We've got Laughfest. We've got comedy-friendly venues like Dr. Grin's, Dog Story Theater, and Wealthy Theatre. And we've got our many amateur open mic nights (like Ann Street's Landing Lounge on Sunday Nights). Yet, there are still other comedic venues just waiting to be explored.
On Friday night, Vertigo Music -- one of the last record stores in the city -- will open their doors after-hours to a new comedy event that, if successful, could be the start of many more.
Aptly titled "Vertigo Stand-Up," this project by Brett Dierolf and Damian Master will feature Chicago comics Joe McAdam, Nicholas Rouley, and Goodrich Gevaart along with Grand Rapids' Garret Elzinga and Paul Clark.
What makes this selection of comics really ripe for excitement is that these Chicago dudes have fantastic reputations for doing really out-there work.
Commonly described as alt-comedy, Gevaart has been a part of a monthly pop-up comedy event at Chicago's Pleasure Chest (an adult toy store) called Performance Anxiety Chicago. McAdam and Rouley host a wildly popular podcast, Revolutions Per Minute (RPM), which can only be described as two guys playing music and riffing on whatever theme they have chosen for the weekly broadcast.
"It all started when I met Goodrich Gevaart at a music festival in Florida last year and mentioned to him that I'd set up various punk shows in the past," says Dierolf, who was eventually contacted by the comic to book him into a Grand Rapids venue. "While I was really into the idea, I didn't know exactly where to do it."
Dierolf got to thinking about how other cities have hosted alt-comic acts in places like comic book stores and porn shops, and since Gevaart was coming with RPM, he decided to ask Vertigo about the possibility of the record shop hosting the event.
And while folks at this point often say, "...and the rest is history," it will only be so if you show up to make this first venture a success.
In honor of this first-time event happening over the same weekend as Festival for the Arts and the return of The Market, Vertigo Music is offering plenty of specials on music and videos all weekend long.
Admission: $5
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