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Posts tagged as austin

comedy festivals

Moontower Fest Disinvites Matt Braunger for Performing at Competing SXSW

by | March 6th, 2013

There's a rivalry brewing in Austin, Texas, between two spring comedy fests: The Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival and South by Southwest's (SXSW) comedy festival. Well, it's a bit of a one-sided rivalry, as second-year festival Moontower prohibits comedians who perform there from performing at SXSW Comedy, which is currently in its sixth year, while SXSW is perfectly okay with comedians from Moontower doing shows there. Stand-up Matt Braunger (Up All Night, MADtv) has been caught between the two competing festivals, as Moontower has made an example of him by disinviting him after he agreed to perform at both festivals.

"He truly doesn't deserve it," SXSW comedy fest [...]

Local Guides

Splitsider's Guide to Austin's Comedy Scene

by | March 22nd, 2012

Though I was not born in Texas, and did not get here as fast as I could, and while much of what lies outside Austin City Limits is a mystery to me, there’s one local fact I know for sure: Austin’s got an insanely great comedy scene, and it’s growing fast.

It took awhile to get the timing right. In 1997 Austin Stories premiered, an effort to introduce an emerging stand-up scene to MTV’s hip audience with the help of Howard Kremer, Chip Pope, Laura House and Matt Bearden (also Patton Oswalt, who briefly served as head writer). Decidedly Slacker-inspired, its washed-out world [...]

Festivals

Fun Fun Fun Fest Has a Funny Funny Funny Comedy Line-Up

by | August 30th, 2012

What a great trend it has been for music festivals to include comedians. Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest, which this year runs from November 2-4, is one such example. This year's festival will include performances from Hannibal Buress, Wyatt Cenac, Tig Notaro, Eugene Mirman and more. It's perfect for that certain person who wants to pregame for Refused's Swedish Socialist hardcore by listening to David Cross crack some jokes. Check out the full comedy stage line-up below. Yes, it includes a Weird Al Tribute Band:

Events

What to Expect When Dave Chappelle Does a Surprise Show in Your Town

by | June 21st, 2012

Following an abrupt departure from his wildly popular (and still widely quoted) sketch show, stand-up/actor Dave Chappelle has managed to maintain a relatively low profile. Though he’s opted to stay out of the spotlight, he still does badass things like decide, on a whim, to ride his motorcycle across the country for a secret run of shows. Earlier this week, with less than 24 hours notice, Chappelle scheduled and sold out Austin’s 1,200-seat Paramount Theater. It was a rare opportunity to witness the emotional and intellectual growth of a legendary act, but unfortunately, the audience was mostly there to see the Prince-mocking Half Baked star’s greatest hits. When the toned-down comic [...]

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