Take me back to Moontower! 

Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival presented by the Paramount Theatre returned for its fourth year. 

Billed as “4 days, 10 venues, 90ish performers,” Moontower Comedy did not disappoint. With local talent and legendary headliners like Martin Short all within walking distance, there was a little something for everyone. The only drawback was deciding which shows to attend. 

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Admittance to the venues go down like this: VIP pass grants access to all venues and all acts (that’s right folks, you walk right to the front of the line with preferred seating waiting inside). The ACE pass guarantees entry after VIP, and seating won’t be an issue. My suggestion for 2017 Moontower festival goers is to get in line early if you’ve got a FAN pass. Although you aren’t guaranteed a seat to all headliner performances, with multiple venues and a ton of talented performers there’s a lot of bang for your buck with the FAN pass. All passes provide discounted parking and access to the VIP/Artist lounge where elbow rubs, drink specials and selfies abound. I’ve got to stay this was easily one of the more organized events I’ve been to; Paramount and Stateside personnel were very accommodating.

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The legendary Martin Short officially kicked off festivities Thursday night (4/21) at the Paramount. Meanwhile, next door at Stateside at the Paramount featured Austin based comedian Derek Phelps. Ahmed Bharoocha (opener for Janeane Garofalo) is on my “to watch” list and here’s hoping he lands a stand-up special soon…ahem, Netflix, I’m looking at you. Catch Ahmed’s sketch comedy “Dead Kevin” with fellow comedians Ryan O’flanagan and Jack Robichaud on YouTube. Janeane Garofalo’s energy translated well for her set and I instantly recalled “Reality Bites” quotes. Later that evening I caught Austin based Mike MacRae and Piff the Magic Dragon (with Mr. Piffles the Chihuahua) for a packed show at Stateside. 

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Friday (4\22) David Cross filmed his new special “Make America Great Again!” at the Paramount, so be on the lookout for that soon. I celebrated my 37th birthday in style catching the Nightcap with Kevin Smith Q&A. I’m a lifelong Smtih fan so this was a real treat for me. “37! My girlfriend sucked 37 dicks…In a row?!” I watched “Clerks” again for the hundredth time later that night. I caught Smith again the following day at “The Speakeasy” with hetero-life-mate Jason Mewes for their Jay & Silent Bob Get Old podcast. I frequent the podcast so I knew what lay ahead but Jay’s antics, air humping and sexcapade stories had the crowd busting at the seams. Smith directed an episode of the CW’s “The Flash” recently with a Jason Mewes cameo and Smith’s latest film ‘Yoga Hosers’ is set to release January of this year. The film stars Johnny Depp, Haley Joel Osment, Harley Quinn Smith, Jason Mewes and Lily-Rose Melody Depp and is a spin-off of Smith’s 2014 horror film Tusk. 

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After the podcast I walked a few blocks back to the Paramount for Colin Jost & Leslie Jones of SNL fame. Colin opened and delighted the crowd with witty and well-timed jokes. Then Leslie Jones hit the stage and announced that this wouldn’t be like “fucking SNL” and boy was she right. Jones delivered her blue comedy genre set before unleashing the full scope of her physical comedy prowess. She demanded the house lights be turned on and doors locked before stage-diving into the crowd and systematically tearing show attendees apart. Tears were shed, blossoming couples’ relationships put to the test; Leslie brought the house down. 

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Before the festival I had the pleasure of meeting Austin based comedians Ella Gale and Daniel Webb for portraits and Q&A’s. See below for the deets!


Ella Gale

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DR: What’s your favorite project you’ve ever been a part of?

EG: I love doing my show Naughty Bits. It combines my love of dirty jokes and honest conversations and I get to do it with my best friend.

DR: Who inspires you?

EG: I’ve been really inspired by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The quality and density of the jokes is unreal. 

DR: What’s your biggest first date pet peeve?

EG: Hm. I don’t think I have a good answer to that. Every bad date is bad in its own special way.

DR: While now is probably the best time to be a female comedian, women are still highly underrepresented in numbers of overall comedians (only 14%-20%).  Why do you think that is and how do you feel about being part of that minority?

EG: I started comedy later than a lot of people–in grad school during a pretty major career change. I fell in love with standup deeply and more or less instantaneously, and it helped me identify comedy as a driving interest. Looking back at everything I’ve done in life, I can see my comedic instincts pretty clearly in a lot of stuff (particularly in like, middle school writing–not that they were great, but I was definitely writing jokes and bits). But I don’t remember anyone describing me or thinking of me as “funny”. They would tell me I was a good writer, but I don’t remember being told I was funny. Women who are funny don’t get the same social rewards men do, and so I suspect that a lot of them just don’t think of themselves as funny or don’t bother exercising that muscle. So fewer women than men try comedy. Women who do decide to do comedy, of course, face the same sexism and harassment women face in basically any field.

I feel fine about being a woman in comedy in Austin–the scene here is diverse and supportive, and the clubs in town do a great job of booking women at all levels (host/feature/headliner).

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 DR: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

EG: Maybe telekinesis.

DR: In an ideal dream situation, where would you like to see yourself in five years?

EG: Getting paid in nearly any capacity for writing comedy, and maybe doing like one standup tour a year.

DR: Who are you most excited to see at Moontower this year?

EG: I’m very excited to see James Adomian! I don’t have a detailed schedule for anything yet; I kind of just want to drop into stuff and discover new things to love.

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Daniel Webb
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DR: How did you get into comedy?  Have you always been a class clown or did you work to develop your sense of humor?

DW: After years of slowly turning into a mean waitress I decided it was time to add a microphone and public shame.

DR: You have such a high energy, gregarious stage presence; is that your natural disposition or do you “get in character” before performing?

DW: Before a show I like to have champagne and/or whiskey if that’s what you mean by “get in character.”

DR: Cake or pie?

DW: BOTH!

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DR: What’s your favorite project you have been/are a part of?

DW: Opening for Bruce Bruce at Cap City was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had.

DR: In an ideal, dream situation, where do you see yourself in five years?

DW: In five years I hope to be touring with comedy making lots of money and then inevitably becoming a mysterious shut-in.

DR: What’s your spirit animal?

DW: Khloe Kardashian.

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