Laughter Against the Machine continues January 7, 8, and 9 in OAKLAND!!!
The New Parish
579 18th Street (near 19th St BART)
GET INFORMATION AND BUY TICKETS HERE!
W. Kamau Bell, Hari Kondabolu, and Nato Green, three of the nation’s most fearless and thought-provoking comedians, reunite once again for “Laughter Against The Machine”. LATM is a rare kind of stand-up comedy show filled with biting commentary about politics, culture, and society, which will attack the entire spectrum from the rightest right to the leftest left.
If you want to witness three comedians diving off the edge of their intelligence and comfort, come to Laughter Against The Machine. This is an evening of three acclaimed comedians doing what they do best, expressing their opinions in hilariously awesome ways, without the yoke of two drink minimums. Just come. Sit down. Laugh. Go home.
LATM came together suddenly in the back of a comedy show during a discussion among Nato, Kamau, and Hari about wanting to find new audiences for their material. Having collaborated on several successful political comedy showsincluding “Laugh Out The Vote” and “Laughing Liberally Local 415”, they wanted to figure out a way to put on an issue-oriented, topical comedy show constructed of truly impassioned material to attract the thoughtful, dauntless, urban, and urbane audiences that they knew were out there but rarely see in comedy clubs. They wanted a show where the comedians and the audience would show up understanding that they were both going to be challenged, where the audience could be entertained and think at the same time, and where the comedians would promise to push themselves to places comics normally fear to tread. They also wanted it to be hilarious. Hari, Nato, and Kamau wanted a comedy show with no preconceived expectations, no party lines, and certainly no cheerleading, because these three have beef with everybody including themselves. Welcome to Laughter Against The Machine. LATM is not just a show, it is a band… of comedians. It is a band that is strengthened by the diversity of the comedians opinions, ethnicity, and upbringing. LATM has happened three times and has seen sold out audiences every time. Welcome to a comedy show where the comics may (among other lighthearted topics) vivisect the very notion of post-racial America, AND attack the corruption and decadence of late-imperial America, AND provide an historical context for the mess we’re in, AND make jokes about it. Very, very funny jokes.
Hosted by Janine Brito. Featuring Special Guest, Chris Garcia.
ABOUT THE COMEDIANS
W. Kamau Bell has been called very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho. Margaret Cho said, “W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.” Kamau was named Best Comedian 2008 by The SF Weekly, and also was featured in a cover story in 2009. Also seen on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and performing his critically-acclaimed solo show, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism In About An Hour. Time Out New York said, “Happily, Bell finds comic gold in the wide range of material he mines, offering provocative insights into an ugly reality. FOUR STARS”
Hari Kondabolu is, according to the Seattle Times, a young man reaching for the hand-scalding torch of confrontational comics like Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor. Hari has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Comedy Centrals Live at Gotham. His short film MANOJ was selected to play at the 2008 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and was a Finalist in the 2007-2008 Boston Motion Picture Awards. Born and raised in Queens, NY and a graduate of Bowdoin College with a B.A. in Comparative Politics in 2004, Hari also earned a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics in 2008.
Nato Green, who is he rarest of things — a San Francisco native, continues in the tradition of hard-hitting Jewish comedians like Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Joe Lieberman. Nato is the mastermind of Iron Comic, Laugh Out the Vote, Laughing Liberally Local 415, and the New Jew Revue. He blogs on Huffington Post, is the Official Comedian of the Progressive Reading Series, appeared at Comedy Day 2009 and SF Sketchfest 2008 & 2009. Nato claims that an anonymous reviewer on an unnamed website — who Nato has reason to believe is not related to him — wrote that Nato, “always manages to look completely relaxed saying the most incendiary sh*t”
Start The New Year off right… FURIOUS.
Third Root Art Collective 