Comedy review from recent trip

I saw a good bit of comedy this past trip. Here is an overview:
Top of my list is the Riviera Comedy and not simply because there are free tickets in the American Casino Guide. Actually, on this trip, poker buddy Wild Bill booked at the Riviera and had free tickets included with his room booking. I wish this casino had decent VP or a poker room. I’d stay there. The Banana Leaf Café was another great diabetic and healthy food friendly spot, a great rare find in Vegas right there at the Riviera. And there were even more antique pinball machines to play than last visit.
Anyway, I liked the way I was treated; the entire place was relaxed and easy, especially as compared to Sin City.
No extra charges.
No minimum drinks.
No overpriced drinks.
No hustle; no hassle.
Just a how can we help you enjoy your night out.
I only drink wine now and their merlot was twice as much as what Sin City gave and twice as good at just $6, not $9. Wild Bill also had a 2 for 1 drink coupon with his room for use during the show so for us it was $3.

There was more comedy here too than any of the other places.
They had three comics.
In my book it gets top billing. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LA Comedy at Bally’s.
This is my second choice and interestingly is also very cheap with Groupon or Living Social. This time it was just $12 and no extra charges or minimum drink added to the cost.
Very nice venue.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Las Vegas Live Comedy
I got into this show free. I had bought a coupon for The Mentalist and after that show they let us get the far back seats for free at this comedy. I think I was pretty tired and perhaps two shows back to back left me a bit unreceptive.
Nothing seemed very funny.
Next to me was a couple with young teenaged kids. I don’t quite get bringing them, but to offer a perspective on the jokes, the boy (probably 13) curled up on a few seats and went to sleep in the middle. So much for the shock value.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sin City
Okay, I guess I’m not giving them another chance at me on any future trip. This is just a poor excuse for a comedy show. There is the guy who introduces, and just one comic. Most of the energy is spent at this theater making sure everyone has the minimum drink.
Drinks start at $9.
Really.
I had a $20 groupon with a drink included and was given the worst red wine I had the entire trip, served in a flimsy and small, half filled plastic cup.
On the street near Excalibur this trip a guy was passing out “free tickets” to Sin City that look like bookmarks. Be sure to take them if you see them, and then just use them as bookmarks.
So folks wandered into Sin City for their free ticket, and then were told that the box office fees and the minimum free drink fee meant that for this “free” show it would be $15 per person.
Cheaper than my groupon. Still, it reeks of the bait and switch games this theater plays and have been played on me now two years in a row.
$15 is a decent price for a night of comedy and a drink. This was half a night of comedy and half a drink. But just the idea of the carny like selling takes any entertainment edge off this venue for me.
Other shows that include comedy:

Zumanity was pretty raw, but I found it very funny.
O slapstick with the two guys on the houseboat was funny even the second time.
Free show Toast of the Town at Sam’s Club on Thursday includes two kinds of humor. There are the jokes the hosts make, the bantering type of humor done in the lounge acts years ago. Most of it is off the cuff and much of it is not very funny, but tolerable. The Rat Pack these guys just ain’t. Then they will have a comic act some weeks and I usually like that comedy.
It is the opposite of raw.
Some of it is clever. Some of it is a repetition of very old material. But often I like the comics here better than when I pay somewhere else. Free on Thursdays at Sam’s Town at 2. Come a bit early, the space fills quickly. Free stuff is given a few minutes before the acts. Swipe your B Connected card in a kiosk to print a ticket.
The Mentalist at the V told a few jokes. His mental tricks were pretty basic. It is not hard to read someone’s mind when you give them a card to fill out before the show where they put down all the information you will pretend to elicit.
Jeff Civillico’s juggling act was full of humor. He had great stage presence, and a very personable way with people. This is such an inexpensive show. I went because it was free (with a small ticket service charge) and it was much more than I expected. Very entertaining and a very genuine fellow. I’ll go again.
There was one dealer at the Venetian live poker room who when he heard we had just come from a comedy act, started doing Steven Wright jokes, these dry one liners, perfect for the time it takes to deal a new hand. He was funny.

As for the comedy itself. I’m not too impressed. We saw John Bizarre for perhaps the 12th time and even with his material being somewhat old for us, we just enjoyed him more than some of the others. See him if you can. I laugh just thinking about his act.
But much of the comedy depended on the word Fuuk spoken often and used to insure a laugh where the joke was mediocre. I guess after teaching inner city kids for 35 years, I’m just not that entertained by Fuuck. I’m not offended; just bored. Sometimes it is like eating in a bad restaurant.
“Yeah, Morty, the fish is just a little gone by….so use a spicy sauce.”
Then I am also tired of the race card. Few of the jokes are clever. Black comics seem obsessed with telling about white people. Again, I’m not offended. Just bored.
And half the rest of the jokes are about marriage and depend upon stereotypical marriage relationships (generally frustrated) to be funny.
I’m bored again.
Maybe I see too much stand up. I keep looking for Steven Wright, or for someone clever.
I lost the name of one comic at the LA show who was worth all the other comedy visits combined. And most of his material could not be prepared and practiced. He played off the audience, like Don Rickles, but without being as harsh and added in facial expression, accents, etc. so that he became a character from the audience. He’d pick up on people in the audience and make funny jokes in a quick and witty style. In my face he saw C Everett Koop, Reagan’s surgeon general and that alone was funny if obscure to most of the audience. Many people have pointed that resemblance out to me over the years. Amazing that he would come out with that. The guy died this year.
He was quick and funny and the humor was not harsh. Nothing made us cringe. It was not hard to be singled out. He’s make up whole stories based on how people looked. It was amazing really.
Okay, the joke I liked best is seasonal and fits my snowbird lifestyle.
A guy living in Florida calls his mother in Connecticut and she urges him to come home for Christmas.
“Listen, son, in Connecticut we got snow for Christmas! How you gonna have a real Christmas down there with no snow?”
“Ma, Jesus was not born in a snowstorm. He spent his time walking with his friends on hot desert sand in his sandals, surrounded by Jews. So I’m in Southern Florida; seems like true Christmas to me.”

