?' (with an emphasis on that underline on 'Think'), which is a re-imagining of the real life Thicke's previous hosting duties on the game show 'Animal Crack-Ups.' The many interruptions made by both Sean and Scott as they introduce new twists for PFT to 'yes and' really make the whole scene excitingly absurd. On Ep 9: NYC with BJ Novak, Cake Boss's rehashing of his sentient R2-D2 cake story with added, guffaw-worthy flourishes is absolutely glorious and amazingly well-crafted. It is especially rewarding knowing how all of it is born out of gleeful riffing. (I love the improv on CBB so much, especially when the characters of a PFT or an Andy Daly or the myriad of other talented comedians are getting thrown story elements seemingly meant as obstruction by Scott and his game co-hosts. Of course Scott knows exactly how to walk that line where the absurdity he loves dishing out is just crazy enough that a listener might fret over his intentions-- albeit briefly, and not if they know better-- and the guests without fail snatch it up and cavalierly integrate it into their stories like it naturally makes all the sense in the world. The improv tool of 'If this thing is true, then what else is true?' that the UCB and its associates are so goddamned good at never fails on CBB, much to the giddy delight of us listeners.) Cake Boss' retelling of the R2-D2 story gets its tangential comedy-veins so thoroughly mined that even Scott loses track of the initial question he asked that started the whole thing (I always marvel at just how sharp PFT is with his storytelling, as I had forgotten as well). The whole thing achieves new levels of brain-bending comedy as Cake Boss and Scott segueway into related topics such as thoroughly trouncing Duncan Hines' despicable cake-making practices, and Cake Boss's movie pitch for a Gravity-esque film about the 1969 Moon Landing wherein Neil Armstrong steps out only to discover the Moon is a giant doughnut hole which he then eats before Buzz Aldrin can step out onto it, stranding Aldrin in space. Of course it is also a musical, and Cake Boss acquiesces and performs a song AND dance from his unproduced masterpiece. BJ Novak is a great straight man for the festivities, and delivers a lot of really tight retorts and observations for Cake Boss and Scott to play off of, and he even gets in the mix a bit as he and Cake Boss attempt to outmaneuver each other on certain tasks to which they were having to yes-and. It was reminiscent in the best way (but on a smaller scale) to the CBB episode featuring Andy Daly as the Irish storyteller who is forced by Scott and Jason Mantzoukas to recite on-the-spot limericks he did not initially come to the show to recite, and upon getting painted into the tightest of corners after already being game enough to make up one completely improvised limerick (about Obama and the Affordable Care Act, no less), Andy expertly, head-spinningly turns the tables on Jason, throwing him right into the line of fire. It's all a game, and I don't know the tenants of improv, but I imagine if I did educate myself then this particular game dynamic of intentionally nailing a fellow performer with a particularly difficult concept and hammering them into seemingly-harrowing, game-breaking, fiery scene-death is especially appealing simply because the thrill of what comes next is essentially the same as witnessing an escape artist in great peril break free of his chains before he drowns, with the added bonus of casting those chains on the ones responsible for their presence in the first place. BJ's and Cake Boss' quick table-turning isn't nearly as high-stakes as that Daly/Mantzoukas exchange, but it is nonetheless appreciated as being an element of improv I very much enjoy; witnessing performers' overzealous, gleeful tasking of their scene partner-- instigating a kind of improv dog fight-- and leaving the outmaneuvered with the burden of yes-and'ing whatever crazy thing all parties were trying to avoid doing themselves, all the while keeping the game going. If you are on this thread for some reason and haven't purchased the 2013 Tour, I can only say it is worth every penny and urge you to pick it up with all of my urging-skills.

I'm re-listening to all the CBBLIVE 2013 Tour episodes, and I cannot stop listening to this exchange from Episode 7: Detroit, feat. Scott, Kurt Braunohler, and Horatio Sanz as Coco Marx: SCOTT: So our next guest, he truly is a part of comedy royalty; a long lineage of wonderful comedians. He is the grandson of Groucho Marx, and he is here with us tonight! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Coco Marx to the stage! COCO: It’s a pleasure to be here, Detroit. Scott, as you know I had a record store in the Valley called ‘Golden Memories.’ And until recently, Spotifies and your, and your Pandoras Boxes... uh, really hurting our business. So I decided to go back into the family business, which is comedy. Thank you. SCOTT: Ok! Well, welcome. Is this your first performance? COCO: This is the first time that I’m gonna do comedy for you people. I have one- I have a joke I just wrote. I’d like to try it for you guys if you wouldn’t mind. KURT: Oooh! SCOTT: Sure, yeah. Do you want to take the stage, maybe stand up and do it? COCO: Sure, let me take the stage here… ... *Ahem* (clears throat) What do you call a bagel inside a child’s underwear? JonBeignet Ramsey. Thank you. (the audience groans) SCOTT: Awww, I-- Coco… COCO: Too much? KURT: That’s not just any child, that’s a dead child. COCO: That’s right...Terrible story. But these are, uh, the pitfalls of putting makeup on your little child and making them run back and forth on a stage. I’m not saying this child DESERVED to be murdered, you know, it’s just a joke. (Kurt bursts into uncontrollable laughter) SCOTT: How did, how did this- how did we GET HERE? In ONE JOKE?!

