Skip to main contentAt the beginning of May, 22 of your friends and neighbors entered the Portland Amateur Comedy Contest. Now, after a grueling month of constant stand-up shows at bars in and around Portland, five comedians remain. After one more week of battle—and 26 total shows—a lone champion will limp away with the $500 grand prize and bragging rights. Watch the funniest new blood in Portland flow as these comics try to survive "Chortle Kombat."
THE CONTENDERS (left to right): Ian Karmel, Cody Smith, Anthony Lopez, Tim Hammer, Sean Jordan. ILLUSTRATION: kcarterart.com
IAN KARMEL Height: 6'3"
Homeland: Beaverton
Fighting style: New York Jew suburb-fu
Sensei: Larry David
Signature joke: " You're at a bus stop and it's late. A figure is coming toward you. They get a little bit closer, and you can tell it's a black guy. They get a bit closer, and you see they're wearing a Boy Scout uniform. They get a little bit closer, and you see they've been shot. They get a little bit closer, and you can see they're retarded. If you don't have a mustache, you can do whatever you want, but hopefully you'll call an ambulance. If you do have a mustache, you're probably the cop who shot him in the first place."
Finishing move: Fold the act in on itself like a missile launched from left field.
Nemesis: The readily available supply of marijuana
CODY SMITH
Height: 6'1"
Homeland: Scappoose
Fighting style: Biting reality
Sensei: Eddie Izzard
Signature joke: "When I get dumped, girls always say, 'Awesome.' Like, 'You're an awesome guy.' I think that they don't understand what awesome means. If you go to a restaurant and order a steak, you don't say, 'This steak is awesome, I'd like to send it back. If you could just bring me out a steak that wears a backwards hat and beats me that would be much better.'"
Finishing move: The Hugo Timebomb
Nemesis: Hair and confidence
ANTHONY LOPEZ
Height: 6'1"
Homeland: Portland
Fighting style: Absurd
Sensei: Louis C.K.
Signature joke: "Don't you hate when you're out and you see Stephen King? You say, 'Hey Stephen King, I'm a huge fan of your work,' but it turns out to just be some old woman."
Finishing move: The people's elbow
Nemesis: Director Joel Schumacher
TIM HAMMER
Height: 5'10"
Homeland: Portland
Has been funny for: Seven months
Fighting style: Deadpan one-liners
Sensei: Steven Wright
Signature joke: " I got an MC Hammer touch lamp for Christmas, and I can't turn it on. It will be working next week, though, at a small casino in Washington County."
Nemesis: Kyle Harbert
SEAN JORDAN
Height: 6'1"
Homeland: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Has been funny for: Four years
Fighting style: Likable sarcasm
Sensei: Doug Benson
Signature joke: "I don't wear my seatbelt when I drive because I think it shows a lack of confidence to the passenger in the car."
Finishing move: Road House throat rip
Nemesis: Rollerblades
The Portland Amateur Comedy Competition's final five have been chosen, but there's a few more funny competitors worth keeping an eye on:
ANDREW MICHAAN
Height: 6'2
Homeland: Telluride, Colo.
Has been funny for: One year
Fighting style: Cats
Sensei: Brent Wienbach
Signature joke: " A dog and a cat walk into a bar. Luckily, the cat survived."
Finishing move: More cats
Nemesis: Dogs
PHILIP SCHALLBERGER
Height: 6'7"
Homeland: Portland (or Caldwell, Idaho)
Fighting style: Mo Duk Pai
Sensei: Eugene Mirman
Has been funny for: Three years
Signature joke: "I was walking down the street the other day when I came upon a child. I quickly wiped him off and apologized."
Finishing move: "I take off my shirt and cry."
Nemesis: Comedy-writing guru Gene Perret
CHRISTIAN RICKETTS
Height: 6'1"
Homeland: Military brat; went to high school in Escondido, Calif.
Fighting style: Characters and absurdist pop culture
Sensei: Zach Galifianakis
Signature joke: "I've never heard of a carrot."
Finishing move: "As John Cotton Dolton, a polite rancher, I say, 'Good night,' let the host walk up, then make a big deal of fitting in a sign-off, only to say, "I'll catch you on the flipside, check you later!'"
Nemesis: Philip Schallberger
Headout Picks
WEDNESDAY MAY 26
THURSDAY MAY 27
FRIDAY MAY 28
SATURDAY MAY 29
[MUSIC] LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
Sure, James Murphy is probably a prick. But have you heard "All My Friends?" Plan on dancing to that jam at every wedding you attend in the next 10 years. Roseland, 8 NW 6th Ave., 224-2038. 9 pm. $32.50 advance, $35 day of show. All ages.
MONDAY MAY 31
TUESDAY JUNE 1
WWeek 2015