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MICF Daily

Day 22 - Marcus Ryan

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is almost ready to close up shop for the year, which means you have only a short time to catch many of the great acts here in Melbourne. Today on MICF Daily we bring you Australian born, British based stand-up comic Marcus Ryan here to talk about his show Neighbours. The show is on through the end of the week at Word Bar - more details on the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• American comic Marc Maron has announced the lineup for the live taping of his podcast WTF. The sold-out show will feature special guests Greg Fleet, Wil Anderson, Steve Hughes, Felicity Ward and Arj Barker. For those fans who can’t get in, the episode will be aired on a later date. 
• Another show taping at the festival will be Greg Proops “The Smartest Man in the Room”, taking place this Sunday night at the Comedy Club at the Athenaeum. Entry is free and a full bar will be open. 
• For those people who missed out on Golden Gibbo nominated show Dr. Professor Neal Portenza’s Interactive Goat Hour v2.0, you have a second chance tonight. The show will be on for one last time tonight at 10pm at the Tuxedo Cat. Earlier in the evening Al’s Music Rant will be on at the same venue, and comedy fans can see both shows for $20 by booking at http://trybooking.com/QTQ. Additional shows are also on this weekend for Sammy J & Randy, Asher Treleaven, and Steve Hughes. Visit the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website for all the info.
• The People’s Choice award is on again, with entries in the running to win a trip for two to the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, Canada. Participants get to pick their three favourite shows from the festival, with the winner announced at the Festival Awards later in the season. Entries close this Saturday at noon, so visit the Comedy Festival website for further details.
• The last Herald Sun live chat session will be on today. Cal Wilson will take questions from comedy fans at 1pm today. If you’re interested, join the chat at heraldsun.com.au
• Justin Hamilton will also be hosting the final Festival Club’s ten comedians for ten bucks show tonight at the Hi-Fi Bar. On the lineup: Daniel Connell, Henry Stone, Jennifer Wong, Dayne Rathbone, Lindsay Webb, Marcus Ryan, Dylan Cole, Michael Williams and Rachel Leary. Tickets at the door.

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Day 21 - Ryan Coffey

It’s one last Tightarse Tuesday for the festival - your best chance to see some great comedy on the cheap. So why not listen to today’s MICF Daily for tips on who to see at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival! Today’s special guest is Ryan Coffey, whose show Live & Stupider was just nominated for a Golden Gibbo award. For dates and times, check out the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• It’s the final tightarse Tuesday for the Comedy Festival which means it’s your last chance to see many of the festival’s show for a cut price. Cheap tickets are available for festival nominated shows including Tig Notaro, Hannah Gadsby, Paul Foot, Bob Franklin and DeAnne Smith amongst others. For further details see the Comedy Festival website.
• Speaking of awards, the festival is running a People’s Choice awards again this year, with one lucky entry in the running to win a trip for two to the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, Canada. Participants get to pick their three favourite shows from the festival, with the winner announced at the Festival Awards later in the season. To enter, visit the Comedy Festival website.
• Sammy J & Randy’s Bin Night is still the top show of the 2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival according to festival tracker laughtrack.com.au. The show has a 93 rating, with Twitter user GretasTardis tweeting “Sammy J and Randy were AWESOME and I laughed til I cried”. Other shows in the top five include Wil Anderson, Simon Taylor, Lawrence Leung, and Kitty Flanagan. To contribute to the website, add the hashtag #micf to your festival related tweets.
• Festival Club is back for the very last Popcorn Comedy event at the Hi-Fi Bar tonight. The evening will be hosted of The Horne Section’s own Alex Horne, with special guests Simon Munnery and The Bedroom Philosopher. Other late night shows tonight include The Dirty Bits with David Tulk and The After-Party