 

Of the major shows you listed, I agree. Riviera comedy is a favorite of mine. I have gone several times. I would also add that Laugh Factory at Tropicana is very mediocre although you can get a few good laughs out of it. I have been twice. LA Comedy is mediocre but it has a little bit of a view of the strip behind the comedians which is very cool. LA Comedy is a tad better than Laugh Factory but that does not make it good. Laugh Factory is usually half-empty and the venue is way bigger than Riviera yet Riviera seems to have 3-4 times the amount of chairs. So, Laugh Factory only uses something like 2/5ths of its space for its chairs and only half of them are full. Rio Comedy show (whatever the name is) is also mediocre but it has some good laughs and they hand out free tickets before the show at Rio.

One time at Sin City Comedy was definitely enough. I too have the bookmark and I will save it for my books as you suggested here. I bought my groupon and I did not know about the drink minimum. I don't even drink alcohol, so a drink is usually worthless to me. The waitress kept coming back asking for my order, to which I refused. She said it was mandatory. Funny, I did not see that on my groupon. She was trying to charge me even though I had a groupon. I nicely stated that I could just get my money back, and she never came back. The jokes at this venue were so recycled! I saw these jokes before on television! It was ridiculous. The burlesque portion was alright but then again I had never seen burlesque before. I am sure it's downright crappy compared to the real deal.

While I am sure if I knew how he did it, I would think the Mentalist is basic BUT I do feel like he was throwing out personal information that he shouldn't have--information that was not asked for the sheet of paper--because first he answered their question on the paper and then he started talking a lot about these people's personal business like people's address, sex life, and hesitance about getting married, and all of this information was not linked to the initial question on the paper which he had already answered. I happened to see the European mentalist that came into town briefly earlier this year and while his mind tricks were WAY better, his "mind reading" was horrible.

I have never seen Las Vegas Live comedy but I will be sure to check out Jeff Civilico one of these trips! I actually bought a ticket to see him in May but the show got canceled and went dark when I was there.

I can laugh without Fuuk. Race jokes and marriage jokes don't yet bore me. There really is nothing more hilarious than marriage and relationships to me.

 

Here was my experience with this Mentalist. After the show, I went in line for the free comedy show. In front of me in line was the couple who had been picked out of the audience by their initials. We reviewed each of the personal information he "exposed" and it was all prompted there on the introductory card they had filled out, as each of us had, before the show.
They got how it had happened and were amused by it. Their minds had not been read.
All the other tricks required some magic, but not anything supernatural.
Some we could figure out. The dice trick he promised would be actually explained on his video if we bought it, so anyone could do it.
I saw a different Mentalist once at a more pricey show at the Orleans. He did not collect any information prior to the show and in his demonstration I was pretty awed by what he uncovered.

Your experience at Sin City is exactly what happened on my last trip.

see: http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2013/05/tr-snippet-sin-city-comedy.html

Afterwards, in writing, I did a good bit of complaining, including complaining directly to Groupon and others did as well. Soon afterwards the Groupon did start to mention the drink in their coupon.

This time I just thought I'd avoid the tense scene and buy a Groupon with drink. The drink was terrible.
The Burlesque is fine to see once. The act is the same. It is okay, but I'd rather have another comic.

It is interesting that LA did not satisfy you. I've liked it each time. This time I stopped on my way out and mentioned that any talking at the bar seemed to resonate into the audience, and they said they knew that was a problem and were working on it. Otherwise, I thought it was good both times. That is where the comic performed who worked by kidding members of the audience.
Plenty of times I think it is just the luck of the draw that night in all these places.
And that is a good reason to pick a venue where we are comfortable, because the same comics move around. I am also thinking it is a reason to limit my attendance when I go to Vegas. I am likely to see the same acts at another theater. One guy this trip was up from the South and did an act cracking on his own heritage and at his own fat. I saw him at the free show and again at LA Comedy. Wild Bill liked him and only saw him the second time. I thought his delivery was off, that he was not quite polished, but the second show worked better for me than the first, so it may just have been me.

