Sacramento, CA | The momentum is building. That was the message that Stand Up, the Sacramento based non-profit organization devoted to reforming education, touted in front of a packed house at the Guild Theater on Monday night. The event was part of a series of monthly meetings organized by Stand Up to spotlight education improvement efforts in Sacramento. Previous events have brought in former California State Senator Gloria Romero to discuss the “parent trigger” law, the founder of Teach for America Wendy Kopp, and the co-founder of the Knowledge is Power Program, Mike Feinberg. Local high school students acted as ushers alongside staffers from a variety of organizations including Sa

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

As many Hollywood stars and tabloid rags can attest, keeping up with fame and one's celebrity standing in tinsel town is a vicious game. Red-headed, foul-mouthed comedian, Kathy Griffin, has made a career exploiting her self-proclaimed D-list status and her observations and encounters with the peculiar world of celebrity.   Griffin's charm and clever wit derive from her hilarious ability to interact with the A-listers while still maintaining a self-deprecating attitude towards her station in the celebrity world. The comic documents many of her forays in Hollywood in her hit reality show, "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List."   Griffin's standup act often includes escapades filmed on

The Guild Theater in Oak Park was host to a forum attended by some of the biggest and most controversial names in education reform Friday evening. The event was organized by Stand Up Sacramento, a non-profit group chaired by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, and featured speakers such as Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of public schools in Washington, DC, her boss in that position, former Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty, and Richard Whitmire, former editorial writer at USA Today and author of “The Bee Eater,” a book which chronicles Rhee’s time as chancellor. The speakers focused on the need to change teacher retention polices nationwide, and in particular the abolishment of the “LIFO,”

You know that comedian, Anthony Jeselnik? Yeah, me neither. At least, I didn't until I saw him steal the show during the recent broadcast of the “Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump,” where he created some buzz for himself by deftly skewering the guest of honor and the other roasters on the dais, like Larry King, Snoop Dogg and Jersey Shore's "The Situation.” I had a chance to see him in action myself Thursday night at the Punch Line. Fremont's Sammy Obeid was the emcee and first act, mining his Lebanese ethnicity for some killer jokes about being mistaken as Mexican and Indian, as well as plenty of great sex-related material, which appeals to everyone and is always a crowd-pleaser.

With a Miller Lite in tow, acerbic entertainer Adam Carolla took the Crest stage and delivered his familiar catchphrase – “get it on; got to get it on; no choice but to get it on!” – kicking off a rowdy night of comedy for an enthusiastic sold-out audience Thursday night.    Carolla hosts “The Adam Carolla Show,” a talk show featuring interviews with celebrity guests that is produced in his home studio and topped the iTunes Store's "Best of 2009" selection of audio podcasts.   The former “Loveline” and “The Man Show” co-host was in Sacramento to perform a live comedy event entitled “Christmas Carolla” in support of his recently released book “In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks.”   Starting

You probably know Adam Carolla from the popular sex-advice radio (and later TV) program "Loveline" he co-hosted with Dr. Drew Pinksy, as co-host of "The Man Show," as a performer and co-creator of the show "Crank Yankers," or maybe even as the voice of Death on "Family Guy." These days he’s on the Internet. His podcast, "The Adam Carolla Show," is distributed as a free podcast and is the most downloaded podcast on iTunes, with over 2.8 million listeners a month. He’s also written a book. Titled “In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks”, it debuted at No. 8 on the New York Times Bestseller List for Hardcover Nonfiction, and in it, Carolla gives us his take on the eventual merging of the two ge

In the Youtube age when everything can be viewed from the comfort of your lap top, there are still compelling reasons to see live stand-up comedy. The number one reason is the spontaneity of a live show and the energy of the audience. One of the most spontaneous has to be when a comic deals with a heckler. For some, a heckler is not a favored species. It often involves way too much ego and or alcohol. However, there is a different side to that story. One from the comic's viewpoint. "There is a special energy that circulates around the room when it happens. The chance that it could go bad and the quality of the comic's wit make it exciting. What if the comic could keep this up for most of

Sacramento State’s University Union UNIQUE Programs is pleased to announce a free comedy show featuring DOUG BENSON at the University Union Ballroom on Thursday, October 28, 2010. Doug Benson is a man of many credits. He has his own own documentary called Super High Me based on a joke from his standup act. He finished in the top six of the 2007 season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and was a series regular on four seasons of VH-1’s Best Week Ever. He makes recurring appearances on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. His second Comedy Central Presents half-hour special premiered in January ’09. He has appeared on the classic sitcom Friends,HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, and

