Hey folks, in case you didn’t know, it’s a big week for comedy albums. Michael Ian Black‘s new special Very Famous premiered on Comedy Central on Saturday night (it will air again on Wed, Aug 10 at 3:33am) and the uncensored and extended version of Very Famous will be released on CD and digitally via Comedy Central Records on Aug 9.
Filmed at The Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia, Black expresses the irony in being an accomplished and well-known comedian who strangers constantly find un-amusing. Being considered a famous comedian (yet simultaneously unfunny), is an irreverent backdrop for Black to recount his euphoric skydiving experience, his disdain for his children’s unoriginal Halloween costumes and the inevitable awkwardness of a rectal exam.
Michael Ian Black will be hitting the road for the “Black Is White” tour in September and he’ll be making his way to these parts for the New York Comedy Festival on Nov 10, 2011 (venue TBA). All tickets for the NY Comedy Festival go on sale on Aug 15 at 10AM, hopefully we’ll see the lineup sometime before then too.
Also on Tuesday, Aug 9, podcast king Marc Maron will be releasing his fourth comedy album entitled This Has To Be Funny on Comedy Central records.
Maron is known for his incisive cultural and political commentary, mystical ruminations and neurotic insights into human nature. Recorded live last winter at The Bell House in Brooklyn, “This Has To Be Funny” features the comedian LA Weekly calls “devastatingly funny” at his very best as he gives his take on New York Hipsters, his “cat ranch” and The Creation Museum, among other subjects. The album is the follow up to Maron’s three other albums “Not Sold Out,” “Tickets Still Available” and “Final Engagement,” which are comedy cult classics. To celebrate the album release, Maron will be performing at Steve Allen Theater in LA on August 9.
While Marc doesn’t have a NYC date scheduled as of this moment, he has regularly been bringing live versions of the WTF Podcast to the Bell House in Brooklyn (the last one was on July 25). I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him at the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival (Sep 15-18) or possibly at the NY Comedy Festival as well. Check the NYC Comedy Calendar for updates.
If you are chomping at the bit to hear both of comedy records, then you’ll probably be happy to hear that I’ve got two copies of both Very Famous and This Has To Be Funny to give away to some lucky readers. To enter for a chance to win, fill out the contest entry form after the jump and then Facebook and Tweet the crap out of it*. Contest ends on August 16, 2011, 1 entry per household please, US residents only.
Contest entry form and more Marc Maron and Michael Ian Black tour dates after the jump.
* Facebooking and Tweeting is not required, but it will make me happy.
Michael Ian Black Tour Dates
18-Aug Louisville, KY
07-Sep Athens, GA
08-Sep Atlanta, GA
09-Sep Asheville, NC
10-Sep Charleston, SC
15-Sep Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
16-Sep Madison, WI
17-Sep Milwaukee, WI
23-Sep Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
24-Sep Seattle, WA
27-Sep Columbia, SC
07-Oct Austin, TX
08-Oct Fort Worth, TX Bass Performance Hall
14-Oct Boston, MA Wilbur Theatre
15-Oct South Burlington, VT
03-Nov Ann Arbor, MI
04-Nov Cleveland Heights, OH Grog Shop
05-Nov Chicago, IL
10-Nov New York, NY NY Comedy Festival (TBA)
11-Nov Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
12-Nov Baltimore, MD
16-Nov Los Angeles, CA Largo
18-Nov San Francisco, CA Cobb’s Comedy Club
19-Nov San Francisco, CA Cobb’s Comedy Club
01-Dec Washington, DC Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
02-Dec Durham, NC Carolina Theater
03-Dec Richmond, VA The National
Marc Maron Tour Dates
Aug 04 – 06 Chicago, IL Maynestage – 5 Shows
Aug 09 – WTF Live Los Angeles, CA Steve Allen Theatre (CD Release Party)
Aug 18 – 20 Las Vegas, NV Playboy Comedy Club – 5 Shows (Tent)
Aug 25 – 28 Cleveland, OH Hilarities – 6 Shows
Sep 08 – 11 Nashville, TN Zanies – 6 Shows
Sep 22 – 25 Louisville, KY Improv – 6 Shows