When I was interviewing Jeff on Saturday, he dropped maybe the most exciting news about next year's festival possible: "We're going to start on Thursday and end on Saturday," he announced. At the time, I didn't actually realize this was exciting news, but by the end of yesterday, I was overjoyed at the prospect. Because [...]

Greg & Lou present Lou & Greg is Greg Burke, AJ Morales, and Lou Perez. Blending elements of stage and film, Greg & Lou have performed sketch comedy to sold-out audiences across the country and are proud to call the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre in NYC their home. In 2009, their pilot "Blog of a [...]

Last night, I was waiting on a shuttle outside of the City Opera House, having just gotten out of Mike Birbiglia's set. As I sat in the dark, listening to the couple next to me chat excitedly about going to see "American Teenager" (read: Teenager of the Year) and watching the line stretch down Front [...]

Roseanne took the stage a little late, at about 11:24 tonight, wearing hip shades to shield her from the glare of hundreds of excited Northern Michigan fans. Roseanne isn't afraid to get political, and she immediately sympathizes with the Michigan audience (the state that boasts the highest unemployment rate in the nation), but maintains, "It's not [...]

Predictably, when you bring as many mega stars to Traverse City as the Comedy Festival has done, you'll get some delays. The Roseanne Barr show was supposed to begin tonight at 10:30, and we saw a crowd of hundreds waiting patiently in the cold outside the State Theatre. Around 11 p.m., as soon as the [...]

John Waters says he was against the Iraq war, but he supports the soldiers. In fact, he has many fans within the ranks. He sent DVDs and t-shirts of his to dress an entire battalion in Mesopotamia, and they wear t-shirts of his face while in battle. If I were Saddam's Baath Party, I'd surrender [...]

Just found this photo of John Waters online .... if you heard his show, methink, you wouldn't be surprised at all if he went straight from a mall Santa gig to a month in the slammer. Balt'more style ..... did he appear on The Wire (Season Four, perhaps)? Sexual preference ... being gay isn't enough anymore [...]

John Waters is a fast talker: I'm trying to follow the blitzkrieg humor narrative. Junkes don't eat dog ca-ca even if they're offered a three-course meal .... bears are actually hairy old men, and there are many of them in these parts ... Wait, what there's a condition out there that describes people who wanna have sex [...]

Before John Waters' show "This Filthy World" in Traverse City's grandoise City Opera House, we're told, "absolutely no photos" .... as in, this guy is serious. They'll confiscate our cell phones, blackberries, Kodak film, whatever. He takes the stage only 5 minutes late (testament to the volunteers and management of this festival, as things were running [...]

Guys don't light candles at home to be romantic, they do it because they're farting. -- What would pornography for women be like? Two hours of cuddling, and then the guy proposes to her afterwards! -- She's on a motherhood trip now. "Why don't we give kids names that they can use in the real world? Not names like [...]

As is the tradition with all great TCFF events, the Comedy Fest kicked off yesterday with a party. Throngs of festivalgoers enjoyed appetizers and cocktails with a who's who list of comedians and VIPs at the City Opera House, including Jeff Garlin, Michael Moore, John Waters, Whitney Cummings, Teenager of the Year, TJ & Dave [...]

More photos are available in the Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival photo gallery!

Second funniest person Jeff Garlin knows is Conan O'Brien, his former roommate. The funniest is Amy Sedaris Whose the biggest (jerk **) in Hollywood? Warren Sapp, the NFL player recently arrested. A woman in the crowd asks if Jeff Garlin also holds hatred for the singer Jewel (who went to school in nearby Interlochen). His answer: not so [...]

Lifelong Cubs can Jeff Garlin often sings "Take me out to the ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field. He's on stage now recalling when Kid Rock - the pride of the mitten state - joined him at the ballpark and accidentally cursed, into a live mic, at the Cubs third baseman after he [...]

We here in Northern Michigan don't close schools on Martin Luther King Jr. Day .... nor do we call our main street in Traverse City MLK Boulevard .... "We're racists," jabs Jeff Garlin, before he returns to his easy comedic target ... making fun of the Chicago Cubs.

Jeff Garlin is talking into the banana as if it were a cell phone. He says the joke worked at Michael Moore's house over breakfast, and he claims it's worked before in restaurants, but that it's never made people laugh  while on stage. Tonight the crowd is laughing though. In fact, a woman in the [...]

It's OK to be fat, Jeff Garlin jokes. He's holding up an advertisement his wife found in a magazine for beach chairs that hold 500-lb dudes ... and other products for the morbidly obese (stadium seat cushions, toenail clippers, anyone?) (For good reason, I didn't blog about his last muse 5 minutes ago - an overweight [...]

Jeff Garlin just let the microphone slide to crotch level .... was it intentional? was it an accident? was it a crowd pleaser? Has this been done before? It was a sudden mishap .... now he's moved on to lobby for banning opposite-sex marriage ... you know, just for laughs.

The main act has arrived. Jeff Garlin is serenading the Traverse City faithful .... he may be dreaming about erections, he says, but he's standing upright at the State Theatre .... now! I'm not allowed to reprint the language here on this blog that's coming out of his mouth, but let's just say that it involves, [...]

Mike Toomey didn't need five minutes before he insulted my grandfather. Cause my grandpa actually goes to those Country Barn restaurants that Toomey just described, and orders things he can't taste, and tries to remember foods he could taste 60 years ago. Square shape, must be a brownie! Ouch, grandpa.

Mike Toomey takes the stage to open for Jeff Garlin at the State Theatre in front of a full-house crowd on opening night. In front of a velvet curtain, he massages the public's funny bones with his re-written Christmas songs that emphasize how the Midwestern winters make his private parts freeze.

