Back in late February, Last Comic Standing held auditions here in Los Angeles, and being the whore I am for any sort of reality event, I gladly trekked on down to the Hollywood Improv to take a gander at the activities. No, I did not audition. Truth was that our old friend Kevan from Amish in the City (a.k.a. the one normal city guy) actually has a standup career going on now, and he invited us to come down and hang with him in line. Sounded like fun. Little did I know an Ice Age would happen to hit Los Angeles that night. Needless to say, it was cold (for L.A. standards, which meant the temperature was hovering near fifty degrees), but weather be damned. There were all sorts of bizarre characters out. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite as proficient with my camera as usual, and so my photos are few and far between. But I'll share what I did get.
These guys here were the typical auditioning lot. I think they had driven up from San Diego to tryout. They were one of a few hundred who were camping out that night. I don't remember them being particularly funny. And let me tell you something: there's nothing quite as depressing as standing amongst hundreds of people who think they're the world's greatest comedians. You know when you have a friend who's always "on"? Yeah, multiply that by about three hundred. The mass undercurrents of bitter self-loathing were a joy.
There were some amusing people there though. I remember one guy who was a midget in a wheel chair. He had muscular dystrophy, I think, and he was hilarious. Okay, that sounded wrong. He wasn't hilarious because of his handicap. He was hilarious because he was saying hilarious things. I wish I could remember his name, but the whole "I waited three months to post this" really screwed that up.
OH! And there was this total asshole guy named Chris, I believe. I should have taken a picture of him. He was so bitter and unfunny, but you could tell he thought he was being witty and sardonic. Everyone in the line hated him.
This is Kevan sleeping. Not much to say about that. In case you're wondering, I was not hardcore. I did not spend the night on the streets too. Why? Because I wasn't auditioning. I got to spend my night in my bed. My warm, cozy, not-on-the-sidewalk bed. Ah, the fringe benefits of being a hanger-on.
The next morning, everyone was spry and chipper. I went back to the line, which had grown significantly. Season one contestant Jay London was hanging around, and he gave Kevan some tips about auditioning and doing standup in general. It was swell. Of course, I took a picture of both of them. Two reality stars in one place is always grounds for taking out my camera.
The highlight of my morning. As I was walking around the line, I suddenly spotted my favorite woman from Flavor of Love: Goldie! I literally yelled out to her, "Goldie!" (I don't know what possessed me) and from that point on, there was some solid banter for five minutes. She told me her real name, which I have since forgotten (Amber or something like that) and said that she'd been doing standup since the show. Of course, this is old news now because she announced this on the Flavor of Love reunion. I tried to get her to beat-box like she did drunkenly on that first episode, but she politely declined. I was shocked that no one around her even knew who she was. Then again, they may have been distracted by the crazy-ass dominatrix comedienne brandishing a whip just a few feet away. Again, my camera skills were subpar that day.
Finally, at around 10 AM, the auditions began. I was allowed to tag along with Kevan into the Improv. And to prove it, I even took this dorky photo (trust me, the blur was highly welcomed on my part). Anyway, that woman next to Kevin in the leopard print coat -- she's a tranny. She wouldn't talk to anyone all night, and then she stepped into the audition room and was all "I'M A TRANNY!" It was amusing. Alas, she didn't make the cut. And neither did Kevan, sadly. Oh well. It was still a fun time -- at least for me. But that's because I didn't sleep on the sidewalk.
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Comments (21)
Kevan is sexy cool...where could a girl catch his stand-up?
hb
1 of 21 | Posted by HoneyBunny
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Posted on May 31, 2006 10:50 AM
Why are established comics/performers such as Bill Dwyer permitted to enter this competition?
Better still, why would they WANT to?
2 of 21 | Posted by boomersmommy
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Posted on May 31, 2006 10:50 AM
Gabriel Iglesias was also on.
It's really Last Comic (who has had his/her own Comedy Central special) Standing
3 of 21 | Posted by morningw00d
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Posted on May 31, 2006 11:05 AM
And Doug Benson, who I watch EVERY week on Best Week Ever.....
