This post has been updated to add new performance photos

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Shows:
Peter Green Book Launch, Comedy on the Edge @ Hotel William Tues 11th
Jackie Loeb, Mic in Hand @ Friend in Hand Hotel, Thurs 13th
Theatresports Cranston Cup Semi Final #2 @ Belvoir, Sun 16th

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• Comedy on the Edge, upstairs at the Hotel William, is a big (big) comfortable space, filled with rows of sofas and a small stage. The audience for the book launch of Are Youse The Comoydians? were mellow and appreciative, anticipating a more laid-back night than your usual stand-up show, and so it proved. Fast-talking Jonas Holt and veteran Peter Meisel were delightful supports in the first half of the show, and then (proving room manager Mark Williamson’s maxim of “you just never know who may be dropping by the EDGE”) in the second half came the welcome surprise of “toughest woman in comedy” Julia Wilson doing a spot before Greeny came on to discuss his book with fellow cyclist-comedian Dominick O’Kieran (who also MC’ed the evening).
  
  Peter Green

  The Last Legs tour was obviously different: two comedians cycled across Australia and wherever they stopped for the night they put on a comedy show. Their own mishaps and the varied reactions and characters they met along the way make for a string of highly entertaining anecdotes. Chase down Peter Green and buy his book to see for yourself!

  This week on Comedy on the Edge: “The Bad Boys of Comedy are back!! Featuring the Man, the myth the Legend Jeremy ‘Keasty’ Keast, Justin ‘D’ Lodge, all the way from Melbourne the Nelson Twins and your main attraction Barry ‘Hardcore’ Hamilton.”

• A Mic In Hand: this room has built a strong reputation in the nearly six years it’s been open, offering crowd favourites as headliners and featured acts while providing a rising comics showcase as well. They always pull a good crowd, not least because top comedians often drop in unannounced to do a spot.

  On Thursday, veteran Rob McHugh was MC, mixing well-refined material with the topical to good effect. The rising comics showcase offered the varied styles of Thomas Russell, Duncan McConachie, Hugh Cameron, Mikey Mileos and John Cruickshank to a generally strong crowd reception. Some material was slightly uneven but all had great moments. Dave Jory (triple j) dropped by to do a surprise spot, most uncharacteristically not wearing a suit, telling us he was too depressed to bother due to his Movember hairiness and the domestic tyranny of his cat, amongst other things.

  
  Jackie Loeb at A Mic in Hand in 2007 (Liz Christie)

  The featured acts were both musical comedians, but their styles are quite different. Supporting act Shane Matheson flashes an engaging cheesy grin to present as an amiably energetic lunatic with a keyboard and a ukelele, offering songs that are sometimes only one phrase long, and covering a plethora of topics. Transitions are abrupt and the laughs roll on top of one another. He was very well received. Headliner Jackie Loeb’s set, befitting her 14 years or so in comedy, was more structured and polished (especially in her use of audience banter), her absurdities and physical comedy sparkling amongst the trademark song parodies, most especially delighting the crowd by doing their requested Bassey song to end the show. [previous review]

  This week at Mic in Hand: Peter Eigner headlining with David Smiedt as MC, plus rising comics open mic.

• Theatresports Cranston Cup Semi Final #2 was a rip-snorting show last night, ring-mastered by the outstanding Ewan Campbell and Jane Simmons (pictures coming!).
  
  Host Ewan Campbell & Timekeeper Jane Simmons
  (Source: sgr.com.au)

  It started off as a fairly typical show, with the requisite chuckles and occasional guffaw, but by the end of the night the players were on fire, taking enormous risks with the challenges they set themselves and each other with absolutely hilarious results, enhanced by musical accompanist Jason Rushton. Winners on the night were student team Arabian Disko Knights from Blue Mountains Grammar School, a triumph richly deserved and truly memorable: for certainly the first time that either I or Impro Australia’s Geoff Bartlett can recall, the Schools contest winners have made it all the way through the heats to secure a place in the Grand Final: congratulations!

