Lara's 2017 Moontower Picks

It’s that time of year again, when come­di­ans descend on Austin for the Moon­tow­er Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val. I learned a lot from last year’s fes­ti­val, and I’m here to share that knowl­edge with my picks for shows you won’t want to miss.

First, let’s get some logis­tics out of the way. Moon­tow­er is a walk­ing fes­ti­val. The major­i­ty of the venues are all walk­ing dis­tance from one anoth­er, with the excep­tion of Cap City Com­e­dy Club. With that in mind, wear com­fort­able shoes. Also, when plan­ning out your sched­ule, check to see how far apart the venues are to best select your shows and times.

My Eight Must-See Picks

• If you’re an ear­ly bird and want to kick things off April 19^th, the pod­cast, My Favorite Mur­der — host­ed by Geor­gia Hard­stark and Karen Kil­gar­iff — will have two record­ings at the Para­mount The­atre. The first show is at 7pm and the sec­ond is at 9pm. True crime fans will love the sto­ries which are told with a lit­tle bit of hilar­i­ty. You’ll thank me.

• Many com­e­dy fans know of a very preg­nant Ali Wong’s Baby Cobra spe­cial on Net­flix (go watch, I’ll wait). You won’t want to miss her at the Para­mount The­atre on April, 20^th at 7:30pm and April, 21^st at 9pm. Wong is com­mand­ing and ani­mat­ed in her com­e­dy, so I’m sure she’ll make good use of the Para­mount stage.

• Out of town vis­i­tors, and those who don’t spend a lot of time watch­ing local live com­e­dy, will find Moon­tow­er Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val as a good way to famil­iar­ize them­selves with some of the best come­di­ans Austin has to offer. Austin Tow­ers, at The Velv Com­e­dy Lounge (for­mer­ly The Velvee­ta Room), is a show­case fea­tur­ing all Austin comics. You have two chances to catch this show­case. With a rotat­ing line­up, each one will be unique. Be sure to stop by The Velv to find out why Austin is quick­ly becom­ing a pow­er­house in the com­e­dy world. Dates and times are April, 20^th at 7pm and April, 22^nd at 8pm.

• Stars In Bars was incred­i­ble last year and I refuse to miss it this year. This show gives you a chance to see major head­lin­ers in an inti­mate venue. This show­case runs for three nights at 800 Con­gress, but like the oth­er show­cas­es, the line up changes each time. Any one you pick will be a win, but I’m lean­ing toward the April 20^th show, host­ed by Matt Bear­den at 8pm, and fea­tur­ing Martha Kel­ly, Dom Irrera, Melis­sa Vil­laseñor, Michelle Collins. Bri­an Posehn. Karen Kil­gar­iff, Dana Gould, The Sklar Broth­ers, Bryan Callen, and Bar­ry Crim­mins. The oth­er shows are April 21^st at 8pm and April, 22^nd at 7:30pm.

• If you love com­e­dy, it’s no sur­prise that come­di­ans are gen­er­al­ly inse­cure and feed off the applause and laughs of an audi­ence. Remove that audi­ence response and you have 7 Min­utes in Pur­ga­to­ry, cre­at­ed and host­ed by Ian Abram­son. Come­di­ans do a sev­en minute set alone in a sound­proof room, and in front of a cam­era. This ​“social exper­i­ment” is a unique expe­ri­ence you may not see any­where else. 7 Min­utes in Pur­ga­to­ry only has one show April, 21^st at 10:15pm. Plan your walk to the Google Fiber Lounge accordingly.

• Ping Pong Slap­down is a day­time Moon­tow­er Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val tra­di­tion, host­ed every year by The Sklar Broth­ers. Fans and come­di­ans com­pete in this ping pong tour­na­ment, while The Sklar Broth­ers pro­vide excit­ing col­or com­e­dy! Did I men­tion that Amy’s Ice Cream and Phil’s Ice House serve burg­ers, fries, and ice cream while you watch the action on stage? It’s worth head­ing to State­side at the Para­mount 0n April, 22^nd at 2pm to get in on the action.

• Fresh off the news that his sit­com, Supe­ri­or Donuts, has been renewed for a sec­ond sea­son, Jer­maine Fowler is head­lin­ing Cap City Com­e­dy Club this year. With a list of acco­lades, includ­ing Just For Laugh’s New Faces and Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch, you don’t want to miss the chance to see Fowler tell some side-split­ting sto­ries of child­hood and fam­i­ly (did I men­tion he’s a twin?). Shows start each night at 8pm. On April, 22^nd, there’s a sec­ond show at 10:30pm.

• Last year, Com­e­dy Wham col­league, Valerie Lopez could not stop talk­ing about the God­damn Com­e­dy Jam. Come­di­ans fol­low their set with their choice of cov­er song and a may­hem sing-a-long ensues. Last year, my go-to karaōke song was per­formed by Adam Ray, which Lopez tweet­ed as being arguably bet­ter than my own ren­di­tion. This show promis­es to be amaz­ing, but if I have my way I’ll be remind­ing Ray that I chal­lenged him to a sing-off of What’s Up by 4 Non Blondes. You have three nights to see this show­case, but Adam Ray will be on the Fri­day show, so that’s where I’ll be! Dates and times for God­damn Com­e­dy Jam are April, 20^th at 11pm, April, 21^st at 11:15pm, and April, 22^nd at 11pm. Antone’s is host­ing the show on the 20^th and 21^st. The Par­rish will be doing the hon­ors on the 22^nd.

Hope­ful­ly these picks give you a nice start, but hon­est­ly, what­ev­er you choose, you can’t go wrong! This fes­ti­val is noth­ing but great tal­ent! Remem­ber, all fes­ti­val and venue info can be found on the Moon­tow­er Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val web­site.