100% Pure Comic Babble

Construction Time!

2005-08-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

We're currently undergoing some renovations and will be closed for about a month. Check in at www.rubinville.com for any new info. E-mail us at comedycompanynyc@yahoo.com with any specific questions.

Come and enjoy our new carpet and tables upon our return!

Dave's First Interview

2005-07-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

Our very own Dave Rubin was interviewed for the Gothamist this week. Check out the interview at

www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/07/12/dave_rubin_comedian.php

Great shows coming up all week - E-mail us for reservations - And dont forget that LOGICAL Marketing tickets still are still valid even if the expiration date has passed.

See ya at the show.

For You, The Fans

2005-06-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

We've been getting a ton of e-mails from people who've bought tickets at their colleges about the June 30th expiration date. So, we discussed, argued, fought and bickered until we finally decided to honor the tickets for another full year. So, if you've got tickets that say they expire June 20th, 2005, they now are good until June 30th, 2006.

Shows have been great lately and we're happy to report that the air conditioning is fully functioning.

Our 5 dollar Monday-Thursdays are still in effect if you make reservations online, just email us at comedycompanynyc@yahoo.com.

Funny, Funny, Funny...

2005-06-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the rest of the week, folks...

Wednesday
Mike Singer
Dave Rubin
Bob Jeurgens
Meghan Hanley
Barry Rothbart
Don Weir

Thursday
Dave Rubin
Bob Juergens
Don Weir
Erik Braunstien (Early Show)
Mike Singer
David Waugh (Late Show)

Friday
Mike Singer
Don Weir
Bob Jeurgens
Meghan Hanley (Early Show)
Brian Baumley (Late Show)
Dave Rubin

Saturday
Dave Rubin
Erik Braustien
Meghan Hanley (Late Show)
Brian Baumley
Mike Singer

Sunday
Dave Rubin
Bob Jeurgens
Brian Baumley
Barry Rothbart

We're still doing 5 dollar ticket to the Sunday-Thursday shows if you make reservations online. Just e-mail us at comedycompanynyc@yahoo.com for reservations or more info.

Thursday-Sunday

2005-06-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

It's looking like a beautiful weekend here in NYC, and here's the weekend schedule...

Thursday
Don Wier
Bob Jeurgens
Mike Singer
Meghan Hanley
Gregory K (Early Show)
David Waugh (Late Show)
Erik Braunstein

Friday
Dave Rubin
Mike Singer
Meghan Hanley
Bob Jeurgens

Saturday
Erik Braunstien
Don Weir
Dave Rubin
Mike Singer
Tim Toohey (Early Show)

Sunday
Bob Jeurgens
Meghan Hanley
Dave Rubin
JP Pawley

Not an Ewok in Sight

2005-05-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Rubin and I went to see the 12:01 am, opening night showing of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. We thought it would be a freak-fest of costumes and nerds, but we only saw two Princess Leahs, one Darth Vader and one Jedi (I think whichever one is played by Samuel Jackson, but you'd have to ask Dave b/c I really could care less) and a bunch of light sabers. (Only guys bring light sabers -- make your own adequacy jokes here). Dave had his talking Darth Vader mask in his backpack, but he was too chicken to don it.

In any event, as the temperature in NYC continues to hover somewhere around early-April, we're busy looking at ways to heat things up inside the club. When you have a core group of comics working together over time, things really start to loosen up, and a certain trust builds. When you come to a show these days, you may see some things you might not otherwise expect in a traditional stand-up show, like special effects, which we plan to increase over time. Friday night alone, while watching the early show, you would have during one set, heard the Canadian National Anthem, the Imperial March from Star Wars, chirping crickets (for jokes that bombed) and assorted other stuff. We don't guarantee that every show, but we'd like to expand the stand-up experience at CCNY into an event that will be remembered beyond one-liners. So make a reservation, we've got a lot of shows coming up between now and Labor Day.

This Week in Humor

2005-05-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Monday
Dave Rubin
Don Wier
Mike Singer
Meghan Hanley

Wednesday
Eric Di Piocciato
Dave Rubin
Mike Singer
Don Weir
Bob Juergens

Thursday
Mike Singer
Bob Jeurgens
Meghan Hanley
Erik Braunstien (Early Show)
Eric Di Piocciato (Late Show)
Brian Baumley
Gregory Kay (Early Show)
JP Pawley

Friday
Dave Rubin
Meghan Hanley
Eric Di Piocciato
Mike Singer

Saturday
Erik Braunstien
Mike Singer
Dave Rubin
Eric Di Piocciato
Bob Jeurgens

Sunday
Brian Baumley
Bob Jeurgens
Dave Rubin
Barry Rothbart
Tim Toohey
JP Pawley

We're Baaaaaaaaaack!

