Wow.

One of the great joys of hosting a variety show is seeing performers from different mediums enjoy and respect each others’ work. I loved hearing Don from Four Clowns laughing behind the curtain at my slideshow tour of Koreatown because he lived there and could picture each location just by my description/mockery of it, and I especially loved how Brian paused before his standup to acknowledge the unique brilliance of Four Clowns, and how Marie complimented Brian’s performance and later traded arrhythmic clapping with her banjo accompanist during a song breakdown as a homage to Four Clowns’ set. You can’t plan for things like that to happen, but if you’re lucky, sometimes they do.

All in all, one of the best shows I’ve ever been a part of. The whole was truly greater than the sum of its parts.

Here were some of the parts:

–I gave a tour of Koreatown around Christmastime, where Red Ginseng is the gift of choice and you can pre-order KFC weeks in advance.

–Four Clowns did a sublimely ridiculous set top-to-bottom. A microphone was romanced, singing and clapping and tap-dancing were done with varying degrees of competency, and the entire audience got involved unfurling a giant bed sheet.

–I did some standup, then Brian J. Hunt did some standup, riffing on being hungover in old folks’ homes, weirdos he meets on dog walks, and everything between.

–The premiere of a NEW animated short, part 3 of 3, “New Years Party.”

–Finally, Marie Clare Halpin, with guest banjo/guitarist Gian Carlo Trinidad, performed a handful of “new” songs that sounded suspiciously good for being first-time performances, and even threw in a cover of Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay” with an amplified kazoo.

Cavern of Whimsy #8 was awesome. Can Cavern of Whimsy #9 possibly top it? Come back February 2nd to find out.

-Mike