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Brent Weinbach: the next great alt comic?
Standup comedy is a competitive business, and the competition is coming to Lake Tahoe this weekend.
Ten semifinalists from a field of 32 perform Saturday, Sept. 27, at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa in the 33rd annual San Francisco Standup Comedy Competition. The comics are vying for $25,000, with $7,500 going to the champion. But the cash is secondary to the prestige of winning event open to comics from all across the nation.
“It does carry a lot of sway in the eyes of people in Hollywood,” said Jonathan Fox, who has been the competition’s producer since it began in 1976, the year Robin Williams came in second. “This event doesn’t pull any punches in the demands to do well. (The comics) are performing in front of different kinds of crowds, and it has a scientific, Olympic-style scoring system.”
After winning the competition in 1977, Dana Carvey landed a role on “Saturday Night Live.” The 1979 champion, Marsha Warfield, went on to star in “Night Court, and runner-ups Ellen DeGeneres and Mark Curry also had their own television shows. Political humorist Will Durst, a regular at The Improv at Harveys Resort and Casino, won in 1983. Other competitors were Roseanne Barr, Mark Pitta and Johnny Steele, who will be the host at Saturday’s show.
The five opening rounds had the comics perform five to seven-minute acts. They will go for 10 to 12 minutes in the semifinals.
“I don’t see anybody who’s a shoo-in to win it,” said Dax Jordan, a comic from Portland, Ore. “Everyone I’ve seen is just very, very funny and has brought a lot of consistency to the table. There is such minor differences between a winning set and a losing set at this point.”
Tyler Boeh, another Portland native, now lives in Boston, where he works as a waiter when he’s not doing standup.
“People are very friendly and very politically correct in Oregon,” Boeh said. “People like to be nice, but out here you’ve got that edge to people. There’s very nice people out here but when you first meet them they’ve to a tougher shell. And some people are downright proud to be an asshole.”
Boeh and Jordan both competed at the Boston Comedy Festival last week.
“It’s enjoyable, but it’s exhausting and a little bit stressful as well,” Boeh said. “It’s a different dynamic when you put judges in it and make it a competitive thing.”
Murv Seymour’s video production company in Tampa, Fla., allows him to perform about 25 weeks a year. He is a former television news reporter who worked in Sacramento, Shreveport, La., and Milwaukee.
“I love letting people know who I am and how I think as a person,” Seymour said. “With my news background it’s an innate duty or an instinct (to use topical material). It’s more work to be that way because the jokes tend to have a shelf life of only a month or show. It helps people connect with you. Who can ignore what’s going on financially right now or this historic presidential election.”
Seymour said he pulls no punches when it comes to Barack Obama, even though both are black. But he also commented on John McCain and praised his running mate, Sarah Palin.
“McCain is not the most exciting guy,” he said. “I just heard him speak and saw three people turn to dust.”
About the selection of the first GOP vice presidential candidate, he said: “That guy’s talking about putting country first? He’s putting coochie first. All the analysts want to know if she’s going to create a bump in the polls. I’ve got a bump in my pants. I don’t know about you but when the vice president speaks, I shouldn’t be getting a stimulus package.”
Jordan said he has a subtle sense of humor.
“My parents are smart and good-looking,” Jordan said during a recent performance. “That didn’t help me much. I’m smart-looking. People say, ‘Hey Dax, can you fix my computer?’ ”
Depending on the audience, Jordan said he will turn up or tone down his delivery.
“The finals will (include a night in) Santa Cruz, where there is a rowdy, younger booze-filled crowd,” he said. “You learn to pick it up a notch and come in with a sledgehammer. The road experience definitely helps you adjust to the different types of rooms.”
The comics spoke about potential winners.
“Jacob Sirof,” Jordan said. “I haven’t met him but I’ve seen him on TV. So that’s always disconcerting when you’re competing against a guy you just saw on Comedy Central. And Steve White’s been in a bunch of Spike Lee movies. Guys like Brent Weinbach are poised to become alternative comedy stars that are just in a holding pattern, waiting for that opening in the (1993 San Francisco Standup Comedy Competition winner) Patton Oswalt alternative world to become a hipster household name.”
Boeh defined Weinbach’s humor as absurdism.
“Brent was kicking butt all weeks so if I was going to pick someone other than myself who could take it all I would definitely put him right up there,” Boeh said.
“Tyler Boeh has incredible energy, and he really kills it with this one bit he does with a beat box,” Seymour said. “Jose Sarduy has pet phrases they he uses and really connects with people. They are all really good comedians.”
The comedy competition also came to the casino four years ago when it was named Caesars Tahoe. Five of the 10 comics will advance to the finals in Santa Cruz.
