The Steve Reynolds Program - Issue #8
Hey ho! First, the weed fest was a total DISASTER! Mainly due to weather and promised things not delivered. It was windy and cold and they put us outside on the band stage over an hour later than scheduled. A Colorado bro band was setting up while the first comic told his jokes and the booker came up to me and said, "Hey, the band might play before you. We'll see." No problem! That's how all great comedy showcases go: a a comic, a band playing music that makes Hootie and the Blowfish sound funky for an hour, a comic. The band did not go on before me, "fortunately." I went on with my jacket zipped up to my throat and hands in my pockets to stay warm, told a street joke to the four people sort of paying attention, and walked straight to my car to get out of there. Why do I do this?
The basement the next night was the complete opposite. Warm, crowded and lots of laughs. Oh, that's why I do this.
But hey, enough of my yakking. Whaddaya say? Let's boogie!
The Good Stuff
1. Lady Dynamite's supporting cast - Maria Bamford's Netflix series is very good. Its crazed jumps in time and surreal plotlines (including her pugs speaking in Werner Herzog accented English) are fun. But there are three characters that bring out laughs every time they're on. Mary Kay Place's Marilyn Bamford is the perfect Midwestern mother, part space case, part psychological flamethrower. Fred Melamed's Bruce Ben-Bacharach is Maria's agent who keeps soups filed in his cabinet and patiently handles Maria's mental illness by being weirder and more erratic than her. Ana Gasteyer's Karen Grisham is the manic speed-talking talent agent/director who is lewder than the Access Hollywood tape. Not since The Larry Sanders Show has a supporting cast been this strong.
2. Mick Herron's Slough House series - I've also seen this called the "Jackson Lamb series" or the "River Cartwright series" after two of the main characters, but that seems to against the team concept of these British spy novels with multiple characters, droll humor and wild plotting. I'm on the third in the series now and it's as entertaining as the others. Don't let the page count scare you off; they read fast.
3. Zaouli (Gouro Death Mask) - Lynda Barry's tumblr (great in of itself) pointed me to this video. The ankles mesmerize me.
4. New Mexico Wildlife Center - This active rescue center and home for injured animals is fairly quaint, but its work is admirable, the birds beautiful, and it's a short trip from Santa Fe. Two things witnessed: a non-confined wild roadrunner was strutting around the gray fox's enclosure and it really reminded me of Wile E. Coyote's futile pursuit of his prey. A rattlesnake inside the center will rattle if you even dare look at him. And the rattle is LOUD and lasts upwards of a minute. Creepy and entertaining.
Plug Tunin'
May 4th I feature at the Headliners show at Rio Bravo Brewing. That's about it for now.
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