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Day 20 - Brenna Glazebrook

This is it - the final week of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival; and MICF Daily is here to bring you everything comedy as we close on the 25th year of the festival. Today’s special guest is Brenna Courtney Glazebrook, whose show OC/DC starts tomorrow at the Black Cat in Melbourne’s CBD. For further details, check out the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• The nominees for the festival’s main two awards have been announced. The Barry nominations have went to Tig Notaro, Hannah Gadsby, Russell Kane, Paul Foot, DeAnne Smith, Bob Franklin and Sam Simmons. In the running for the Golden Gibbo this year are Ryan Coffey, Geraldine Quinn, Xavier Michelides, Neal Protenza and The Underlads. The awards will be given out at the Festival Club this Saturday night.
  
• Greg Proops has announced that he will have a live taping of his podcast during the festival. The taping of his show “The Smartest Man in the Room” will take place at 9:30pm on Sunday April 24 at the Comedy Club at the Athenaeum. Entry is free and a full bar will be on hand. Fellow American comic and podcaster will also tape a live episode of WTF on Saturday, April 23 at the Town Hall - tickets for this one are on Ticketmaster.
• A few more reviews have rolled in over the weekend - The Hearld-Sun given four stars to Anna Lumb and Gabriel Iglesias, three stars to Wing Attack! and Karl Chandler and Linda Beatty. Over at The Age four stars are awarded to Sanderson Jones, three and a half stars to The Damsel in Shining Armour, Simon Munnary, and Carl Barron, Sexytime!, Dave O’Neill, and Nath Valvo. And at Chortle positive reviews have went to Dave Callan, David Quirk, and Harley Breen.
  
• Finally, Monday may be the off night for many shows at the festival, but there’s plenty of bonus comedy to catch tonight. Spleen Bar continues running through the festival with a mystery lineup tonight, Local Laughs in St Kilda has a loaded lineup including Gordon Southern, Costaki Economopulos, James Dowdeswell, Christophe Davidson, Linda Beatty and more; and Rob Hunter will host his talk show Late O’Clock with Rob Hunter at the Melbourne Town Hall. 

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Day 19 - Spencer Hodges

We are into the home straight for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but there’s plenty of great acts still to catch at the festival; which means the good folk at MICF Daily are here to tell you about many of the great acts at the festival. Today’s guest is Spencer Hodges, whose self-titled show is on at PoP’s Restaurant for a few more days in 2011. For show details, check the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• The nominees for the festival’s main two awards have been announced, with The Barry noms going to Tig Notaro, Hannah Gadsby, Russell Kane, Paul Foot, DeAnne Smith, Bob Franklin and Sam Simmons. In the running for the Golden Gibbo are Ryan Coffey, Geraldine Quinn, Xavier Michelides, Neal Protenza and The Underlads.
• The annual Great Debate takes place tonight at the Melbourne Town Hall. The topic for debate is a statement - “It’s the end of the world!”. Arguing for the affirmative are Jason Byrne, Julia Morris and Captain Tom Gleeson. The negative will lead by Paul McDermott, with Cal Wilson and Paul F Tompkins. The debate will be taped for a Network Ten special to air later in the year.
• Dave Hughes has announced a one-off free show for Comedy Festival fans. The Nova radio breakfast host was not planning on performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but with the recent birth of a daughter, he is keen to get back on stage. More details on a show are expected to be released later this week - we will have the news on MICF Daily as it comes to hand.
• Greg Proops has announced that he will have a live taping of his podcast during the festival. The taping of his show “The Smartest Man in the Room” will take place at 9:30pm on Sunday April 24 at the Comedy Club at the Athenaeum. Entry is free and a full bar will be on hand. Fellow American comic and podcaster will also tape a live episode of WTF on Saturday, April 23 at the Town Hall - tickets for this one are on Ticketmaster.
• Plenty more free comedy on the cards today with the (very) Big Laugh Out returning all day long day at Federation Square and surrounding areas. Performers kick off from 11am today, and include The dotMaze, The Natural Theatre Company, Briefs, The Daredevil Chicken Club, and Duo Hoops to name but a few. Other kids shows on today include Comedy Club for Kids, There’s a Ghost in My Cupcake, and Spontaneous Broadway’s Random Musical.
• The Final Haus Party for the festival will be on at the Hi-Fi bar tonight with hosts Die Roten Punkte and Andrew McClelland; plus special guests Zoe Coombes Marr, Asher Treleaven, Marcel Lucont, and BRIEFS. Other late night variety shows tonight include Softbelly Late Night, Storytellers Club, Shaggers, and The After Party.

