Event
Week at the Creek presents Barry Crimmins
One Artist. 7pm. The Creek and The Cave is proud to present a Week at The Creek. A hand picked, organically grown free range comedian will cook up an hour before your very eyes.
This Week's Artist:
Barry Crimmins
Former Air America Radio writer and correspondent, internationally renowned political satirist and author of the acclaimed Seven Stories Press book Never Shake Hands With A War Criminal helped bring the Boston Comedy scene into the modern age when he founded two of Boston's most fabled clubs: The Ding Ho and Stitches. Such acts as Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, Bobcat Goldthwait, Kevin Meaney, Jimmy Tingle and many, many others cut their comedic teeth in the rooms Crimmins started and at shows he produced.
On April 21, 2000, the Boston Herald's Robin Vaughn's review of one of Barry's shows included a concise Boston Comedy history lesson.
"In 1979, Crimmins, a politically minded comedian from upstate New York, started booking Boston's brightest, brashest young wits into the Ding Ho, a seedy Chinese restaurant in Inman Square. The club, run for and by comedians, was an unpedigreed underdog, but broke conventions of the day in paying its performers reasonable fees and maintaining Crimmins' comedy booking standards. He was hell-bent on originality and unforgiving of plagiarism. It was boot camp for the best comics in Boston and some of the most successful standups in the country. "
According to that same Vaughn review, Crimmins hasn't lost any prowess as a performer.
"To his old crowd, Crimmins is the patron saint of original, creative comedy in Boston and a brooding ideologue. His wit is as sharp as his sense of social justice, which has been known to eclipse a joke or two. But his hour-plus show, 'Chicken Soup for the Vegetarian Soul', served as a persuasive example of what intelligent stand-up comedy, politically themed or otherwise, can be."
After helping jumpstart Boston comedy, Barry left production to concentrate on performing. In short order he gained attention as one of the top political satirists in the country. He has made countless television appearances on everything from The NBC Nightly News to The HBO Young Comedians Special to The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He has recorded two CD's: Strange Bedfellows on A&M and Kill the Messenger on Green Linnet. His writings appear regularly in the Boston Phoenix as well as several other publications. He was a staff writer for the syndicated Dennis Miller Show and has toured in performance with Billy Bragg, Jackson Browne, Utah Phillips, Michelle Shocked, Steven Wright, Dar Williams and numerous others.
As special as it is to see Barry anytime, his election year performances are exceptional. After months of inundation with campaign ads and stump speech and media hot air nothing scratches the pesky political itch better than Barry's well-reasoned and just plain funny responses to political conventional wisdom.
For example, we're told repeatedly that if we don't vote we have nothing to complain about. Barry's reply: "Oh yeah, have you read a ballot lately? The biggest problem with this election is someone is going to win it!"
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LocationThe Creek and The Cave (View)
10-93 Jackson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 13 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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