Apparently, residencies are the thing right now. Mo Daddy’s has been doing them (the Overflow Jug Band earns the Tuesday-night slot in September).
Now, the Asheville Disclaimer (the most beloved page/radio show/multimedia empire in all the land) announces its own month-long residency at Athena’s downtown. The stand-up lounge is an open-mic night for local and regional comics. It’s been kicked out of a few venues, and now comes to Athena’s (at 14 College Street, across from Pritchard Park and next to Tupelo Honey) on Wednesdays in September. The laughs start at 9 p.m. and they’re free.
Here’s what comic mastermind Tom Scheve has to say about it:
Disclaimer Stand-up Lounge, a night of open-mic stand-up comedy featuring regional talent, is kicking off in a new venue mere weeks after being kicked out of its old venue.
“Unlike Groucho Marx, we would like to belong in a venue based solely on the venue’s willingness to have us,” said Tom Scheve. Scheve and Cary Goff — who both write for the satirical Mountain Xpress feature Asheville Disclaimer — run the weekly comedy event, which ensures the event exists on a week-to-week basis.
Disclaimer Stand-up Lounge — which prides itself on “Excellence in Stage Craft, Innovation, Crowd Pleasure & Excellence” — will crank back up on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at Athena’s in downtown Asheville. Athena’s is located directly next door to Tupelo Honey and offers a sweeping view of majestic Pritchard Park. To save themselves the trouble of offering full refunds, Scheve and Goff claim they have “sworn a foul, horny oath to never, ever charge a cover at the door.” The Stand-up Lounge will commence at 9 p.m., and anyone who wants to perform “should probably show up before that time.”
The organizers say that former Lounge features — such as “Audience Member vs. Comedian Lightning Round of Trivia Glory or Death,” in which the winner walks away with a cash prize, or “Random Audience Member Cash Prize Bribery” — will return as well.
“We strive to constantly upgrade the running of the open mic, and we often scrap these upgrades because they’re often enormous failures,” said Scheve, who added it was “legally unlikely” that Disclaimer Stand-up Lounge would ever again project Chatroulette on a large screen beside the performer on stage.
According to the organizers, first-timers are welcome to take the stage and, in true open-mic fashion, “anyone who signs up will get up, and anyone who doesn’t sign up will enjoy a big fat buzz and plenty of hit-or-miss stand-up comedy.”
For more information about Wednesday-night comedy in September at Athena’s in downtown Asheville at 9 p.m. for which there is no cover, call 828.216.2331, check out “Disclaimer Stand-up Lounge” on Facebook, or stop by Athena’s in downtown Asheville any Wednesday in September at around, oh, 9 p.m. or so.
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