 

That is interesting about the Mentalist. I wish I could try that. LA Comedy was fine for one time. I would pay for Riviera comedy though even though I get it for free. I saw the same comedian who was a regular at Rio go to LVH's comedy show.

Great that you wrote groupon! I see the drink added now.

 

I saw Sin City Comedy a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. Perhaps it has changed. When I saw it, there was an emcee that did sets at the beginning and end of the show and two other comics in between. It was inexpensive fun back then

 

I really expected two comics in between. Now it was just one and the same Burlesque act. In my last visit I did not much like the one comic and I'd heard the MC. It still is probably worth the price of the bookmark ticket, $15 with the drink included and no hassle, especially if you have not gone in a while. That is pretty cheap for a show.
And I started with off my diet the lamb and tempora shrimp at the Spice Market Buffet using the Destination coupon and the last $6 of my Harrah's points that were due to expire. So, it was a fine night out.
Of course, I did not have the wonderful company I had on my last Spice Market visit. Just the memories.
The proper way to see comedy is to do a bit of reseach into the comic before going, but I'm not organized enough for that. However, at least if there are two main comics, the odds are better to catch one that fits your taste in comedy.

 

Agree about Sin City. Went there last month. With a Groupon it was very cheap (it's not all that expensive anyway) but what a waste of time. The whole thing was over in an hour. MC told a few jokes, woman did burlesque number, MC told a few more jokes, another woman did burlesque number, headliner does about 35-40 minutes and out the door.

 

A funny comedy/ magic show I enjoyed is Mike Hammer at the four queens.

 

im a big comedey fan thanks for the reviews,ive seen alot of headlines here

i guess ill check out jeff civillio as per your review as i live here always looking for something new to see ,thanks

 

I love stand-up too. I just noticed that John Caparulo performs at South Point fairly often. Including right after Christmas this year. Very cheap tickets because he's not a huge name. But I think he is hilarious. I saw him on TV a couple times and was dying of laughter.

Google some of his videos if you're not familiar with him. If you like him tickets are only $15-$25 to see him at South Point the weekend after Christmas.

 

ive seen

vinnie about 12 times
Carrot Top about 4 times
jay leno about 4 times
joan rivers once
dice clay one in vegas
don rickles once in vegas

a few unknow at the improve at harrahs
and few more i cant rember

want to see whoppie if she gets back here and kathy griffiths.
would have like to see katt williams was away qwhen he was here

 

Another vote for Jeff Civilico here. We have seen him twice and enjoyed his show very much both times.

 

We got five tickets to LA Comedy during our last trip for $12. Approx half an hour before show starts I decided I just couldn't go. The night before did me in and I was just not feeling it. I was actually in bed before 9 on a sat night in vegas. WHAT?? Hubbie, my mom and my two kids (26) did go and later said it was "okay". Had they spent any more on it, they would have been mad. For them it was a cheap hour an a half. I wouldn't do it again.

 

For my next trip i had the choice between

Tim Allen(venitian)
Daniel tosh (mirage)
Larry the cable guy(palms)
Eddie griffin(rio)

I choose Tim Allen hopefully that was the right call

Past trips i have seen Carrot top(luxor), andrew dice clay(riviera) and kathy Griffin(ceasars)

All 3 were were really good but to me the Coloseum felt a bit too big for a stand up show that or i needed better seats lol

 

I would second trying to see John Caparulo, he is great. And Dewey, if you like comics who play well off the audience members look for a Canadian named Ian Bagg, he is great at this.

 

I've seen a few shows at The Improv @ Harrah's and the comedians are usually pretty good.

Sin City wasn't that good. But I got my tickets free through Goldstar and they didn't require a drink purchase.

Aside from the comedy festival I went to at Caesar's (2008?), the funniest show I've seen in Vegas was Marc Savard Comedy Hypnosis at V Theater at Planet Hollywood. It was another freebie through Goldstar although I haven't seen them offer comps for it lately. But the show was hilarious and I highly recommend it.

Here's the link…
[link removed]

I'm going to LA Comedy Club at Bally's at the end of the month with the $12 Groupon deal.

I also plan on staying at the Riviera (I'm a cheapskate) on an upcoming trip since the resort fee includes tickets for their comedy club.

 

Bumping this thread to ask this question, who are the straight stand up comics that have residencies in Vegas?

I don't mean people who have comedy/magic shows. Nor do I mean the comedy clubs with a rotating roster of comics. Just a straight stand up show with a residency, like George Wallace at the Flamingo. Are there any others?


To keep with the theme of the topic, I did see a Todd Paul show at the Hooters a few years back which was exciting and hilarious. He used me in a few of his tricks and it was a lot of fun. I don't think he's performing regularly in Vegas anymore though.

 

dice
carrot top
vinney
gorge wallace
pen teller


then theres alot that are at orleans every few moths like don rickles and others they have other contrat

joan rivers and david spade every few months a venetian'
jay leno at mirage evey 2 or 3 months


brad garret

 

Penn & Teller would fall under the comedy/magic show though.

Where does Dice perform at? I thought he was touring.

 

he has a residency at a place called vinyl inside the hard rock