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his picks for school board races on Wednesday. He endorsed Andrea Corso for the Area 2 seat, which includes the Meadowview neighborhood; Shane Singh for Area 6, which includes the Pocket neighborhood; and Paige Powell for the Area 1 neighborhoods, which include Land Park. Johnson praised the candidates at a press conference held at the Robbie Waters Pocket Greenhaven Library. These candidates for the board of the Sacramento City Unified School District “understand that everything isn’t OK,” Johnson said. “And they don’t want business as usual.” Corso is the deputy director of Stand Up, Johnson’s education non-profit. The group formed four years ago, but Jo

You might not expect your typical science geek to do more than fiddle with beakers in a laboratory, but self-dubbed “science comic” Brian Malow will prove otherwise with a geek-friendly performance at Sacramento Comedy Spot at 8 p.m. on Friday. His act includes such topics as evolution by way of a nagging mother, the political correctness of calling Pluto a “dwarf” planet, a debate with a friend who likes to sit in the front row of a theater because it lets him see the movie first, and complaints about working as an astronomer stuck with the day shift. “It’s funny how many people ask me if I was really an astronomer,” Malow said. “But no, that’s just a joke. Most of my act is true, with

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

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

The spring 2010 Mayoral Fellows Program will feature local students for the first time. In its inaugural session, Mayor Kevin Johnson worked closely with students from Harvard Business School for a five-week period. This time, however, the mayor hopes to foster local talent by teaming with California State University, Sacramento, and the University of California, Davis. Johnson talked about the importance of being creative in tough times and cultivating young talent. "To create opportunity and give practical field experience," Johnson said, "Get them involved with the public sector and retain them." Dean Steven Currall of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management spoke of his university

  Mayor Kevin Johnson announced STAND UP; a new initiative launched on Monday. A $500,000 grant will kick-start the first phase of the new nonprofit's development. It will focus on raising academic achievement and college completion rates by advocating, supporting, and developing excellent public schools. The seed money comes from a national philanthropy group, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.  Mayor Johnson said he's looking for a new education liaison; someone who will work with STAND UP. Rumors and speculation has Michelle Rhee, lightening rod Chancellor of Washington DC Public Schools as a leading candidate. Rhee a nimble leader, has played a major role in the Education Reform mo

If there is a lesson to be learned from Keith Lowell Jensen’s headlining set at the Punch Line, it’s to never solicit religion at his door, lest you wish to be treated to an all-nude male revue starring the local comic. The hypothetical situation was one of the older bits that made it into KLJ’s hour-long routine on Aug. 26. The show was in celebration of his first album of stand-up, To the Moon… Live at Luna’s. Hosting the night and warming up the crowd was Marcella Arguello. At 6 feet 2 inches tall, the hard-hitting San Franciscan towered over her male counterparts, a fact she didn’t shy away from. “I can kick all of your asses if you back-talk me,” she joked before introducing the fi

After years in the comedy business, local comic Keith Lowell Jensen is set to release his debut comedy album and is celebrating the career milestone with a CD release show at the Punch Line on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Jensen's other endeavors include a documentary film about panhandling called Why Lie, I Need a Drink, multiple blogs touching on subjects from his inability (or unwillingness) to keep a job to sea monkeys and a book titled The Atheist Survival Guide, due out in November. It seems Jensen has done just about everything but a comedy album. So why is he just getting around to it now? "Well, they say, 'Be in the right place at the right time,' and I guess I just decided to be everypl

Even before it began the evening of Tuesday, June 30, Michael Kennedy was sure Dinner for the Arts would be successful. As Kennedy, co-creator of Dinner for the Arts, sat in his own Kennedy Gallery waiting to walk over to Headhunters for the weekly event, he told the Sacramento Press, "This is going to be a hit!" His prediction turned out to be true. Headhunters on K, located at 20th and K Streets, was packed with about 50 artists, members of the arts community and arts supporters. A mist of water sprayed those in the crowd as they dined, chatted and viewed performances late into the warm evening. After dinner, people strolled over to Kennedy Gallery, which opens to coincide with the di

Looking for an unusual comedic experience? Luna's Cafe and Juice Bar might be the answer with its three nights of Keith Lowell Jensen comedy. Heck, you may even be able to grab a drink with the comedian after the show. Jensen has been a part of the Science Comedy Tour, the Coexist? Comedy Tour and is notorious for cracking jokes about religion and science – not your typical stand-up fare. Jensen became a regular attendee of the Midnight Movie program at the Crest Theatre at the age of 15. Then he got more familiar with the Crest and started watching a larger variety of films as well. It didn't take long for him to meet the theater's manager Sid Heberger, who has since worked with Jensen