Teams now through to the Grand Final (at Enmore Theatre):
Man/Raven. Dave Bloustein, Marko Mustac and Steve Walsh.
North Sho’ Pimps. J Rex (Jon Williams), Lynch Pin (Steve Lynch) and Tao of Yao (Jeremy Yao).
Super Love Ultimate Team (defending Cranston Cup Champions). Lee Naimo, Jordan Raskopoulos, Steen Raskopoulos and Simon Greiner
Arabian Disko Knights (2008 Schools Contest Champions): Jimmy Tredinnick, Nadia Odlum, Ben Hunter, Lauren Moscovis

Teams in next week’s Repechage Playoff (at Belvoir Street):
Osama Bin Laden Blues Exposion. Rebecca DeUnamuno, Cameron Knight and Dave Williams
Obese People Can Be Healthy:Study. Grant Davies, Scott Hall-Watson, Matt Foster
Pyjama Party. Lisa Ricketts, Amanda Buckley and Susie Youssef
Unicorns Are Racists, Too. Alice Fraser, Tess McLellan, Mitchell Alistair and Carlo Ritchie

The Grand Final is on Saturday Dec 6th at the Enmore Theatre.

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Image Credits for performance photos: all images used with permission. Jackie Loeb at A Mic in Hand courtesy of Liz Christie, Theatresports Semifinals photos courtesy of photographer sgr.com.au and Impro Australia.

Tags: A Mic in Hand, Comedy on the EDGE, Cranston Cup, Dave Jory, Ewan Campbell, Grand Final, Jackie Loeb, Jane Simmons, Jason Rushton, Jonas Holt, Julia Wilson, Peter Green, Peter Meisel, Repechage, Schools Champions, Shane Matheson

Comedy @ Marble Bar
The Marble Bar (underneath the Hilton Hotel)
488 George Street, Sydney
6:30 pm Tuesdays
$15 (includes one free drink)

For the first time in far too many years, there’s a comedy room in the heart of the city again. And what a room! Sydney institution The Marble Bar, its glamour restored and furnishings updated not too long ago, normally hosts musical entertainment; Lisa Rathbone has persuaded them to vary the menu and offer a night of stand-up comedy every week on Tuesdays, starting at the perfect time to catch people needing their ribs tickled after work.

The opening night line-up was guaranteed to draw a crowd: headlined by UK legend John Moloney, MC’ed by the engaging David Smiedt, and ably supported by veteran mischief-maker Jackie Loeb and popular rising comic Jacques Barrett. A full house turned up in the mood for a good time. Many were pointing at the decor: perhaps, like me, they hadn’t been there for mumble years, and were impressed to see it looking swish and sounding mellow while a jazz duo provided the ambience. But there was far more to engage us than swanky marble pillars and OTT carved bar-shelves: we were amply supplied with comedians on top form and obviously having a great time on stage.
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Tags: David Smiedt, Fiona O'Loughlin, Jackie Loeb, Jacques Barrett, John Moloney, Marble Bar, new venue

British comic John Moloney is touring Oz, and this week he’s popping up around Sydney.

Despite the fact that Moloney’s website is desperately out of date, I have had a few alerts about some appearances:

Monday: BB’s Comedy @ Bondi Beach 8:00 pm
Tuesday: Comedy @ the Marble Bar 6:30 pm (opening night at a new room, check it out! Jackie Loeb and Jacques Barrett with David Smiedt MCing)

Last week Moloney was at the Mic in Hand (I missed the alert on that one, my spambucket ate that email), and the night killed.

You can check out venue details on our NSW venues page

Tags: Comedy @ BBs, Comedy @ Marble Bar, David Smiedt, Jackie Loeb, Jacques Barrett, John Moloney, Mic in Hand

Head into Glebe to the Roxbury Hotel this Wednesday night, and mark your calendars for June 11 and July 2: the annual Comedy on the Rox Wicked Women series of shows takes on the footy head to head again!

An all-female line-up of top class stand up comics will feature headed by the outrageous Jackie Loeb, fresh from her success at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, headlining. The MC will be Elissa Hawke.

