The purple one was in-the-house at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Friday. Okay, not The Purple One (as in Prince), but the 55 year old standup comedian Sinbad, who was decked out in a freshly tailored purple shirt. I also wouldn’t say “in-the-house,” more like in-the-tent, since it was held in Thunder Valley’s Holiday Pavilion. While it’s a tent, it’s extremely spacious and exquisitely decorated, complete with several bars, restrooms and a whole lotta seats. Sinbad put on a great show, playing to a full house of young and old alike. As soon as he hit the stage, he started talking about how this was such a great location for a casino like Thunder Valley. There’s nothing around for miles ex

Sacramentans are in for a treat when comedian Paula Poundstone comes to the Crest Theater Sept. 30. Armed with nothing but a stool, a microphone and a can of Diet Pepsi, Poundstone draws on her own life in her stand-up show and nothing is off the table: her kids, her cats, her demanding job, her frustration at getting older and a full bag of neuroses. She’s just like many of us – except for a lightning-fast wit and an amazing ability to improvise anything into hilarity. Poundstone is a national supporter of library Friends groups and a portion of the proceeds from ticket, book and CD sales at the show will support the Friends of the Sacramento Library. She is known for being a refreshi

I I met Tom Presler at a meeting for the Vampire Ball put on every year October 22nd by Shannon McCabe. I had interviewed Tom about his experiences acting. He then informed me that he is the founder of the Zombie Club and is a local comedian. I was intrigued by his vast interests and wanted to interview him further. He is what I call the "free thinker of artistic individuality of this decade." Question: Tell the readers who you are? Answer: I'm a writer, entertainer, artist, social commentator, comedian, songwriter, thinker and passionate activist. What I want, more than anything, is to bring creative and free thinking people together to do good things and sometimes funny things. Questio

The one and only Gabriel Iglesias, better known as Mr. Fluffy, performed at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort on Saturday night, entertaining well over 3,500 people with his hilarious mixture of storytelling, parodies, characters and sound effects. I say well over 3,500 judging by the overflow in the parking lot next to Thunder Valley’s outdoor amphitheater. Just prior to his performance, Iglesias had over 10 chocolate cakes delivered by fans to his dressing room. He said he performed a routine around seven years ago about a chocolate cake, and to this day fans are still delivering cakes to his performances. The record is 27 cakes at one event. Why do people bring him cakes from a joke mad

The legendary Paul Rodriguez celebrated Cinco de Mayo Thursday night in style at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort, playing to a sold out crowd. Joining Rodriguez on stage was Gene Pompa and Dennis Gaxiola, both accomplished comedians in their own right. Pompa opened the evening and really got the crowd excited. He says he is an old-school, hardcore political activist. For instance, he still won't eat grapes because of the plight of the migrant farm workers. He also won't eat raisins because of the older migrant farm workers. That's how hardcore he is. He also won't eat prunes, but that's for a completely different reason. Next up was Gaxiola. He really got the ball rolling with his impre

By Amy Serna Keith Lowell Jensen has 21 days and counting. But by the time you read this he will have even less time than that to get strangers to pledge $2,250 for his new project. His new live stand-up comedy CD and DVD called “Cats Made of Rabbits” is a project that will only be funded if he raises that much money before the “expiration date.” But back in the day, before this stand-up comedian, from Sacramento, California was filming a comedy DVD, he found his love for comedy when he worked as a promoter for the Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation. “Mike noticed that I always watched him really carefully when he was MC'ing the shows and so he just shoved me on stage one night an

Comedian Shayla Rivera entertained a packed house with her playful jokes and animated gestures during her performance at the Punchline Comedy Club Thursday night. The spectrum of her stories and jokes varied widely, from her Puerto Rican traditional mother to her experiences in the women’s bathroom. Rivera also joked about jobs she’s had in the past, from working on a cruise liner to her days as an aerospace engineer for NASA. She also turned her attention toward people in the audience, but Rivera was not afraid to make fun of herself throughout her set. Rivera took insecurities and stereotypes and incorporated them into her material. She touched on race, gender and body image, showing

By Amy Serna It might seem hard to imagine making a successful career with puppets, but that is exactly what stand-up comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham has accomplished. His fame, however, wasn’t handed to him from the get-go. Dunham has been working with dummies ever since he was a kid, but now the puppets he brought to life have quickly become classic comic icons. Forbes magazine didn’t name Dunham the highest-paid comedian (along with popular comics Chelsea Handler and Dane Cook) in the United States for nothing. In the past year, the puppeteer earned up to $22.5 million, and Pollstar named him the top touring comedian for the second year in a row.  Dunham’s “Very Special Chris

Comedian Keith Lowell Jensen wanted to make a film about panhandling. So he did. “It’s very much a comedy,” Jensen said. “There is a lot of humor, but the panhandlers are never the butt of the joke.” The DVD release is on Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. at the Crest Theatre at 1013 K Street. Admission is $15 and a copy of the DVD will be included. “We’ve all heard the urban legend of the panhandler hopping in his nice car and making his way to a comfortable home after a day of begging on the freeway off-ramp,” said Jonathan Morken, producer at Apprehensive Films. Jensen decided to find out just how hard it really is to make money being a panhandler. He spent countless hours employing every imaginable

By Jennifer A. Gordon Be ready to receive an infusion of laughter. L.A. comedian Darren Carter, “the Party Starter,” is coming to town. He’ll be performing at Serna Plaza at Sacramento State’s University Union from 7:30-9 p.m.Thursday, Sept. 16. All ages are welcome. No alcohol will be sold or permitted at the venue. The show is free. Beat Energy, fun, hip hop and razor-sharp wit, Carter’s act has beat. His musicality pervades his comedy and gives it rhythm and punch. And, Carter’s the only comedian with a theme song, written by a rapper fan of his, Big Fluff Nickolantern. Grown-ups like him, too A favorite among college students, Carter has a solid following among the adult crowd, too.