2005-05-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

As of today the Comedy Company is back to our full summer schedule. We're now back to the full shows, everyday except Tuesday, at 8:30 and late shows at 11 pm on Thursday-Sunday. As always call or email us for reservations.

Great shows this past weekend. Unlike most comedy clubs in NYC we don't do the 10-12 comics per show with everyone doing just 5 mintues. We've got our weekend shows down to 4-5 comics doing 20 minute sets where you can really get to know them and experience comedy the way it should be.

This week we've got a calvacade of our main comics throughout the week. Weekdays are when you can really see comedians working out new material and trying to see what works. Weekends are showcase time when you see our best doing their best. On Friday, we've got Rubin, Singer, Juergens and Warren Holstein. Saturday brings on Rubin, Singer Juergens and Meghan Hanley.

We're all psyched for the next four months, so come on down, sit down, and watch us stand up.

Weekly Update

2005-04-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

Gearing up for the big summer season here at the Comedy Company. We're actually pushing off the full schedule 1 week, until May 9th, and then you'll be able to see hows 6 days a week. E-mail us (comedycompanynyc@yahoo.com) for specific info.

4 great shows this weekend with our mainstays Bob Juergens, Mike Singer, Dave Rubin, Meghan Hanley, Don Wier and Warren Holstein. The shows have been pretty crazy lately, highlighted by last week when President Bush called in the middle of a show and was put on the loudspeaker and told a crowdmember from Wales to stop bashing America. The drunken Welschman was then carried out by his rather embarrassed wife. We don't know of any other comedy club that the President of the United States actually calls to make a statement.

Too see who calls in or gets carried out this week, come on down...

The New Deal

2005-04-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

We're officially expanding the schedule of shows as of Monday, May 2nd. Showtimes will Be at 8:30 everynight with the 11 pm late shows on Friday and Saturday. There will be no shows on Tuesday, because even funny people need a day to rest.

As an offer to all you guys who check out our site, if you make reservations online for any weekday show, we'll knock off half the price and you can get in for 5 bucks.

E-mail us at comedycompanynyc@yahoo.com for reservations or more info.

Numa Numa

2005-04-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Wild night at the club. First of all, we want to say so long to our cocktail/food server, Lindsay, who is moving to Ohio for the summer and to Florida, permanently. It's amazing how the right person serving drinks can make a comedy club a better place to be, and Lindsay was the coolest to have around; she really became part of the CCNY family, and we are sorry to see her go. Of course, that means we get Zuli back for the summer -- that'll be fun. In any event, good luck, Linds', and we'll see you around the 'hood. Actually, I may see her at LaGuardia in a few hours because both of us have to catch 6am flights (me to Chicago, her to Florida). I'm going to my brother's second wedding, so my family is well on its way to a daytime talk show appearance.

As for the shows tonight. Wow. We had a group of about 90 taking the whole room for the early show. 90 Unitarians on some retreat. What a wild bunch of kids -- and I mean wild in the good sense. They were loud, boisterous, but fun, and all the comics had to work doubly hard to pull it together. So if your alternative (or mainstream)religious group wants to have a night out on the town, think about CCNY.

The second show was a smaller crowd, but it was a great show. Don, Bobby and Dave built a crazy environment for my wacked out close. Dave's biggest fan, whose name escapes me, was in the audience for his monthy visit. Dave's the only one of us who has a true groupie, so if any of you want to stalk a comic, drop us a line at comedycompanynyc@yahoo.com and designate your comic. So what was the wacked out close? We did the Numa dance onstage, with me singing and, at first this audience member dancing and, later with Don and Bob dancing. Only at Comedy Company.

That's all for now. I have to get ready to go the airport. By the way, we'll be expanding into out summer schedule starting in May. Also look for Dave's new game show, which will probably debut on slower nights during the week in summer. So if you're into audience interaction, make a reservation for any night or just drop by. Numa Numa.

Baseball and Comedy

2005-04-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

This time of the year is typically known for the beginning of baseball season, but in the comedy world it is also know as the beginning of the real comedy season. See, especially here in NYC, when it gets nice out people start wandering around town and often wind up strolling into a comedy club at the end of the day. Because so many people walk around in Time Square, where The Comedy Company is located, we get tons of these wanderers. This often causes us to have shows that are not only filled with people from different states, but often different countries, and every now and then, even from other planets.

