New York Comedy Festival Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend the tenth annual New York Comedy Festival spread across the city to bring good cheer — dozens of A-list comedians at the top of their game spread out across the 212 in clubs big and small. Here now, a wrap up of what went down.

See also: LIVE REVIEW – Jay Pharoah at Caroline’s on Broadway

Nick Swardson – The Town Hall – 11/8/13

First of all, we have to give Nick Swardson mad props for being such a trooper. He had mentioned that he was under the weather (but not to worry folks, it was NOT pneumonia) and yet, he still gave it his all. His hour long set (that included a smattering of new material) touched on how friends will give the worst advice when you are sick, how living in L.A. has made him allergic to cold weather, and his mom’s PCP-addicted asshole cat that is a PCP addicted asshole. He also mentioned that in 2014 he will be doing a new special, has an animated show coming out on FXX with Danny McBride, and is working on developing his own show for FXX as well. After his stellar performance Friday night, we seriously can’t wait to see what Swardson does next.

Nick Kroll – The Paley Center For Media – 11/9/13

Seth Myers was on hand to moderate a panel discussion called, “Oh Hello: Kroll Show,” and in the hot seats were Nick Kroll and executive producers and writers John Levenstein and Jonathan Krisel. Before the panel even started, the audience was treated to an episode of Kroll Show which, of course, was great. Packed to the brim with fans of the show, Myers started the hour long Q&A session with questions about the inspiration for the numerous characters on the show (Bobby Bottleservice, Dr. Armand, C-czar), and which are the most fun to play. Of course, they talked a bit about what’s on tap for next season as well. All three on the panel gave these fans so much insight on the inner workings of the show. The panel ended with questions from the audience, and another episode. Great stuff all around.

Anthony Jeselnik – The Town Hall – 11/9/13

After a quick opener, the sold out crowd at The Town Hall were treated to the man of the hour, Anthony Jeselnik. Known best for his severely dark sense of humor, his show The Jeselnik Offensive,” and from his stand out “roasts” on the Comedy Central Roasts, Jeselnik hit the stage saying he missed New York and the days when he could walk around the city. You know, before he got “too big.” He’s just come off a two and a half month tour, which he was very happy about because traveling that much can be a beast. He was shocked to hear of the TSA agent who was shot at LAX. “When I heard I was like, oh my god! You’re allowed to do that? I’ve been taking off my shoes like an asshole this whole time.” Jeselnik’s unofficial motto is that it’s never too soon to joke about something, which he proved with bits about the Boston bombing and Aurora shooting. It’s the type of thing that works well with an audience who know what to expect from the always-edgy King of Smarm, but can get the comedian in hot water. Jeselnik broke news that his show had been cancelled by Comedy Central execs who had called him on the carpet more than a few times about offensive tweets he’d made, and ordered him to take them down. Fearing a backlash, they cut him loose. It’s like they were telling him “We hired you to be offensive, and you’re too good at it.” They didn’t appreciate it, but the crowd at Town Hall certainly did.

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