The Sacramento Comedy Spot will host W. Kamau Bell Friday night and his critically acclaimed show -- "The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour.” Bell, 37, has been doing the “Bell Curve” show for the last three years. The jokes are tweaked slightly to accommodate current events, but the core has remained intact. Attendees of the show may be treated to laughs about the recent Shirley Sherrod debacle and the Tea Party. Bell has performed at the Punchline in Sacramento, but that was many years ago. He said he's excited to be back in the area. "I think I have about four or five fans in Sacramento," Bell joked. Bell’s career as a comedian has been on a steady rise ever since

A SacramentoComedy.Com Interview Comedian Cedric The Entertainer is one of the hardest-working men in the entertainment business. Perhaps you love him from his roles in "Barbershop," "Be Cool" or "The Original Kings Of Comedy." You may have became a fan of his voiceover roles in "Madagascar," "Charlotte's Web" or "The Proud Family." Maybe it was his starring role in the hit "Johnson Family Vacation." Any way you look at it, Cedric IS "The Entertainer." Even with his success as an actor, producer and director, Cedric The Entertainer is coming to Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium and going back to his roots of stand up comedy. We spoke to Cedric, (Mr. Entertainer?), by phone as he was reco

Thursday night, venerable comedian and OCD-stricken performer Howie Mandel appeared at the California State Fair on the Main Stage. After a less-than-tasteful and off-color opening act, Mandel took the stage with a rapid-fire delivery and a huge smile. Almost immediately, it was obvious that he has not lost his comedic edge even after appearing as a dramatic actor (“St. Elsewhere”), voiceover actor (“Bobby's World,” “Muppet Babies” and “Gremlins”) and talk show host and judge (“Deal or No Deal,” “America's Got Talent”). The fair provided a delightful interpreter for the deaf, Sharon Ramsey, who was addressed multiple times by Mandel as he used words and expressions just to see how they w

Comedian Doug Benson smokes pot. That fact is well documented in his stand-up routine and his 2007 documentary "Super High Me." In the movie, Benson eagerly offers himself up as a test subject to document the effects of smoking massive amounts of marijuana for 30 days. In his stand-up act, it appears that his experiment is still unofficially continuing. Playing mid-week to a full house at the Sacramento Punchline, Benson began his set with his eyes half closed and a stoner grin. He immediately showed the audience his notes that he claimed to need so he didn't meander through his material. However, as the evening wore on, you began to wonder if the "stoner" persona was just a well-played

Comedian Bob Saget told The Sacramento Press he has a reputation for visiting the California State Railroad Museum while inebriated. Pablo Francisco joked that he would impersonate a Sacramentan by using a heavy Latino accent and calling the Hells Angels to kick someone's ass. Jamie Kennedy, on the other hand, said he didn't know enough about Sacramento to make a joke about it, but he respects the city for having genuine comedy fans. "The audiences really like to laugh up there," he said. "People go to San Francisco, and they go to Santa Barbara, but Sacramento gets neglected, and I think it's a good place to see comedy." Thursday and Friday night, Kennedy will bring his multifaceted ap

John Ross, a local comedian who was born addicted to methadone, a heroin substitute used to treat heroin addicts, discusses his past as an inspiration for his humor.

Ralphie May had a message to deliver Thursday at the Crest Theater for those who are haters, lovers, racists, gay or homophobes. Embrace it. Own it. After an entertaining 20-minute warm-up by Tennessee comedian Billy Wayne Davis, May strode onstage to Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire." That was the beginning of a two-hour stream of consciousness that could have offended just about anyone. No problem; May owned it. He peppered his show with references to Sacramento, from the expected Schwarzenegger imitation, "Welcome to Kal E Fonya," to talking about getting "stoned as a biblical whore" in Capitol Park and having a squirrel come up and ask for a hit. "The K Street bums all look li

A SacramentoComedy.Com Interview You may not think that the name “Ralphie” is something you would call a390-pound man. But, in the case of comedian Ralphie May, it's just fine. May, 38, who was named one of the "Top 10 Comics To Watch" in 2008 by“Variety Magazine,” was given that nickname as a young boy growing up deep in the heart of the south. May, who will be performing his two-hour show Thursday at The Crest Theatre, likes to tell people that his shows are about two hours in length for a reason. "My average fan works for about $20 per hour, if they are lucky enough to have a job," he chuckled, "and then factoring in insurance, taxes and such, they're maybe bringing home $15 per hour

A SacramentoComedy.Com Interview From his start telling jokes at family Passover dinners at age 10, to catching hell for doing impressions of his high school coach, Kevin Pollak was meant to perform. Comedy "I was born in San Francisco but moved to San Jose when I was young. When I began performing, it was in venues that were designed for music. There were no comedy clubs then in San Jose. I would go on between the bands breaks when nobody really wanted to listen. When I moved to San Francisco, I was amazed that people loved going to see comedy and would actually pay to see it!" Entering the San Francisco comedy scene in the late '70's, Pollak was the youngest performer in the San Fran

A SacramentoComedy.Com Interview With a name like Ahmed Ahmed, in this day and age, you might think that it could lead to some mishaps with law enforcement agencies. If so, you'd be correct. Ahmed's family came to America when he was just a month old, and he grew up in Riverside, right in the epicenter of Southern California, so misconceptions aren’t uncommon but, in retrospect, the name has served him well. We caught up with Ahmed by phone in New York, having just completed his first appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival, premiering 'Just Like Us,' his freshman directorial debut earlier in the week. We decided to start off by asking, (very politely), about his name. "Ahmed Ahmed is m