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Day 18 - Bonnie Davies

It’s a Saturday night and with plenty of great stuff on all day long, it’s hard to work out exactly what to see at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Fortunately the team at MICF Daily are here to help you out - with the latest news and another artist interview. Today’s special guest is Bonnie Davies, whose show $10 of Laughs or Your Money Back is on right now at Three Degrees. Full times and ticket info at the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• The Festival has unleashed an Easter treat for comedy fans, announcing cut price tickets for select shows on the weekend of Friday 22nd through Sunday 24th. $20 tickets will be available for internationals including Marc Maron, New Art Club, Tig Notaro and The Horne Section; as well as locals including Josh Earl, The Comedy Zone and The Bedroom Philosopher. Use the presale code EGGS on Ticketmaster to take advantage of the special offer.
• It’s a super Saturday today with some one-off shows taking place. The Wheeler Centre will host Jeez Louise: Where Do Funny Women Work? today at 3pm to find out how and where some of the world’s funniest women got their jobs. The event will be hosted by DeAnne Smith. A collection of indigenous Australia’s funniest comics will compete at Deadly Funny at 3:30pm today at the Town Hall. Sean Choolburra will MC the event, which will feature a special appearance from Stephen K Amos. And Hannah Gadsby will host another edition of her National Gallery of Victoria tour at 2pm and 4:30pm today. More information on all shows at the Comedy Festival website.
• The weekend is here which means a return to free comedy in the city. All day long The (Very) Big Laugh Out is on at Federation Square, The City Square and the City Precinct. All shows are family friendly and will feature a wide array of performers from Australia and beyond. Other family friendly comedy on today includes The List Operators, Luke & Wyatt, and Spontaneous Broadway. Check out the Comedy Festival website for further information.
• Stay out late tonight and see some of the great late night shows on at the festival. The Festival Club at the Hi-Fi Bar has special guests Dead Cat Bounce performing bootlegs following a comedy show that includes MC Dave Callan, Tommy Little, Caroline Rhea, Andrew Maxwell, and Josh Earl. Otherwise, Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night, Shaggers, Greg Fleet’s Big Love and Late Night Improv will also take place tonight.

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Day 17 - Karl Chandler

It’s Friday night but skip the footy and Friday drinks for a change - the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is on! Today’s guest is a Melbourne based comic who you have seen on awesome variety show Studio A or heard on popular podcast The Little Dum Dum Club - Karl Chandler. His show - Jokes in 140 Characters is currently on at the Forum. Full details available on the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• With plenty of shows selling out, a bit of venue switch-a-roo is happening. Hannah Gadsby has moved to the Victoria Hotel with Guy Pratt visiting the Swiss Club. Sammy J and Randy also move from the Victoria Hotel to the Hi-Fi Bar. All previous tickets will be honoured at the new venue, and a small batch of additional tickets will be avaliable from Ticketmaster.
• Marc Maron’s popular podcast WTF will be coming to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on Saturday, April 23. The popular podcast has had live episodes around the United States and will be taping at the Melbourne Town Hall at 3:30pm. Special guests will be announced closer to the day of the episode, so stay tuned to MICF Daily for news on who will be showing up.
  