Wow, three cheers for morbidity. Teenager of the Year agreed to tell jokes on stage that were submitted by dying kids in Chicago hospitals on behalf of the Make A Wish foundation .... and record the performance live for them ..... and we're laughing at the jokes "because the kids are dying soon." They're actually great jokes. Like [...]

Wow! The boys from Teenager of the Year are acting out different (some offensive) sketches - as if those acts were facing off in a March Madness College Hoops tournament First up: :"Skydiving Rapist" defeats "Eighties Night" Next: "The Last Toilet" knocked out by "Fight Scene on Pause"

Teenager of the Year (Joe and Tim, from the Chicago neighborhood of Lincoln Square) just acted out an uncut version of their "Doritos Collision" commercial (you know, the pizza-ranch dressing-flavored chips). The act merged snack food promotion with an entire family dying in a "collision" car wreck. Anything goes in comedy!

Posted eight hours ago on Teenager of the Year's website: "I have tickets for your TC Comedyfest show tonight. Will my 14 year old Daughter like your stuff? or should I bring my Grandma?" Verdict's still out. Have yet to see any blood and gore ...

Ten minutes into show, Teenager of the Year informs us, "no more refunds accepted". I can see why, because the strip show begins soon afterwards (that is, the patriotic jerseys give way to hipster sweaters .... these guys are from Chicago, after all)

Teenager of the Year just walked on stage at the Old Town Playhouse wearing patriotic white sweaters with American flags on them (timed for the Olympics, I wonder?). A little intro dance followed. Not choreographed. Certainly not synchronized.

Minutes after stepping out of my car after the scenic, 5-hour drive here from Chicago, I meet a happy, semi-inebriated Canadian named Ian who was asked at the Michigan-Canada border on his drive down today (by men in uniforms), how much he'd be getting paid for his appearance at the first annual Traverse City Comedy [...]

There's tons of great places to eat in Traverse City. Many of them already stay open late and many more have special hours. Check below for the big old list! Amical 229 E. Front St. 231-941-8888 Kitchen 11 pm Bar 11 pm Beacon Lounge Top of the Park Place Hotel 300 E. State St. 231-946-5000 Apps/Desserts 11 pm Bar midnight Blue Tractor Cook Shop 423 S. Union [...]

Here is a list of shows & events with tickets available!

Tickets have been sold. Volunteers have been prepped. Comedians have arrived (at least a handful flew in last night, and more are making their way here today). Traverse City, please join me in downing a case of Red Bull and some organic energy bars as we head into the manic weekend known as the first [...]

The tweets are already rolling in to #comedytc on Twitter. Stickers like the one above from the festive window of Stewart Zacks in TC are urging folks to share their experience at the first-ever Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival. We'll be compiling them all along with recent blog posts and other fun stuff on the 2010 [...]

Jeff Garlin and Michael Moore announce the first-ever Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival on stage at the Comedy panel discussion at the 2009 Traverse City Film Festival. Click to watch the video! The video is by the Northwest Community Media Center, who will be recording much of the Comedy Festival this year!

Comedian Mike Birbiglia is the force behind three "Comedy Central Presents" specials and an acclaimed Off-Broadway show, "Sleepwalk With Me," which was called 'Comedy of the Year' by Time Out New York. A regular contributor on "This American Life" and "The Bob & Tom Show," Mike has become synonymous with smart comedic storytelling. Next week, he'll [...]

TC Comedy Arts Festival co-founder Jeff Garlin will appear on Interlochen Public Radio tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. for a live call-in show with host Brad Aspey. A recorded interview with legendary filmmaker and Comedy Fest guest John Waters will round out the hour-long program. Be sure to tune in to 91.5 FM to catch [...]

After weeks of anticipation and excitement, Michael Moore and Jeff Garlin released the schedule today for the inaugural TC Comedy Arts Festival, coming up Feb. 19-21 here in Traverse City. Here is their email reproduced in its entirety. (Note: If you just want to see the schedule, and not read the descriptions, skip directly to [...]

Mike Toomey grew up glued to the tube, and his one-man show "TV & Me" is the manifestation of his obsession. His ability to remember his favorite programs verbatim and impersonate the voices of his favorite characters made Mike popular with his classmates - if not his teachers - growing up. His show features over [...]

Teenager of the Year is the brain child of Chicago natives Joe Avella and Tim Racine. The infectious sketch comedy duo has performed at Sketchfest, the Los Angeles Comedy Festival, and the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. But perhaps the group's best description comes from the performers themselves: "Teenager of the Year is the best group [...]

One of the fastest rising stars on the comedy circuit, Whitney Cummings and her one-woman show, "Live! Nude! Comedy!" have received rave notices around the country. Variety calls her one of the "Ten New Comedy Stars to Watch," and sheÕs one of Entertainment WeeklyÕs "Comedy Stars of Tomorrow." Whitney got her start as a series [...]

Second City veterans TJ & Dave (TJ Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi) have dominated the improv scene since they debuted in Chicago in 2002. The New York Post has called them "masters of their genre," and in a review of their act, The New York Times said, "Besides being consistently amusing, the show was satisfying as [...]

Legendary comedienne and actress Roseanne Barr will be headlining the inaugural Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival February 19-21, Michael Moore announced today. Barr, whose show "Roseanne" dominated TV charts for most of its run, has returned to her stand-up roots in recent years, developing a caustic and hilarious routine on life in America. "I've seen [...]

The following appeared today in the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Stay tuned for more announcements on this coming soon! TC Film Festival plans comedy event By BILL O'BRIEN bobrien@record-eagle.com TRAVERSE CITY - Northern Michigan could use some laughs in the icy throes of late winter, and the Traverse City Film Festival wants to make the region smile. The festival today will [...]