This exchange from the CBBLIVE! 2013 Tour, Episode 7: Detroit: SCOTT: So our next guest, he truly is a part of comedy royalty; a long lineage of wonderful comedians. He is the grandson of Groucho Marx, and he is here with us tonight! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Coco Marx to the stage! COCO: It’s a pleasure to be here, Detroit. Scott, as you know I had a record store in the Valley called ‘Golden Memories.’ And until recently, Spotifies and your, and your Pandoras Boxes... uh, really hurting our business. So I decided to go back into the family business, which is comedy. Thank you. SCOTT: Ok! Well, welcome. Is this your first performance? COCO: This is the first time that I’m gonna do comedy for you people. I have one- I have a joke I just wrote. I’d like to try it for you guys if you wouldn’t mind. KURT: Oooh! SCOTT: Sure, yeah. Do you want to take the stage, maybe stand up and do it? COCO: Sure, let me take the stage here… ... *Ahem* (clears throat) What do you call a bagel inside a child’s underwear? JonBeignet Ramsey. Thank you. (the audience groans) SCOTT: Awww, I-- Coco… COCO: Too much? KURT: That’s not just any child, that’s a dead child. COCO: That’s right...Terrible story. But these are, uh, the pitfalls of putting makeup on your little child and making them run back and forth on a stage. I’m not saying this child DESERVED to be murdered, you know, it’s just a joke. (Kurt bursts into uncontrollable laughter) SCOTT: How did, how did this- how did we GET HERE? In ONE JOKE?!

As a listener of The Long Shot, I can tell you it has been torturous waiting for Sean's return to I4H. He has been SUPER-busy being the head writer of an upcoming cartoon for Adult Swim, to the point where he actually missed his first Long Shot episode. I knew that as soon as he wrapped on writing the first season he'd be back on I4H, and let me tell you, Bruce, that is exactly what happened. I think Sean announced wrapping up the show maybe two Long Shot episodes ago, and BOOM, Sean's back on I4H.

Tig doing her 'Goobers' character started ringing all kinds of bells in my brain, and I was like, "WHY?! WHY?! Why is this setting bells off?! What does this remind me of???" Now I finally remembered. The way Tig was talking was like a high-pitched version of Edward Norton's character's act as a mentally disabled janitor in the film 'The Score.' For those who don't remember, Norton's character pretends to be a mentally AND physically disabled person to get an unassuming job as a night janitor in a facility absolutely ripe for heists, which he then works with De Niro and Brando (in his final role) to pull off and then of course everyone double-crosses each other. At one point Norton's character-as-a-disabled-person gets very agitated (because he is trying to manipulate the night workers into leaving the area about to be heisted or he is trying to make an excuse to remove himself so he can sneak off and do things) and it is this voice that Tig's voice reminded me of. I just saw the Score a month ago because my friend was watching it on a VERY lazy Sunday, and just the cadence and insistency in Tig's voice activated my brain like a sense memory. So crazy.

I think the humor in calling vampires Draculas is based in the concept of genericized trademarks (zippers, xerox, elevator, thermos, etc), except that when it comes to works of literature and in this instance Dracula, the most famous of vampires, everyone knows he is a VAMPIRE and his name is DRACULA, but it has become fashionable and funny to refer to vampires as Draculas, like the term has become generic (which is debatable, as I would bet most people, when pressed could tell you that Dracula is a VAMPIRE, but the way time and language go hand in hand, I wouldn't be surprised if in a generation or two vampires started getting regularly, non-jokingly referred to as Draculas). Anyway! Ask a question about silliness, get a dead-serious answer!

Connie B, Hayden P, Sexy D.

"UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Hi Batman!" -Bane

Man alive, voting for the Best Of 2013 was an ordeal! I actually went through the entire list, read all the synopses to jog my memory, came up with a list of 23-24 episodes that really stood out to me, then had to painstakingly whittle them down to 10. The CBBLIVE2013 episodes were a curveball too. I don't know if any of them will make the list, simply because they cost money so it is safe to say not all fans of the podcast have heard them. But I voted for the final D.C. show because it was amazing, with PFT really elevating the Alan Thicke character to ridiculous proportions, coupled with Jesse Ventura and a game of WYR that goes so off the rails I had to listen to it multiple times because it felt so good to laugh at it. What I found interesting is that character episodes are what I always love and glom on to, and again and again I just came across Horatio's or Eugene's or PFT's episodes, remembered how amazing all their new characters are, then have to choose which ones I liked better. Brutal, special, comedy torture, but I'm pretty happy with my selection (and then of course there is Cactus Tony squaring off against The Zouks and Aukerman for the 200th ep, Wompler's Birthday Pool Party, and Huell's send off episodes. Essential listening, in my opinion). Apologies if talking about the voting is gauche, I really have no idea what the etiquette is, and if this is considered lobbying then so be it. I can't wait to see what makes the list!

Such a great album.

I am happy to see others are mentioning Paul's Go Bayside appearance. I had not subscribed to Go Bayside until yesterday when Paul's tumblr mentioned him guesting on it. I listened to Erin Gibson's ep, which was good (love Throwing Shade), and it perfectly set up Paul's ep thanks to the two-part nature of Saved By the Bell's 'Zack and Kelly break up' arc. Paul's episode was A-MA-ZING. TwoShotsAndAScream# Then moving over to Who Charted?, I could tell he had just come from Go Bayside due to some of his references (specifically the Mr. Belding one, but there were a few), and the commenters posting the picture of him in the same snazzy attire confirms it. Suffice it to say, lots of love for PFT as always, and if anyone is even CONSIDERING checking out the CBBLIVE2013 shows, BUY THEM. THEY ARE SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD.

All of these shows were such listening joys. Everyone was firing on all cylinders, and the rotating guests interacting with Scott and PFT's characters did great jobs, as well as the character stints made by Mr. Horatio Sanz and Mr. James Adomian. I also liked the ebb and flow of the shows' energy levels, both of Scott & Co's and the audiences'. Since Paul F. basically did two performances for each character, I enjoyed how the first appearances (in line with the first shows) were very high energy for the likes of the mainstays (Cake Boss, Garry Marshall, Ice-T, and John C. Reilly [and Werner Herzog, relatively, since he is very low energy by design]), and then when their second appearances came about, they were more low-energy, methodical, and relaxed, and in doing so covered completely new grounds of improvisational topics. (Btw, low-energy doesn't equate to being quieter, as Mr. Marshall and Cake Boss will attest) Even Ice-T was more laid back in his second appearance. That is, until NYC Show 2's sexual WYR scenario was presented. Only then did Ice stir himself and the crowd into a much-appreciated, perfectly delivered, frenzied tirade of over-the-top, sexually explicit hilarity. Superbly funny in its own right, but made all the better with the knowledge that PFT usually works pretty clean, his characters will prickle at others using harsh language for comedic effect, and thus making his use of explicit language all the more powerful and funny when he decides to drop them upon an unsuspecting listenership. Perhaps what I love the most about PF-Ice-T's dissection of the WYR scenario is that it was a PERFECTLY in-character thing for PFT to do as Ice-T. Anyone who has ever seen and episode of Ice Loves Coco knows he has no issue being EXTREMELY CRASS and graphic in his descriptions of things (especially the episode where Ice does a stand-up set for charity or something [i do not watch the show as entertainment, I work for the company that distributes it]). Meanwhile, Alan Thicke's first appearance (another low energy character) was as good as his CBB podcast appearance. But it wasn't until the final show in DC where it felt like PFT really got into the character, getting comfortable with what he enjoys doing and finds funny when embodying Thicke: being extremely affable and laid back to the point of mishearing everything being said so he can then apologize, fondly reminiscing about his charmed, rich, showbiz life of sitcoms and song-writing, speaking in a baritone and making frequent, deep-voiced, weird noises inserted into the conversations with fine-tuned comedic timing, and saying words in an insanely exaggerated-to-the-point-of-hilarity-vs-accuracy Canadian accent. The WYR tangent about 80s toys and cartoons-- specifically when Thicke astutely observed that why the hell did the Ninja Turtles need to wear masks-- sent me over the edge with laughter; in my apartment, alone and out of breath. PFT-as-John C. Reilly's glorious way of saying Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is forever burned into my brain, and I couldn't be happier about it. What a fun, fun ride, the CBBLive 2013 Tour was.