We can’t help but imagine the incredibly depressing conversation that probably dispatched Louis C.K. to Raleigh to try his comeback again, with just two days’ advance notice. “Let’s send him to North Carolina! They don’t care about basic human decency and dignity down there, right?”
Because we’d be more likely to cry than to laugh at a Louis C.K. show, maybe we’ll just head over to Goodnights instead, where surely they’ve got something less—what the fuck? The twin YouTube stars who posted a video last weekend mocking tribal elder and war vet Nathan Phillips? We give up. On touring comedy this week, anyway. (And maybe Chad Daniels and Russell Peters are OK?)
Luckily, our hometown comics are keeping the flame for people who want to get their giggles without supporting garbage. Here are eight local comedy events you can go to over the next week instead of The Hodgetwins or Louis C.K. (The latter, inevitably, sold out fast, anyway.)
First, shout out to Mettlesome, which reacted to the Louis C.K. booking by shifting its existing Pinhook show on the same night, Golden Age (Wednesday, Jan. 23), to push back. Mettlesome invited Erin Terry and some of her Eyes Up Here cohorts to join them, and the group will donate all proceeds to anti-sexual-violence organization RAINN.
Also on Wednesday night, Reid Pegram’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson House Party open mic, which ran at Raleigh’s The Outpost for a couple of years, takes place in its new digs at The Night Rider, the bar below Wicked Witch from the folks behind Ruby Deluxe. Sign up for your three minutes if you want to test yourself against some die-hard local comedians.
Wednesday in Raleigh, you can also catch the reliable Six-Pack Standup Show, a showcase of six rotating comics that this month features Mark Brady, Jennie Stencel, Brian Deans, Vishal Krishnasami, Jason Zaremba, and host David Michael at North Street Beer Station.
Thursday night, January 24, is also comedy night at The Cave in Chapel Hill, with local comics, trivia, and prizes courtesy of host Michelle Maclay. This week features Angel Perez, Caroline Smith, Deb Teitelbaum, and Tory Chaffee.
The weekend brings the long-running, crowd-tested The Harry Show at Comedy Worx and other assorted improv hijinks, and on Monday, Jan. 28, Between2Clouds to You—an event pairing local music and stand-up comedy—combines live jams by JULIA. with comedy sets by Jeremy Alder, Sam Mazany, and others at The PIT in Chapel Hill.
By the time we circle back to Wednesday, the thirtieth, with road-tested Raleigh comic Brent Blakeney hopefully clearing the air at Goodnights and Comedy Night at The Neuse offering local talent, beer, and a food truck, it’ll almost be like Louis C.K. never happened.
No thanks, I’d rather see Louis CK, one of the best comics in America. We – his millions of fans – have been told what we can and can’t watch for the last year. As adults, we prefer to decide for ourselves. But you are free to go see the local talent, if you prefer.
I don’t think it means what you think it means.
I am Tori Chaffee, one of the comics on one of the shows you’re talking about in this article that clearly you put no fucking effort into. I went to see Louis last Wednesday he was amazing and I don’t appreciate you using my name to demean one of my favorite stand up comedians. It’s clear you don’t care about comedy but a lot of people you named in this article do and went to see Louis along with doing these shows .