10 Funniest Comedians In Philadelphia List Reveals: Helium Comedy Club Is Literally Hell On Earth
You know, it’s actually a pretty good time for the comedy scene here in Philadelphia — at any rate, it’s the best we’ve ever seen. You’ve got a young scene with sketch troupes like Secret Pants and recurring nights/collectives like The Ministry Of Secret Jokes happening, and not for nothing, It’s Always Sunny has laid a path of influence that certainly hasn’t hurt, either. (If everything I just said — minus the Always Sunny part — was Greek to you, check out Comic Vs. Audience, which chronicles the best of Philly’s current young comedy scene.) But when you check out The Laugh Track’s list of The 10 Funniest Comedians in Philadelphia Right Now, you realize something: This scene isn’t gonna hit its stride until it throws off the shackles of the conventional comedy club altogether. Everyone knows that comedy clubs basically suck, in general attract both the worst types of comedians and audiences, and have air that is filled with the ghosts of other comedians bombing. Most of the Laugh Track’s 10 Funniest are presented with YouTube clips of them performing at Helium Comedy Club, and we’d venture to say that their bits are less funny because of it. There is desperation in the air — even in the clips of the comics we actually like — and it’s probably not even Helium’s fault. (We even kinda like that cute Philly skyline backdrop.) It’s just that, for the up-and-coming generation of comics, the comedy club represents nothing more and nothing less than the Paula Poundstone/Evening At The Improv era of awful, awful brick wall comedy. We’re not saying we know what the solution to the comedy club problem is, but it’s gotta be better than a drink-and-app minimum and a stool with a glass of whiskey on it in case things really go south.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I have been there twice to see Todd Barry and Arj Barker, both are great comics (and part of the young, hip alt-com genre). I also thought the club was very intimate…but for those who don’t follow stand up, you might walk into a pretty un-funny comic most of the time I guess.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Joey, Why do you have to always put down everyone and everything? Just stick to the Arthur Kade bashing which is your ilk.
Anyway, my friend does their PR, and she kicks ass. So I’ve gotten to meet lots of the comedians there and they love the place.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
@paigewolf agreed, Joey has been hating a lot lately, I want to see a few more things that totally rock and I love so much posts from you, philebs!
November 10th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Number one, Paula Poundstone’s comic chops have aged well, and her voice work on “Home Movies” is proof enough of that. Number two, if comedians aren’t supposed to play comedy clubs, where do they go? Unless someone is willing to promote standup night at the Barbary or something, comedians are going to have to go to comedy clubs.
Anyways, no good comedian is going to stay in Philadelphia–or any city that isn’t New York or Los Angeles–for very long, so Philly is probably just stuck with leftovers. Any city besides NY or LA is like the minor leagues, a comedian works on his material there long enough to gain chops before they move on. Why do you think Paul F. Tompkins lives in LA now?
November 10th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Heaven deliver us from the cheerleaders. If anything, Philebs should get more critical, not less.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Ripping Helium to bemoan the local comedy scene is like ripping the Kimmel Center to bemoan the local music scene. Helium provides a very important service in terms of getting young comedians work in a comedy club setting, but trust me, there is a ton of experimental stuff going on around here that you should take the time to check out when you get a chance. The Shubin Theatre has been doing a lot of comedy lately, and last night there was a terrific night of dark comedy put on there by Chip Chantry. There have been comedy shows at the Khyber, the Trocadero, the Walking Fish Theatre, in people’s back yards for heaven’s sake.
Yes, some local comedians move to New York, but part of the reason for that (other than more clubs) is that while in NYC the local populace embraces comedy, it seems that around here people would rather bash it. Philebrity would be doing the city a great service if it helped promote the local comedy scene even half as much as it promotes the local music scene. Philly will never be LA or NYC, but there is no reason that, with the current crop of talent, Philadelphia can’t create a niche comedically a la Chicago or Montreal.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Having knocked around an open mic or two outside of Helium, I can definitely say that things can get pretty bleak, especially as the evening wears on, the audience wears thin, several comics have bombed in a row, the guy on stage is trying to convince the audience that domestic violence is a punchline in itself, and then — maybe — it’s your turn.
My only beef with Helium is that no matter how many times you go to open mic, there’s no guarantee of stage time, so you could be among the first people to sign up five weeks in a row (Summer of ‘08!) and still not get on. That said, it’s probably still the best venue for an up-and-coming up-and-comer, because the people who receive the longer time slots have earned them.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Goodtimes on this one. There are amazingly funny people doing their part at DIY shows in tiny theaters and upstairs at bars across the city. I feel like comedy as a whole is at a crossroads. It could break out of the comedy club/NYC or LA model into something a lot more interesting with comedians and groups around the country making waves live and on the internet regardless of where they’re from. It’s something to keep an eye on.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I guess that Philebrity has more important things to blog about then local DIY comedy… like Snuggies, this season of Mad Men, and giving glowing reviews to movies that also happen to advertise on their site (The Men Who Stare At Goats – http://www.philebrity.com/2009/11/06/film-sweat-goat-west-young-man/).
Keep up the good work, Philebrity!
November 10th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
@Feeko: C’mon son. We do the film roundups every week, and they include “glowing” praise for plenty of films that don’t advertise here, either. C’mon son. Get the fuck outta here with that shit.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
i saw paul f. tomkins twice at helium and he was amazing. even his opening, tony camin, killed. i’ve also seen greg fitzsimmons there and had a great time.
i guess if u know who u are going to see, helium isn’t such a hellhole.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
@tips: C’mon son. Your site can dish it but you can’t take it. C’mon son!
November 10th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Oh, we can take it alright. All the way to the motherfucking bank, son.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
All of you need to go back and read the entire post. You aren’t reading what he wrote. I think if you take a second to actually read this, you will agree.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I always liked the open mic at helium.
It’s free for one, it’s also interesting to watch people work out their material–and back stab each other with thinly veiled inside jokes.
funny to see the obviously disturbed comedians too, such desperation in the air.
you get a mix of obvious Penn glee-club types along with some hard-core philly locals that crack good jokes about kenzo abortion clinics and such.
haven’t been in a while though, so maybe it sucks now.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
@Trigg: This happens more than you could ever know.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I read everything he wrote and I don’t agree. If it wasn’t for Helium, there would never be a single top of the line comedian come to Philly unless they were playing in some godawful place like the Tweeter Center or whatever the hell it’s called now. Helium is a nice room that brings in top talent. If you don’t like comedy clubs, that’s fine, don’t go. But the point I was making was that the comedians in question are doing PLENTY to break out of the comedy club mold, and Philebrity would be doing a lot more good to both these extremely talented local comics and the city as a whole by promoting their work instead of complaining about comedy clubs.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
tweeter center? helium? um, THE single “top of the line” comedian in the US will be in philadelphia friday as part of his 2009 world tour.. and he’s playing johnny brendas.
i’m sure i dont have to name names, we all read the papers around here.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
@johnnygoodtimes: I think that, more than any other non-comedy blog in this city, we’ve done exactly that, and we don’t plan on stopping.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I read this very differently. What I see here is a plea to our entire entertainment consuming city asking them to seek out comedy in all places, not just the place advertised on Preston & Steve.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
gee, no other place to play besides the tweeter?
I have seen stanhope at the Troc twice and the khyber once now, he specifically mentioned that he won’t play helium…