Now here’s something you don’t see every day: A different four headliners performing at a comedy club on each of four nights in a row. Throw in another night-the opener-with four local comics, and you’ve got a comedy festival.
Specifically, you’ve got the All Jokes Aside Comedy Festival, which is keyed towards the Chicago club’s third anniversary. The festival is Wednesday through Aug. 7.
Man, haven’t these people heard of birthday cake? Their first anniversary was spent moving from a large room they shared with an art gallery to their current location at 1000 S. Wabash Ave., which is now one of the sharpest-looking clubs in the Chicago area.
The second anniversary was the debut in their club of “Comic Justice,” Comedy Central’s standup show that features minority comics. Really, birthday cake is cheaper. And those cakes just taste better than regular cake. Just a thought.
You’d have to go a long way to find any comedy club in the country, much less Chicago, trying to put on such a production. And it’s a clear signal of how strong All Jokes Aside is that they’re able to forge such a lineup.
That’s especially true considering how weak the over-all standup comedy club scene has been for the last few years, with rooms closing all over the country.
But All Jokes Aside has shown nothing but strength and staying power since it opened up in the South Loop area three years ago. Chicago’s first African-American comedy club has seen nothing but growth since then. It capitalized, and probably added muscle, to a black comedy boom that has been happening for roughly four years now.
“(Black comedy is) an alternative form of entertainment that’s going to be here,” says All Jokes Aside co-owner Raymond Lambert. “How hot it is, as far as the TV shows and things of that nature, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
But for now, African-American standup is a pretty toasty thing. That’s evident with the All Jokes Aside Comedy Fest, a brainchild of Lambert’s, along with partners James Alexander and Mary Lindsey, for about 1 1/2 years.
“We really think standup belongs in the club, and we wanted to demostrate how we could bring a wealth of talent in one room,” says Lambert, 33.
“We wanted to be the first club to ever do anything like this, to make it work logistically. And we think it’s a celebration for the comedians, the club and the customer.”
Festival? What festival? Reggie McFadden doesn’t know anything about a festival.
“This is what we used to do back in the day anyway when none of us was making money,” laughs McFadden. “No one called it a festival then. It was just getting on stage.”
Among the local comics to participate next week are Mr. Dos, Eliz Wright and All Jokes house emcee George Willborn, a man who has helped establish the club’s identity. Indeed, All Jokes Aside isn’t All Jokes Aside without George Willborn.
The headliners scheduled to appear include McFadden, T.K. Kirkland, Laura Hayes, Michael Colyar, Dave Chappelle, Shirley Hemphill and Carlos Mencia. The majority of them have headlined at All Jokes before.
The 20 comics were chosen based on both fan and staff popularity. There are probably 10 more acts “that are just as qualified to do this, maybe even 15,” says Lambert. “But it’s kind of what the people want.”
“This is one of the things I like about All Jokes Aside,” says Wright. “What they tend to do is display talent, good talent, in a variety form. Not all the same talent per se, and they pave a way and also set a platform for good talent.”
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“The audiences are going to get a really big treat, because it’s all these different styles coming together,” says McFadden. “It’s these views of life all in one room. There’s going to be some trouble,” he adds with a laugh.
And don’t think the comics won’t get a kick out of hanging out together during this thing.
“The comics love watching each other,” says McFadden. “Especially my favorite comic, Rodney Winfield. I never know what he’s going to say, and it’s just wonderful to watch him.”
McFadden, 25, knows a little about hanging out at comedy festivals. He was one of the stars of the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival last year in Montreal, which this year is running through this weekend. Eagerly looking forward to performing at the Chicago fest is Dave Chappelle, a young talent who has been the rage at the Montreal festival for the last two years.
The idea of a fest for black talent is “perfect … because I think it’s a different type of comedy that a lot of people aren’t aware of.”
The 20-year-old also thinks this festival “is another big step for legitimizing the black comedy boom in the mainstream, so people will know that these comedians are real.”
Boom? What boom? McFadden doesn’t know anything about a boom.
“Black comedy’s been here,” he says. “It just wasn’t commercial. And because of all the television shows that are coming out . . . people are finally noticing us, so everyone’s calling it a success. But it’s not a success; it’s been here forever.”
And it will be around for the forseeable future. Laura Hayes has an idea of what that future holds, including what she considers a shaking-out period.
“We’ve got a lot of perpetrators out there now. (But) the cream of the crop are coming to the top,” says Hayes, 44.
“When black comedy took off, everybody and their brother came out. But then you’ve got the scandalous ones, who come and instead of doing something of their own, prefer to get out there and pass by doing other people’s creative thoughts and things. So I think we’re at a point now we’re beginning to see those that genuinely have a passion for the art.”
There’s a good possibility that you’ll see those passionate ones at future All Jokes Aside comedy festivals. Lambert says if this one goes well, look for it to become an annual event.
“If this thing is successful, what we hope to do next year is expand on it a bit,” Lambert says. “We might include, say, some seminars or something around it about the world of comedy.”
There’s a chance there might be workshops for people who want to get into standup and on subjects such as how comics can go out for television and movie parts.
“A lot of the acts that we bring in are people who work regularly on TV, who work regularly in film,” Lambert says. “So why not share some of that wealth or some of that talent with the people.”
Here’s the talent lineup for next week, which is subject to change:
Wednesday: Cedric the Entertainer, George Willborn, Mr. Dos, Eliz Wright.
Thursday: Chocolate, Shirley Hemphill, T.P. Hearn, Jonathon Slocumb.
Aug. 5: Don Curry, Carlos Mencia, T.K. Kirkland, Laura Hayes.
Aug. 6: Michael Bonner, Michael Colyar, Rodney Winfield, Reggie McFadden.
Aug. 7: Chriss Charles, Dave Chappelle, Bruce Bruce, Tony Woods.
Call 312-922-0577 for reservations and show times.
Last Yuks
The wit of former local boy turned Los Angeles talent Mark Roberts will be on display this weekend in “An Evening with Mark Roberts” at the Funny Bone-Naperville (1504 Naper Blvd.-Tower Crossing Shopping Center; 708-955-0500).
“The Best of Second City” is a summer revue from Second City Northwest (1701 W. Golf Rd., Rolling Meadows). A mix of classic songs and scenes, it’s happening Thursdays through Sundays. Call 708-806-1555 for details.