• More additional shows have been announced for this weekend. Extra shows on tonight include Phi & Me, Sam Simmons, A Dinner to Die For and Paul Foot. For further information on venues and times, check the Comedy Festival website.
• Plenty of positive reviews have hit the web in the last few days, with the Herald Sun awarding four stars to The Jungle Book, Simon Munnery, Anil Desai, Francesca Martinez, Marc Maron and Golden Phung. Over at the Age, Jason Byrne and Anne Edmonds are awarded four stars, with three and a half stars going to Sexytime, Nath Valvo, and Fear of a Brown Planet Attacks. Also at the Hearld-Sun site today, Irish stand-up comic Andrew Maxwell will conduct a live chat session with comedy fans. The action kicks off at 1pm.
• It’s Friday which means the return of many late night shows. Festival Club is in Comedy Bonanza mode tonight with a great lineup of MC Tom Gleeson, Elliot Goblet, Roisin Conarty, Jeff Green, Dave Thornton, and Reginald D Hunter. Plus as a bonus, Dave Callan will be mixing it up on the decks after the comedy. Ali McGregor’s Late Night Variety Nite will have Circus Oz performer Jess Love plus many more. And if those shows don’t suit, Shaggers, Late Night Impro, Greg Fleet’s Big Love and The After Party all return tonigh

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Day 16 - Lisa-Skye Ioannidis

You may have watched the All-Star Comedy Supershow last night, so why not use tonight to see some of the great acts at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival? To make things easier, MICF Daily brings you the most awesome of the awesome at the festival. Today on the show, MICF Daily talks to Lisa-Skye Ioannidis on her show “Lisa-Skye is not Like Other Boys,” currently on at Pony. For tickets and times, check out the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• The first and perhaps only act for the Moosehead Awards has been confirmed. Adam Hills, the host of Spicks and Specks and talk show In Gordon Street Tonight will host the even along with Justin Hamilton, making it their only appearances of the festival. The awards is a benefit show that features many of the festivals best and brightest acts and always sells out. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.
• Shaun Micallef will be making his only appearance of the Festival today when he guest directs Spontaneous Broadway at the Arts Centre. The show is a toally improvised musical made up of song suggestions from the audience, featuring a cast including Cal Wilson, Mike McLeish and Emily Taheny. The event will take place tonight at 8:15pm, tickets from Ticketmaster.
  
• Plenty of shows have just started their runs at the festival - including Anil Desai, Andrew Maxwell, Francesca Martinez, Marcus Ryan and the new Headliners lineup of Marina Franklin, Matt Braunger and Sean Patton. For the full list of acts that are coming and going at the festival, check out the Comedy Festival website.
• Tonight the festival club returns to Comedy Bonanza mode with a cracking lineup. Bob Franklin takes on the MC duties, with special guests including Danny McGinlay, Maria Bamford, Tom Ballard and Marc Maron. Also on tonight - Late Night Impro, Shaggers, Storytellers Club and The Dirty Bits.

Follow @micfdaily for all the latest updates Comedy Festival wise, and like what we’re doing on Facebook.

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Day 15 - This Is Siberian Husky

Full show notes coming soon.

Follow @micfdaily for all the latest updates Comedy Festival wise, and like what we’re doing on Facebook.

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Day 14 - Julia Wilson & Greg Parker

