On today’s episode, host Mike Brown is joined by special guest co-host Steele Saunders to talk about losing a venue, the joys of vinegar, and the great man Eddie Wilgar. Steele appears tonight in The Steele Saunders’ Venue Got Demolished Late Night Show!, and tomorrow in I Love Green Guide Letters. Full details for both shows are avaliable on the Comedy Festival website.
Adam McKenzie and Tegan Higginbotham, aka Watson are today’s guest. Watson appears in Once Were Planets, which is on at 9:30 tonight at the Town Hall, which is bound to be a total space mutiny. Tegan also has her own solo stand-up show –Touched by Fev, 7pm at Spleen Bar.
Today’s MICF Daily News:
– It is Good Friday, which means triple j has brought back their popular Good Az Friday event. The live broadcast will be hosted by JJJ breakfast presenters Alex Dyson and festival act Tom Ballard; and feature comedians Arj Barker, Tripod, David O’Doherty,Anne Edmonds, and Diafrix performing Like A Version plus loads more. Proceedings kick off at noon at the Melbourne Town Hall, and entry is free.
– Our friends at Beat are giving away plenty of tickets all festival long. This week’s issue features our very special 2013 Comedy Festival guide listing all the great acts at this year’s fest, and has details on giveaways for shows such as Joel Creasey, John Robertson,Cal Wilson, and Wil Anderson. Check out the festival guide in this week’s issue of Beat.
– Family friendly fare returns to the festival on this Good Friday. The (very) Big Laugh Out takes place in the City Square and Federation Square from 1pm. Today’s shows will feature international acts Les Chiche Capon, Mooky Cornish plus a variety of local acts including Anna Pocket Rocket and The Amazing Mr. Fish. Entry for these shows are free. Other shows for the family today include Mr. Snot Bottom’s Stinky Silly Show at 11am, Frehd & Tim Eee Have All The Fun at 2pm, and Dr. Professor Neal Portenza at 3:30pm. All shows at the Town Hall, tickets from Ticketmaster.
– If you are deaf or prefer your standup to be signed instead of said, you’re in luck. Seven shows at the festival have announced that they will be assisted in Auslan, the Australian sign language of the deaf. These shows include:
– Tim Ferguson in Carry a Big Stick: Tuesday, April 2 at 5:45pm.
– Bart Freebairn – The Age of Wonder: Wednesday, April 3 and 17 at 9:30pm.
– Tommy Little – Sex, Drugs & Herbal Tea: Wednesday, April 10 at 8:15pm.
– Gavin Baskerville – Crunch Time: Wednesday, April 10 and 17 at 9:45pm
– Adam Hills – Happyism: Sunday, April 14 and 21 at 8:45pm.
– First Dog on the Moon: Cartoobs and Other Typos: Thursday, April 18 at 6pm.
– Festival tracker Laugh Track is on the hunt for volunteers. The website, which determines Twitter’s favourite shows requires people to filter through the Twitter hivemine to confirm they are tweeting about festival shows. Hit up @pat on Twitter if you can help out.
– If you’re still confused on who to see, you can’t go wrong with a top ten list. The Age’s Craig Platt has named Sarah Millican, Idiots of Ants, Ruby Wax, and Dayne Rathbone in his top ten list; while The Herald Sun have listed Matt Okine, Ronnie Chieng, and Tommy Little as their three acts ready for breakthrough success at MICF 2013. And if you still need more acts, make sure to check out MICF Daily’s Festival Preview episode where special guests Lisa Clark and Nick Mason run down the festival programme. The episode is available right now here at Beat online.
– LATE NIGHT: As promised earlier in the week, we have the lineup for Soul Bank – the Tuxedo Cat’s new Friday night late show. Hosted by Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall and Pat Butscher, the show runs on the “pay what you feel” model and promises the festival’s weirdest comedians, clowns, characters and mischief-makers doing some incredibly stupid things. On board for night one are Jon Bennett, Dr Professor Neal Portenza, Lucy Hopkins, Trygve Wakenshaw, and Andy Matthews. Proceedings kick off at midnight.
– In other late night news, Festival Club turns into Festival Bonanza mode tonight from 11:30. MC Dave Thornton will bring on Luke Heggie, Tom Ballard, Bob Franklin,Geraldine Hickey, and Rich Hall. Following the comedy, future MICF Daily guest Geraldine Quinn’s Spandex Ballet will bring some yacht rock to the festival, and DJ Felicity Ward will be on the 1s and 2s.
– Its namesake may be cancelled but that won’t stop the festival: Late Night Letters and Numbers returns to Trades Hall tonight at 10:45. Also on late are Shaggers, Ali McGregor’s Late Night Variety-Nite Night, Stand-Up Sit Down: Comics in Conversation, and The New Conway Tonight Show; plus a wide array of single act shows. Check out theComedy Festival website for further info.
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