First off, I should mention that I screwed up in last week’s column. Shallow Hal wasn’t showing at Movie Monday this past week, Singles was — a very worthwhile flick that I should not have steered people away from. Not that it matters. The screening has passed, and some asshole went around and ripped all the copies of the Temple News from the stands, probably before most of you got to read my column. In the off chance that anybody was misinformed, I apologize.
Anyway, down to the nitty-grit. Clear Channel (formerly SFX, formerly Electric Factory Concerts, formerly whatever the hell else) is for some reason bringing a lot of stand-up comedy to Philly lately, with most of the mayhem going down at Upper Darby’s Tower Theater.
First off, there’s Robin Williams. To be sure, he’s one of the most gifted, most significant American comics of the past 30 years, working that whole childish goof-off shtick to make you think. But does that mean he can charge between $57 and $102 per ticket? Apparently it does; he’s sold out both his March 8 and 9 dates; tickets remain only for his gig on March 7.
Compare this to George Carlin. He is just as funny, just as poignant, and perhaps more significant than Williams in the grander scheme of things, given his hand in advancing freedom of speech and artistic expression with his “7 Dirty Words” bit from 1974. He’s only charging $36.50 to $48.50 for his April 13 show at the Academy of Music.
Janeane Garofalo gets even cheaper with her March 22 show at The Tower; she’ll only be asking $30.50 to $35.50 for an evening of her wry, embittered humor. She’s still a young comic, though. Maybe in 15 years she’ll be pushing the $50 mark.
Then there’s the ever-popular sketch comedy troupe Kids In The Hall. They’ll be bringing their “Tour Of Duty” to the Tower on April 13, and tickets ($32.50 to $43.50) go on sale this Saturday. If you’re gonna try to snag a couple, its best to do it at ticketmaster.com. Trust me, it’s quicker and less frustrating than the incessant “All circuits are busy” message you’ll hear by calling 215-336-2000.
And then there’s Wayne Brady, who comes to the Tower on April 20. I know nothing about him and won’t even try to play it off like I do. I don’t even know how much he’s charging, but I do know that there’s an Internet presale on March 6. Maybe somebody can enlighten me as to what his deal is between now and then.
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