Ten semifinalists from a field of 32 perform Saturday, Sept. 27, at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa in the 33rd annual San Francisco Standup Comedy Competition. The comics are vying for $25,000, with $7,500 going to the champion. But the cash is secondary to the prestige of winning event open to comics from all across the nation.
“It does carry a lot of sway in the eyes of people in Hollywood,” said Jonathan Fox, who has been the competition’s producer since it began in 1976, the year Robin Williams came in second. “This event doesn’t pull any punches in the demands to do well. (The comics) are performing in front of different kinds of crowds, and it has a scientific, Olympic-style scoring system.”
After winning the competition in 1977, Dana Carvey landed a role on “Saturday Night Live.” The 1979 champion, Marsha Warfield, went on to star in “Night Court, and runner-ups Ellen DeGeneres and Mark Curry also had their own television shows. Political humorist Will Durst, a regular at The Improv at Harveys Resort and Casino, won in 1983. Other competitors were Roseanne Barr, Mark Pitta and Johnny Steele, who will be the host at Saturday’s show.
The five opening rounds had the comics perform five to seven-minute acts. They will go for 10 to 12 minutes in the semifinals.
“I don’t see anybody who’s a shoo-in to win it,” said Dax Jordan, a comic from Portland, Ore. “Everyone I’ve seen is just very, very funny and has brought a lot of consistency to the table. There is such minor differences between a winning set and a losing set at this point.”
Tyler Boeh, another Portland native, now lives in Boston, where he works as a waiter when he’s not doing standup.
“People are very friendly and very politically correct in Oregon,” Boeh said. “People like to be nice, but out here you’ve got that edge to people. There’s very nice people out here but when you first meet them they’ve to a tougher shell. And some people are downright proud to be an asshole.”
Boeh and Jordan both competed at the Boston Comedy Festival last week.
“It’s enjoyable, but it’s exhausting and a little bit stressful as well,” Boeh said. “It’s a different dynamic when you put judges in it and make it a competitive thing.”
Murv Seymour’s video production company in Tampa, Fla., allows him to perform about 25 weeks a year. He is a former television news reporter who worked in Sacramento, Shreveport, La., and Milwaukee.
“I love letting people know who I am and how I think as a person,” Seymour said. “With my news background it’s an innate duty or an instinct (to use topical material). It’s more work to be that way because the jokes tend to have a shelf life of only a month or show. It helps people connect with you. Who can ignore what’s going on financially right now or this historic presidential election.”
Seymour said he pulls no punches when it comes to Barack Obama, even though both are black. But he also commented on John McCain and praised his running mate, Sarah Palin.
“McCain is not the most exciting guy,” he said. “I just heard him speak and saw three people turn to dust.”
About the selection of the first GOP vice presidential candidate, he said: “That guy’s talking about putting country first? He’s putting coochie first. All the analysts want to know if she’s going to create a bump in the polls. I’ve got a bump in my pants. I don’t know about you but when the vice president speaks, I shouldn’t be getting a stimulus package.”
Jordan said he has a subtle sense of humor.
“My parents are smart and good-looking,” Jordan said during a recent performance. “That didn’t help me much. I’m smart-looking. People say, ‘Hey Dax, can you fix my computer?’ ”
Depending on the audience, Jordan said he will turn up or tone down his delivery.
“The finals will (include a night in) Santa Cruz, where there is a rowdy, younger booze-filled crowd,” he said. “You learn to pick it up a notch and come in with a sledgehammer. The road experience definitely helps you adjust to the different types of rooms.”
The comics spoke about potential winners.
“Jacob Sirof,” Jordan said. “I haven’t met him but I’ve seen him on TV. So that’s always disconcerting when you’re competing against a guy you just saw on Comedy Central. And Steve White’s been in a bunch of Spike Lee movies. Guys like Brent Weinbach are poised to become alternative comedy stars that are just in a holding pattern, waiting for that opening in the (1993 San Francisco Standup Comedy Competition winner) Patton Oswalt alternative world to become a hipster household name.”
Boeh defined Weinbach’s humor as absurdism.
“Brent was kicking butt all weeks so if I was going to pick someone other than myself who could take it all I would definitely put him right up there,” Boeh said.
“Tyler Boeh has incredible energy, and he really kills it with this one bit he does with a beat box,” Seymour said. “Jose Sarduy has pet phrases they he uses and really connects with people. They are all really good comedians.”
The comedy competition also came to the casino four years ago when it was named Caesars Tahoe. Five of the 10 comics will advance to the finals in Santa Cruz.
