Many of you have probably walked by The Telephone Bar on 2nd Ave between 9th and 10th, but what you may not know is that they have a back room which features everything from free movies to poetry slams. On Thursday nights they host a night of stand-up called The $1 Room, conveniently named after the price of admission. First let me tell you about the cons: the service was sporadic, the waitress came to some people, but not to others, and the price of admission was so small that the door man didn’t have change for $10, so I had to go get some myself. Now for the pros: everything else. The space itself is charming, it’s beautifully decorated with mirrors all over the walls and a chandelier hanging above the performers heads. I had no problems finding a seat right away on a super comfy couch, that I wish I had in my apartment. The host for the evening, Peter Kassnove, was funny as hell. After asking the audience to keep an eye on his zipper, he explained that he was sad for summer to end because he had become attached to his ’summer sweat towel’. Roger Hailes came up next and told us how he’s his own boss, but he’s not very good at it because his policy on employee masturbation is too relaxed. Also performing were Pat O’Shea, Jay Bois and Issac Witty who had me in tears when he described his shitty handshaking technique. The evening ended with co-host Cassidy Hennehen, a native of New Orleans, who has taken his pain and turned it into a funny yet poignant piece about what it’s like to loose one’s home, or ’safety net’. He ends by saying that New Orleans is not great because of it’s location, but because of it’s people, and now they’re everywhere. Actually he may have ended by telling us that he named his dick after Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, and asking if anyone wanted a handshake with the mayor.
Thursday night at 9pm, The $1 Room, in the back of The Telephone Bar. Not enough people know about this night yet, so go check it out soon,and give these kids the audience they deserve.