Ideally, whenever I leave Knoxville, I’ll finally have a moment to reflect on everything I’ve gotten my hands into in this town. Because all too often I put my head down and get hit head-on with another show or another thing that deserves people’s attention but I dropped the ball on circulating. Tonight, we’re holding the 15th (16th? I’m bad with these things) Saw Works First Friday show. Chicago -> New York stalwart Clark Jones, who co-headlined our premiere show last June, is back and I’m pumped to see this dude again. Bryce Damuth is coming in from Nashville, Matt Chadourne is doing a feature spot for the final time in Knoxville (before we run him out of town on a rail), and Eric Douglas (fka Waylon Whiskey) will be coming out of the woodwork to do a local spot. I say this and mean it every month, but you should really be there. Show’s at 7 and has no cover. Also, if you read this before 11:30 AM, my buddy and co-producer Shane Rhyne is going to be appearing on Facebook Live with Howell & Yarbrough, so check that out.

FRIENDLYTOWN
(WEEKLY COMEDY NIGHT AND QUARTERLY ZINE)

Also, from the ashes of QED has risen the self-referential phoenix of Friendlytown. What began (and ended) as a live talk show in 2014  has rebranded itself and picked up Monday comedy nights where QED left off. We’ve had two shows so far, and just the process of figuring out what the fuck to do with it has been an unbridled amount of fun. Basically, what we’re doing is world-building through comedy. Join us every Monday at 7:30 at the Pilot Light for the pre-show open mic and then whatever we present each week. Show schedule falling into place as you read this. In related news, I just printed the first run (limited to 30) of Issue 1 of the Friendlytown Zine with some help from our friends at Striped Light. It’s a valuable companion piece to the show, but you don’t need to come to the show or live in Knoxville to find it funny. Copies are available for $2 at shows, or you can contact me to reserve a copy or mail-order one ($3, to cover printing and mailing costs).

OTHER NONSENSE

I also fell asleep at the switch and didn’t post anything here about Blankfest 2016, which was a blast, yet again. It’s great to able to represent local stand-up for the past three years in something that’s much bigger than just our scene, but something that speak s for the whole city. Thanks again to Zac Fallon, Rusty Odom, and Blank Newspaper for creating such a fun weekend at the end of every summer.

I really need to sign off here, so I’ll just leave you with a reminder that I’m hosting Casual Comedy at Casual Pint (Hardin Valley) this Tuesday at 7pm for my buddies from the Tri-Cities (Hunter Roberts and Cliff Andrews) and someone whose very presence makes every show a more pleasant place, Debby Johnson.

Have a great weekend, get a copy of the zine before it’s gone, don’t spoil Stranger Things for me (on Episode 4 now and yes it’s living up to its crazy hype), and most importantly of all…

Don’t fuck with the comedy cartel (Tonya Cinnamon photo).