Portland's ninth annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival starts tonight, June 1. Here are WW's top picks of sets to keep you laughing all weekend long.
Come celebrate the initiation of the ninth annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival at the Kick-Off Show at Doug Fir Lounge. This set will be hosted by Portland's own Gabe Dinger, who was one of WW's 2016 five funniest people. Also performing will be festival co-founder Matt Braunger. Kill Rock Stars Stage at Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St. 7-8:30 pm Wednesday June 1. $15.
A new venue joins in the revelry. Trio Lounge hosts not just three, but eight performers for its kickoff Menege à Trio. Highlights include a star of HBO's Silicon Vally and the lead singer of The Thermals. Trio Club, 909 E Burnside, Wednesday June 1, 8-10 pm. $15.
This show features Last Comic Standing semi-finalist Mia Jackson and Adam Devine's House Party alumnus Jesus Trejo, who you may recognize as a recurring cast member on TBS's Sullivan and Son. Siren Theater, 315 NW Davis St, Wednesday June 1, 9:30 to 11 pm. $10.
This lineup includes Willamette Week-approved local Amy Miller, who won our 2015 Reader's Choice Award and was voted Portland's Funniest Comedian by her peers in 2013. Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside St, Wednesday June 1, 10-11:30 pm. $15.
Thursday night’s In the Club set is hosted by nerd culture fanatic Richard Douglas Jones, and the lineup includes WWs 2014 pick for Funniest Person in Portland, Sean Jordan. On Friday, the rugby-playing, engineering-studying Abby Rosenquist will host a series of guests, including writers from The Mindy Project and The Onion. Trio Club, 909 E Burnside St. 7-8:30 pm Thursday–Friday, June 2-3. $10 Thursday, $15 Friday.
Caitlin Weierhauser (Lez Stand Up) leads this lineup featuring Heather Thomson, Sam Jay, Kate Willett, Leah Mansfield, Sabrina Jalees and Whitney Streed. Weierhauser is a Portland comedian who has performed at All Jane Comedy Festival, Bumbershoot and Seattle Sketchfest. MERYL WILLIAMS. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave. 9-10:30 pm Thursday, June 2. $10.
Gentleman Scumbags with Burns and Brido
Gentleman Scumbags is hosted by Mike Burns and Mike Bridenstine. They’re joined by Solomon Georgio, Bryan Cook, James Fritz, Josh Androsky, Rebecca O’Neal, Matt Braunger and Tone Bell. Burns is the creator of the cult hit Twitter feed @DadBoner where he ghost-narrates the life of Karl Welzein from a first-person perspective. Bridenstine’s TV credits include Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC. MERYL WILLIAMS. Trio Club, 909 E Burnside St. 9-10:30 pm Thursday, June 2. $15.
The Court of “I, Anonymous”
The Merc’s column of anonymous rants and confessions is being staged this year. The most raunchy, uncensored and bizarre submissions will be read aloud and judged by Bri Pruett and her jury of comedians: Greg Behrendt, Curtis Cook and Clare O’Kane. Portland Mercury Stage at Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside St. 6-7:30 pm Friday, June 3. $10.
Alice Mathias leads this roundtable discussion with Dan Telfer, Eliza Skinner, Matt Koff, Rick Overton, Laurie Kilmartin, Laura Kightlinger, Guy Branum, Aparna Nancherla, Sara Schaefer and Morgan Murphy. Mathias works for Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video where she is a co-executive producer of Portlandia and a producer of Documentary Now! She also has written and directed various projects with collaborator Fred Armisen. MERYL WILLIAMS. Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside St. 3-4:30 pm Saturday, June 4. $15.
From the minds of Paul Provenza and Troy Conrad, Set List gives comedians a random, never-before-seen topic to riff on as if it were the material they were supposed to do. Comic and artist both see the topic for the first time in their moment on stage. Kill Rock Stars Stage at Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St. 7-8:30 pm Thursday, June 2. Siren Theater, 315 NW Davis St. 9-10:30 pm Friday, June 3. $15.
If professional comedians aren’t your thing, or you just don’t have the money to catch the bigger acts at Bridgetown, there will be plenty of cheap open mics—mostly at Analog Cafe. Analog Cafe, 720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. 8-11pm Thursday, 8-midnight Friday–Saturday, 6-8:30 pm Sunday, June 2-5. Bossanova Tent, 910 E Burnside St. 5:30-7 pm Saturday, June 4. $5.
Heavy Hitters Workout Room
The Pep Talks Podcast, a comedic look at our crumbling world with Eddie Pepitone and other funny people, will be recording a live show at the Siren. Eliza Skinner joins. Pepitone is an actor whose credits include The Muppets, Old School and the Netflix series Love. MERYL WILLIAMS. Siren Theater, 315 NW Davis St. 3-4:30 pm Sunday, June 5. $10.
MC Kate Willett takes the stage in the Bossanova Tent with Alice Wetterlund, David Gborie, Zak Toscani, Casey Ley, Tony Sam and James Fritz. San Francisco magazine describes Willett as “a comedian you should know about.” You can catch her Comedy Central debut this winter on This Is Not Happening. MERYL WILLIAMS. Bossanova Tent, 910 E Burnside St. 4:30-6 pm Sunday, June 5. $10.
You can come have a laugh at My Father’s Place every day except Saturday at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. This will be one of the cheaper events of the fest, with a solid lineup of eight different comedians each night. My Father’s Place, 523 SE Grand Ave., 7:30-9 pm Thursday–Friday,6:30-8 pm Sunday, June 2, 3 and 5. $10.
MC Rebecca O’Neal leads this show of longer sets by five of the fastest-rising female comics in the industry today: Aparna Nancherla, Alice Wetterlund, Dulce Sloan, Rhea Butcher and Sam Jay. O’Neal is a Chicago-based standup comedian and writer/editor whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, and on Gawker, Splitsider, Videogum, The Rumpus, Death and Taxes, and more. MERYL WILLIAMS. Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside St. 7-8:30 pm Sunday, June 5. $10.
JoAnn Schinderle leads Control Yourself at the Analog, which features Baron Vaughn, Dulce Sloan, Heather Thomson, Nathan Brannon, David Tveite, Gilbert Lawand and Patrick Susmilch. Schinderle was recently a finalist in in the 2015 Portland’s Funniest Person contest and has performed across the country in festivals such as Bumbershoot, Chicago’s Comedy Exposition, SF Sketchfest, Hell Yes Fest and All Jane Comedy Festival. MERYL WILLIAMS. Analog Cafe, 720 SE Hawthorne Blvd. 7-8:30 pm Sunday, June 5. $15.
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