photos by Dakota Fine and Jeff Martin and Francis Chung
brief words by: Svetlana
Last night was the finale of the the first annual Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival and it was awesome. I am not saying this because we threw it, I am saying this because it is true.
We arrived to 930 club a little before 6 and there was already a line outside which an hour later, as the doors opened transpired into a packed-to-the-last-gills house of people who turned out to be one of the best comedy audiences ever: attentive, ready to laugh, game -- all the comedians could talk about backstage was how much they loved the crowd.
Anyways, so as you know Sarah Silverman was the headliner and the cast of her program filled out the rest of the show. In a stroke of pure genius, Sarah (who, I have to say, is the coolest, nicest, flawlessly skinned, superfamous, unpretentious person to ever walk onto the 930 club stage -- trust me) decided to not just wait till the end of the set BUT HOST THE EVENING, singing, giving advice, and doing brilliant stand-up in between all the other comedians. It was perfect, her gently guiding you through the night, and you loving every second of it.
Steve Agee, Laura Silverman, Chelsea Peretti and Tig Notaro (who curated this festival for us, and did an amazing job at it) rounded out the bill. And every single one of them killed it: the Fatty McNightwater Agee jokes, Laura's haiku's, Chelsea's "Single suspenders" and Tig's, as always, completely impeccable timing and use of stage/staff AND audience participation ("that's my purse! I don't know you") were all so spot on I have cheekbone pains from laughing so hard.
Anyway, look at the photos, relive the night, regret that you were not there if you weren't, and tomorrow we will have a massive photo spread walking you through the other 24 performances by 60+ comedians, segway and white house tours, afterparties and more that this weekend was for us.
THANK YOU DC.
And -- see you next year at The Bentzen Ball.
...
funny people and cupcakes
cale calls BYT and Andy Wood, of Bridgetown comedy festival onto the stage
SARRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
THIS gibson guitar was signed by all the comedians, and played by Sarah. we'll be giving it away shortly.
Steve Agee "I will even venture to say that preparation H makes you butt hole feel better than BEFORE it had hemorrhoids"
Sarah, attacking.
the crowd, the CROWD!
THE Q AND A SECTION BEGINS. Tig goes into the audience with a microphone.
"How do you look so good for your age?"
Tig, using 930 club staff as a microphone stand
Sisters Silverman and a very important guitar
BYT stickers make every hat look cooler
And some more lovely photos from Jeff Martin...
and closing out with some great Francis shots:
this is how funny it was:
Previously in comedy:
- 2/10: Behind The Desk 35: Spotting THE Crazy In the Arts (Vol. 2)
- 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
- 1/24: LiveDC: Adam Carolla @ Fillmore
- 1/20: Behind The Desk 32: Eddie Brill Is Common
- 1/17: LiveDC: JB Smoove @ 930 Club
- 12/8: Tom Arnold - Up Close & Very Nice
- 12/5: LiveDC: Michael Ian Black @ Sixth and I Synagogue
- 12/5: Lauren Weedman-BUSTED
- 12/1: R.I.P. Patrice O'Neal - brilliant 1969 to 2011
- 11/30: BYT Interview: Michael Ian Black
God loves a cheerful giver.
"fudge is shit. FUDGE IS SHIT."
"I'm $95,000 in debt..." - that poor, delusional man. I hope he gets help for his gambling problem.
If I knew Sarah would be using that guitar, I would've signed...
A) On the front, rather than on the top of the guitar,
B) A name several times longer and bigger.
That, and by way of "That's My Purse! I don't know you!" it was cool to see the Q & A session turn into a massive King of the Hill reference.
Excellent show, brilliant festival, impossibly good-looking staff.
where were the chairs? people had to stand?
There was crowd surfing, musical performances, and cheering. This was rock and roll comedy. Standing was the way to go.
No chairs...but we didn't need them.
Dude that guy Steve Agee nailed it last night---we were in tears over the whole hemroid cream bit----Hysterical. It WAS an amazing comedy show and everyone was great in their own little ways. Ps---Does Sarah's sister post her Haikus on a blog?...love to check em out.
Such a funny night!!!
The show was awesome but the topper was Steve Agee's plumber's crack at Dulles Airport this morning while standing a few people behind him near the security checkpoint.
Show was killer; Chelsea Peretti & Tig Notaro were awesome.
Laura Silverman's Twitter: @LauraJSilverman
(where she posts some Haikus)
nice work guys - i'm impressed.
great photography.
unacceptable amount of time to wait for a comedy show to begin. when did the sarah silverman cast become the wutang clan?
Avi, we started 30 min late because it was a sold out show and people were still waiting to get in at show time and since Sarah was up first we didn't want anyone to miss it.
cale, went outside at 8:40, before the show had even started, and not a single person was waiting to get in. but it's your show, and you can paint the picture any way you like. just like it will be my choice not to support the event in the future.
Just checked my sms outbox and I sent a message to our graphic designer at 8:40pm on the dot telling him that I had the 9:30 Club cheer for him. That means I had started the show, done my whole BYT intro, done my Sarah intro, and walked up to the balcony all before 8:40pm. You might want to check your watch, unless you think AT&T network time is wrong.
The show was amazing, especially being exposed to comedians I'm not familiar with, like Chelsea Peretti. Problem with standing, though, is that vertically challenged people like myself (5'0) find it really hard to see. And though in the middle of the show some really nice person, who wasn't much taller let me stand in front of her, I would have preferred a venue with seats.
2short - we actually had Chelsea perform at a number of venues with seats during the ball, like Bohemian Caverns on Thur and a free show at the Renaissance hotel on Sat, so plenty of chances to get a perfect view.
Tell"avi",(if that's his real name) to quit being such a cry-baby ans stand up straight.
Kids like ‘avi’ are never satisfied. Due to delay I didn’t miss the show very start. The view was good no matter how short one stands. And only candy asses prefer seats.
lenny, get your insults straight-2short is vertically challenged not me.
ernest, i am frequently satisfied by your mother.