4 of 21 | Posted by boomersmommy
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Posted on May 31, 2006 11:11 AM
Oh, yeah, by the way--would someone PLEEEEEEEASE shoot BuckStar and put him out of EVERONE'S misery.
5 of 21 | Posted by boomersmommy
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Posted on May 31, 2006 11:13 AM
boomersmommy- They're allowed to be on because it's as much about highlighting stand up comics as it is discovering new ones. Lots of working comics aren't as recognized in the bigger clubs and don't have a following yet. This show can help them get more gigs. That being said- it isn't as "real" as they'd like to advertise it, but what reality show is? I thought that there were some truly funny comics on last night and I'm looking forward to the season.
Kevan is cute! Have you seen his act B-side? What did you think?
6 of 21 | Posted by zoobabe
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Posted on May 31, 2006 11:25 AM
Awww, I really loved Kevan in Amish in the City (I wish they made a DVD of that show)!
7 of 21 | Posted by Ubiquitous
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Posted on May 31, 2006 11:34 AM
I am soooo glad they're getting back to the original formula! No more season vs. season competitions, please.
Shockingly, Anthony Clark didn't suck. Sure, he didn't get a lot of screen time, but so far, so good.
8 of 21 | Posted by Tabby Lavalamp
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Posted on May 31, 2006 12:10 PM
Jay London rocks. Don't you forget it.
9 of 21 | Posted by The Svan
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Posted on May 31, 2006 12:11 PM
Dang! Forgot to mention that Jay London was from season 2, not 1.
10 of 21 | Posted by Tabby Lavalamp
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Posted on May 31, 2006 12:12 PM
I was happy to see Tig there, and that she made it through. I saw her a couple months ago, and she cracked me up.
But seriously- I almost died when I saw Theo. And he made it though? Guess he needs two "jobs" Incredible. :0
11 of 21 | Posted by BunkitaSarita
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Posted on May 31, 2006 12:14 PM
last year there was that one guy who couldn't be in the competition because he already had a contract, so I guess it's all fair game as long as you dont have something that's legally binding. I can't get over THEO from ROAD RULES made it to the next round. And I really liked that 19 year old with the gay dad and was sad she didn't make it. And the Josh guy with CP was absolutely hilarious.
12 of 21 | Posted by cansnuts
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Posted on May 31, 2006 1:20 PM
Did anyone notice that the 19 yr. old w/ the gay dad had been on Andy Dick's short lived MTV show "The Reality Show"? I was hoping she would make it too
13 of 21 | Posted by BunkitaSarita
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Posted on May 31, 2006 1:44 PM
Looks like they have a pretty strong group of 44. It's going to be hard to whittle it down to 10. Definite advantage to get in the early auditions. By the last two stops, there was only 5 spots left.
Buckstar has to be banned!!!
14 of 21 | Posted by blueline
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Posted on May 31, 2006 1:49 PM
b-side i totally want you...call me.
15 of 21 | Posted by ILUVMTV
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Posted on May 31, 2006 8:58 PM
GOLDIE! Love her! I'm so jealous! Did she make it?
16 of 21 | Posted by hardly@work
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Posted on June 1, 2006 6:38 AM
Season 2 was so much better than season 1. I barely remember anyone from the first season because no one made much of an impression. But from season 2, I remember several truly funny comics. From what they showed us of the first round, this season should be just as funny as season 2.
17 of 21 | Posted by AbbyAnn
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Posted on June 1, 2006 7:42 AM
oh, hb...
18 of 21 | Posted by dredge
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Posted on June 1, 2006 8:23 AM
d - too corny?
hb
19 of 21 | Posted by HoneyBunny
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Posted on June 1, 2006 2:39 PM
no hb, just pining..
sigh..
20 of 21 | Posted by dredge
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Posted on June 1, 2006 5:23 PM
d - ah, shucks...you make me blush!
sigh...
hb
21 of 21 | Posted by HoneyBunny
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Posted on June 1, 2006 7:53 PM