The all-women cast, including Christina Davis (Christina Ballerina from Big Brother) and Lila Tillman, fresh from her success at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, traditionally pulls the biggest crowds with football widows coming our in force.

Other Wicked Women who will flaunt their talent on Wednesday night include Yvette Lia, Amanda Gray, Cheyanne and Dana Maray.

See the website for details.

Tags: Amanda Gray, Cheyanne, Christina Davis, Comedy on the Rox, Dana Maray, Elissa Hawke, Jackie Loeb, Lila Tillman, State of Origin, Wicked Women, Yvette Lia

The Cracker Comedy Festival officially ended last weekend, but there are still some shows completing their Sydney runs: Prequels & Sequels Impro (Sunday), Ross Noble (Thurs-Mon) & George Kapiniaris (Saturday). [website]

Eddie Ifft headlines at The Comedy Store in Sydney’s Moore Park Entertainment Quarter all week, while Greg Fleet heads the show at their new Parramatta venue from Wednesday night. [website]

Wednesday at Comedy on the Rox is headed up by Subby Valentine with MC Tom Oakley wrangling the line-up for Heat #8 of the Quest for the Best Open Mic Competition[website]

Thursday:
A Mic in Hand @ The Friend in Hand Hotel: MC Subby Valentine, headliner Tom Bristol, guests Wil Anderson and Tom Gleeson, plus open-mic [website]

The Sackville Hotel, Rozelle: Mick Meredith, Chris Radburn, Bruce Griffiths [website]

Friday:
* Scared Scriptless @ the Clarence Hotel Petersham [website]
* The Big Laugh Festival presents comedy cabaret at the Riverside Theatre with the Six Quick Chicks: rolling lineup from among Vashti Hughes, Liesel Badorrek, Annabel Lines, Celia Curtis, Lucy Suze Taylor, Christa Hughes, Jackie Loeb, Jessie Hobeck, Holly Austin, Jen Moore and Keely Jobe[book online]

Saturday: The Laugh Garage’s Parramatta Rafferty’s venue is showing Brett Nichols, Ray Badran, Keith Scott [website]

Next Monday
* Manly Boatshed: A-List Comedy Club with Eddie Ifft, Sally Kimpton, Seamus McAlary, Khaled Ph: (02) 99774443
* Paddington’s The Fringe Bar: Garry Who with Daniel Moore and Clint Paddison [website]

If I’ve overlooked your gig please do add it in comments.

Tags: Annabel Lines, Brett Nichols, Bruce Griffiths, Celia Curtis, Chris Radburn, Christa Hughes, Clint Paddison, Cracker Comedy Festival, Daniel Moore, Eddie Ifft, Garry Who, George Kapiniaris, Greg Fleet, Holly Austin, Impro Australia, Jackie Loeb, Jen Moore, Jessie Hobeck, Keely Jobe, Keith Scott, Khaled, Liesel Badorrek, Lucy Suze Taylor, Mick Meredith, open-mic, Ray Badran, Ross Noble, Sally Kimpton, Seamus McAlary, Subby Valentine, Tom Oakley, Vashti Hughes

A good way of keeping up with who’s around Sydney doing gigs - they usually turn up on Richard Glover’s Friday afternoon show Thank God It’s Friday on ABC 702 Local Radio, and for those who can get to Ultimo by 5pm to join the studio audience (see contact details and upcoming artists below) it’s a great end to the working week.

These shows have been podcast by the ABC for a while [subscribe to podcast], but now the good folks of NSW who don’t podcast can hear the show as well:

TGIF Weekly show - Goes to Air Statewide!
If you can’t make it to see Richard Glover’s TGIF as a live audience, we’re excited to announce Thank God Its Friday will air statewide! Live music, comedians, news and weather. Every Friday from 5pm - 6pm, tune in to your local [ABC] radio station to hear live radio at its very best.

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Tags: Anthony Ackroyd, comedians, Jackie Loeb, Jean Kittson, John Williamson, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lex Marinos, Mark Watson, Noelene Brown, podcast, radio, TGIF, Tim Freedman, Wendy Harmer