The last few weeks at Comedy Company have been pretty great, as the comics are rejuvinated from the nice weather and the crowds continue to get bigger and bigger. This coming week, we're already sold out on the early show on Friday but FYI there are some tickets left for the late show. Word seems to ve traveling about the different style of comedy that we're doing, and now we just have to keep doing it.

The main team will be around this weekend, headlined by Bob Jeurgens, Dave Rubin and Mike Singer, in no particular order. Well, actually that was in alphabetical order, but it had no significance other than that. Erik Braunstein, David Waugh, and Meghan Hanley will also be in the mix doing their highly hilarious stuff. Also, on Saturday night's early show we'll celebrate the return of Melissa Rauch, who has been on the road doing college's for the past two months or so. She'll surely have some "road stories" and may re-live one or two of them on stage.

If you've come to our shows lately we'd love to hear what you think of our brand of comic crazyness, so drop us an e-mail using the form on the front page of the site, or e-mail us directly at comedycompanynyc@yahoo.com. Maybe we'll even hook you up with some special offers, there's only one way to find out. What kind of offers, you ask? Maybe we'll just send a comic to your house to tell you jokes before bed. Pretty sweet, huh?

If you haven't come down and seen a show live yet, it's nice out, and there are no more excuses, so we'll see ya soon...

Comedy Company NYC: Stand Up on Steroids

CCNY Glossary: Hackometer

2005-03-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

Device that displays the level of hackness of a joke or ad-lib. Made by placing the right elbow in the left hand at a 90 degree angle. The hackometer moves back and forth when prompted by a lame, shopworn pice if humor-tripe. The faster it gyrates back and forth between 0 and 180 degrees, the more hack the material.

Home Away From Homeless

2005-03-29T21:50:00.000-08:00

Back when stand-up comedians ruled the world (catch the show on VH1), Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg hosted innumerable Comic Relief specials to raise money for the homeless. Of course, there were never any homeless people in the audience, or at least that anyone could see on television.

Well, we at CCNY like to one-up the stars, so we let a homeless guy into the first show last Friday. Now we know why there weren't any homeless at Comic Relief. The guy looked like a cross between Osama Bin Laden and Charles Manson. We reduced the cover, and the show, hosted by EDP, was going quite well until the guy downed his 33rd dollar of alcohol (for which, thanks to the generosity of New Yorkers, he had ample funds to pay). Rubin started his set, and the guy just started babbling incoherently. Rubes handled it ok and battled through it, using the guy as a prop. But then I had to close the show, and the guy was out of control, so I gave him a real good, "Would you shut the fuck up," which elicited tremendous applause from the crowd. It was all downhill from there, as his ability to make random noise equaled my ability to mock him. Luckily, we required everyone at the late show to produce a lease or mortgage to gain entry, and we had a great show, playing tag.

Saturday was a great night all around...super intelligent audience in the first show and big, enthusiastic crowd for the second show. The line-up was EDP, Jeff Glass, Warren Holstein (back off the DL again) Meghan, Rubes, and me. Rubes had his best set in a long time in show two -- his "I'm so bored of being white" bit was a hit with the mostly non-white crowd. Jeff hosted -- he's great at riling up a crowd because he has no fear. Good sets were had all around, though the way Warren limped out, he'll probable be gone again.

We cancelled Easter Sunday, and tomorrow the room is being cleaned, so no show. But, we'll be back Friday for another "what else bizarre can happen under TGI Friday's." Also, look for our expanded show schedule starting the first week of May. Later, Sing.

Feeding Frenzy

2005-03-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

More March Madness. We had dueling Terri Schiavo material on tonight's show. Dave Rubin said that he had experienced a four-year persistent vegetative state...college. The hackometer was doing 180's on that one even though it merits a chuckle. I opted to complain that I am starting to feel guilty every time I get bloated from eating in the last week and wished someone would remove my feeding tube. You make the call.

Such was another Thursday event at CCNY. Thursday's are becoming the show I enjoy the most. The house is usually only 1/3 to 1/2 full and the atmosphere is chill, so the comics take more risks, just letting shit fly. Count Paul came by and did a 5 minute rant on the declining standards that record labels have when they sign rap/hip-hop artists. Rubes reached back to his open-mic days and read joke pre-cursors out of his notebook. Bobby J. did what he always does, which is project all his sexual frustration onto the audience. Don Weir hosted -- I enjoy his humor more every day, though he left the Schiavo to others. Meghan Hanley was there also, but I was watching Illinois beat U.W.-Milwaukee at that point in the show, after which I closed the show babbling on about mesothelioma -- that's asbestos-related cancer -- and my mother's failure to offer nutritive meals, which brings us full circle back to the feeding frenzy. Yeah, Thursday's are fun at CCNY. We have a whole weekend of great shows ahead, except no show Easter Sunday. Later. Sing.