Tightarse Tuesday is back and so is MICF Daily! With the festival now past the half way point, time is running out to go and see shows. So why not see the show of today’s guests - Julia Wilson & Greg Parker. Julia is a comedy veteran who has been touring the scene for yonks, while Greg is a renowned speed painter. Together they combine for an incredibly unique experience - Artsie Fartsie. Full details are available on the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• It’s another Tightarse Tuesday for the festival, with cut price tickets available for many acts on tonight. Cheap tickets include popular acts such as Joel Creasey, Danny Bhoy, Eddie Perfect, Lawrence Leung and Kitty Flanagan. For ticket details check the Comedy Festival website.
• The festival is running a People’s Choice awards again this year, with one lucky entry in the running to win a trip for two to the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, Canada. Participants get to pick their three favourite shows from the festival, with the winner announced at the Festival Awards later in the season. To enter, visit the Comedy Festival website.
• Reviews continue rolling in. The Herald-Sun have recently awarded five stars to Mark Butler, four stars to Anyone for Tennis, Tig Notaro, Lawrence Mooney, and The Dirty Bits; and three stars to Scott Abbot, Dave Callan, The Comedy Zone and Tommy Little. The Age gave five stars to One Man Lord of the Rings and four stars to The Ian Bagg Show. At Chortle, positive reviews have went out to The Pajama Men, Daniel Townes and Deanne Smith, while The Pun gives props to Nick Cody, Peter Helliar, and Dave Thornton.
• A very special evening tonight at Festival Club - So You Think You Can Finale. This is a special show with dance numbers and finales from the festival’s finest acts including Sammy J, Sam Simmons, Harley Breen, Asher Treleaven, and New Art Club. Tickets are $10 at the Hi-Fi Bar. Other late night shows include The Dirty Bits with David Tulk and The After Party.

Follow @micfdaily for all the latest updates Comedy Festival wise, and like what we’re doing on Facebook.

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Day 13 - Charles Barrington

Another Monday session for the festival with a fair few closing drinks had last night. MICF Daily on the other hand never closes -we just keep pumping out the shows to tell you who you should be seeing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Today, we speak with Charles Barrington about his new show - An Evening With Charles Barrington. The show opens tonight at the Tuxedo Cat, ticket details are at the Comedy Festival website.

On the MICF Daily newsdesk:

• Victorian comic Dayne Rathbone is the RAW Comedy 2011 National Champion. The competition featured 1000 wannabe comedians from around Australia enter to take out the gong, with the best twelve meeting at the Town Hall last night. Runner-up places went to Tom Gaynor of South Australia and Khaled Khalafalla of Victoria. Rathbone will now head to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to represent the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The event for the most part was well received, apart from a single heckler who was thrown out.
• Extra shows have been added for Sammy J & Randy and Hannah Gadsby. Sammy J & Randy in Bin Night will appear at the Victoria Hotel on April 16th and 23rd at 5:15pm, with a 10pm performance on the 24th. Hannah Gadsby moves her Mrs Chuckles show to the Lower Town Hall on April 17th for a early show at 4:30, and her talk at the National Gallery of Victoria will have an encore at 2pm on the 16th. Tickets for all of these shows are avaliable from Ticketmaster.
• Popular comedy podcast The Little Dum Dum Club recorded it’s first live episode yesterday to a strong crowd at Softbelly Bar. The episode featured guests Felicity Ward, Wil Anderson and Hannibal Buress, and will be released this Wednesday, followed by an airing on Barry Digital Radio later in the week.
• Sammy J & Randy have overtaken Wil Anderson as the most popular act of the Comedy Festival according to festival tracker laughtrack.com.au. The site which obtains rankings based on Twitter buzz has ranked Sammy J & Randy in first place with a 92.63% positivity rating. Following behind is Wil Anderson, The Pajama Men, Simon Taylor and Jason Byrne. To contribute to the site tag your tweets #MICF and they will be added.
• Finally, Monday may be the off night for many shows at the festival, but there’s plenty of bonus comedy to catch tonight. Spleen Bar continues running through the festival with a mystery lineup tomorrow night, Local Laughs in St Kilda has a loaded lineup including Andrew McClelland, Costaki Economopulos, Anyone For Tennis?, Dingo & Wolf, Bonnie Davies, Dave Callan, Michael Workman and more; and Rob Hunter will host his talk show Late O’Clock with Rob Hunter at the Melbourne Town Hall. For all the latest news on these shows and many more, follow @MICF Daily on Twitter.

Follow @micfdaily for all the latest updates Comedy Festival wise, and like what we’re doing on Facebook.