Crazy Weekend

2005-03-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

Dave Rubin was at a drunken bachelor party on Saturday, so Bobby J. and I had the room to ourselves, except that Dave booked what seemed like every comic in NYC to take his place, so Saturday was especially wild, as was the entire weekend, with the usual veritable United Nations of audience members (more on that in a minute), but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Laugh for Laugh, Thursday's show was the best of the week, not the least of which was because I closed the show by staging The Dating Game to try and hook this girl up with an audience member. See, she was on a date with some guy who already had a girlfriend, and she was just smitten with this guy. Well, we figured he must have been gay, and the "girlfriend" was really a boyfriend. Anyway, she had never really heard of The Dating Game, but she caught on quickly, as she quizzed a Michigan State law student, a University of West Va. student and comic Brian Bombly, who made his CCNY debut on Thursday. I'm not sure if that's how to spell his last name, but any comic whose name sounds like "bomb" ought to spell it that way even if it's not. Anyway, he'll be a good new addition to our roster of comics. He has a quirky energy that plays off his apparent nerdiness. Funny stuff. Eric di Piciotto (or as I like to call him Eric Depak Chopra, Eric Depoprivera, Eric Delerium Tremens, Eric Home Depot, take your pick) hosted the show, and he has this new bit about the retro-quality of his French that is not only hilarious, but it keeps getting longer and funnier. We're encouraging him to expand it more...it's that funny. Rubin and Bobby J. did their usual top-notch performances, but I wasn't paying attention because I was drinking beer with Don Weir.

And that brings me to Friday. Friday was a tale of two shows. The late show was great, all around. But the first show, how should I can I put this gingerly...it sucked, and yet, none of us could figure out why. And that doesn't mean the audience didn't enjoy the show in a quiet way, just the comics didn't get the response we like to get. And when comics don't hear big laughs, they just assume the audience hates them. Anyway, let's see, the audience included eight 16-year old kids who were in town for the Model United Nations program. (I don't think any of them even really knew what the UN is.) They were really excited to be out in the city, but they were more concerned about scoring cigarettes and alcohol than paying attention to the show. They kept getting up to go to the "bathroom" the entire show, but they were actually sneaking smokes in the bathroom, which violates every NYC law there is. They sat in the middle of the room so all the adults could feel self-conscious, like they were all baby sitting. There was a Scottish couple, the female half of which was so drunk that as the show wore on she just started yelling out nonsensical stuff. Good example for the nicotine-laced kids. Then there was this woman who came to watch Bobby J., and they've been on a few dates, so he was nervous and bitchy. All told, there were probably 50 people in the house, and about six of them had a great time -- that is to say, they laughed hysterically. The rest seemed to think they were at a performance of Twelve Angry Men. One comic after another went up and did their duty and ate it, despite tremendous effort. Bobby J., Bob Castrone, Rubes, and I marched up and marched back with head in hand. It actually became quite funny in the Green Room. Well, that happens in comedy sometimes, just like in any work environment. Bad day at the office. All I can say is thank god for the second show. We played tag, which means no emcee, which works great in late shows because the pacing is quick. Bobby J. started things off by doing about 40 minutes of A-list crowd work. He seemed to think he needed to make up for the 20-minute egg he laid in the first show by doing a headline-length set to open the second show. Depot had a great set and Rubes did also, as he got the audience into some serious discussions about Michael Jackson's choice of pajamas as trial-wear.

Like I said, Saturday was crowded, both in the audience and on stage. We had eight comics: Jeff Glass, Jon Pauley, Meghan Hanley, Steve Miller, Bobby J., Tim Touhy, Josh Comers, and me. The room was almost full for the first show, as a lot of spring breakers showed up, having bought tix' on campus. If your college doesn't sell our tix', email us, and we'll try and get you hooked up. The show was just boom, boom, boom, as we tried to get everyone up. Still we didn't end the show until almost 11 p.m., which is when the second show is supposed to begin. Well, last night it didn't start until 11:30, and it was the most bizarre show of the weekend. I like to think of it as clash of cultures show. There was an Iranian family, a Russian couple, a Chinese couple, a few New Yorkers, some Canadians, assorted American tourists and who knows what else. We get that a lot at CCNY because of our location, and it takes a lot of experience to know when to push the boundaries of political correctness. Comers hosted the show, and some of the younger comics had trouble connecting with the diverse crowd. And then Bobby J, got up there and just called it like it was. I think it was one of the best performances I've seen by him and it set the show for a great finish. Things are coming together well, and we're set to move into Spring with bigger audiences and even better shows.

Weekend Recap

2005-03-06T08:55:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, here's a rundown of the last few nights at the Comedy Company.

Friday brought on 2 great shows. The first had a large group of teenagers who were celebrating the birthday of one of their friends. Smaller crowd on the late show but Meghan Hanley hosted what turned into a great show as people kept coming in throughout the night. Meghan maintained the funny even when a rather drunken crowd member got up and randomly announced that he "loved America". Eric Dipicciotto's 19th century french bit was a big hit.

Mike Singer ended the show by staging an impromptu "American Idol" where we had a 20-something Romanian free-style rapping, a 30ish black man singing "Sexual Chocolate" ala Eddie Murphy in "Coming to America" and two college girls doing a duet of Hanson's "MMM Bop". The group was judged by fellow comics Dave Rubin, Meghan Hanley and Eric Di Picciotto. In an amazing finish, "Sexual Chocolate" tied with "MMM Bop". Clearly, this group was as taltented as anything Simon Cowell gets to see.

Singer continued his crazy close-out of shows on Saturday by ending the late-show by getting dressed in various items of clothes thrown to him from people in the crowd. Highlights included his inablity to figure out how to put on a bra, and then finding it "strangely appealing".

Other highlights of the week included the comeback of Warren Holstein, who had been out sick with an indisclosed ailment for the past few months. Warren didn't show any signs of rust as he had 2 solid sets. He reminded everyone many times about how impressed they should be that he could pick it up so quickly.

Jonathan Pawley, the rookie of the group, impressed everyone with 2 good sets on Friday night. His "drop it like it's hot" routine is destined to become legendary.

Jeff Glasse hosted the first show and did a great job, announced in the late show that the crowd was the third not to understand his new "dogs playing poker bit". He promised to continue doing it regardless.

Don Wier went up first on both shows on Saturday and did a bangup job. He wore his black rimmed glasses on-stage which made some people wonder if he is trying to become hip. Stay tuned as this situation unravels.

Dave Rubin found out on the late show on Saturday, that according to one sex counselor who was in the crowd, that what he thought was third base is now first base and that everyone just skips over what he knew first base to be in the first place. He was as confused as that sentence.

If you were at some of the shows this week thanks for coming by. And if you weren't there, come on down and check out stand up that is totally live, completely different, and where you might just become part of the show.

Or at least lend a bra to one of the comedians.

Our First Post

2005-02-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

Let the official posting of the Comedy Company Blog begin with this sentence. We tried to fight the tide of every luncatic in the world having a blog, but eventually if you can't fight em you gotta join em, so here we are. Now, thanks to blogging, not only can pot-smoking conspiracy therorists write about how President Bush is secretly controlled by aliens, but you can also find out really crazy stuff, like what stand up comedians are really like.

What we're gonna do with this blog is tell you about our comics, review our shows and offer up a lil insider info about the Comedy Company and the general state of comedy.

Our club is the only full-time comedy club in the country run by and for the comics themselves. We all work together to promote, publicize and perform on the shows. It's a little like communism, but we're hoping it pans out slightly better than what happened to the USSR in the late 80's.

Our three main comics are Bob Juergens, Mike Singer and Dave Rubin. Bob, originally from Westchester, New York, likes to drink, pick up the chics, and drink while picking up chics. Mike, who moves here from Chicago a couple years back was once a lawyer and it now known mostly for sleeping through entire shows until 3 seconds before he goes on stage when someone wakes him and he pulls himself together. Dave, well, thats me, is incredibly funny and dare I say one of the best-looking comedians around, but I'll let the other guys write a less self-serving sentence about me on the next posting.

Some of our other comics include...

Meghan Hanley, who is embarrassed to have you know she watches the Ashlee Simpson Show, yet still talks about it on stage.

Don Weir, a man who wears his baldness quite well.

Jason Good, who last night told a crowd member that he should "lick that beer bottle and stick it up your butt".

Jeff Glasse will tell you how brilliant he is and how much he can memorize all the while making you wonder if what he just said was funny.

Melissa Rauch has appeared on various TV shows and is constantly just trying to be slightly better than all the other members of her family who are now following her into show biz.

Bob Castrone, the web guy over at VH1's Best Week Ever and who has a major complex about having such a hot, cool girlfriend.

Josh Comers, one of the most energetic, upbeat comics you'll ever want to meet.

These are just a few of our comics who you'll get to know a little better by checking in with us. We're gonna try to have various posts from various people and that'll lead to a varied site you can view various times. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.

Welcome to the Comedy Company Online. XXX verbal action.