Funniest Person in Austin Contest

FINALS

Monday, May 18th

Emily Persinger
Matt Willis
Charlie Watkins
Jeremy Neal
Matt Golightly
Sean Mooney
Scott Hardy
David James
Bryson Turner
Ruby Collins
Andy Ritchie
Carey Moore
Daniel Jackson
Faye Haire

SEMI-FINALS

Monday, May 11th
Tuesday, May 12th
Emily Persinger
Derek Phelps
Charlie Watkins
Jeremy Neal
Matt Golightly
Sean Mooney
Steve Cox
David James
Nick Mullen
Andy Heald
Lashonda Lester
Carey Moore
Jake Flores
Brian Gaar

Matt Willis
Ruby Collins
Daniel Jackson
Lance Gilstrap
Bryson Turner
Ramin Nazer
Faye Haire
Andy Ritchie
Scott Hardy
Jonathan Pace
Andrea Grimes
Albert Im
Joel Keith
Chad Warren
Competitor's names in bold advanced to the Finals

PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

April 6th
April 13th
April 20th
April 27th
April 28th
May 4th
May 5th
Hosted by Hosted by  Hosted by Hosted By Hosted by  Hosted by  Hosted by 
Matt Bearden Winner 2002 Martha Kelly Winner 2000 John Ramsey Winner 2005 Doug Mellard Winner 2006 J.R. Brow Winner 1992 Bryan Gutmann Winner 2007 Brendon Walsh Winner 2004
 
John Rabon Amy Samet Brian Jacobs Alex Garza Bob Khosravi Allie Rolison Abby November
Antoine Art Mack Paul Henley Juan Salinas Belinda Carroll Chance Royce Bob Richardson
Faye Haire Bryson Turner Daniel Jackson Andy Heald Andy Ritchie Chad Warren Carey Moore
Dan French Lashonda Lester Derek Phelps Dale Alexander Andrea Grimes Brian Gaar David Cole
Keith Alexander Donna Lee Fred Bothwell Doug Klingeman Brick Andrews Charles Adams James Deary
Michael Stansbury Gy Odom Irshad James Chris Trew Rusty Scalpal Chris Keimling Jonathan Collins
Holly Lorka Isaac Harigle Joe Staats Micah Thaden Doug Lewis Damien Booker Karla Duplantis
Irving Louis Jeremy Cook Tommie Bates Matt Golightly Nicholas Aluotto Dario Konjicija Mike Creed
Joe Shaffer Jimi T. Leah Chaney Nick Ramirez Jeremy Valdez Ellie Honzik Sean Newsom
Bobby Dipasquale John Derrick Margaret Dornbusch Norman Wilkerson John Vogt Erin Christine Raymond Moran
Emily Persinger Bob Dipasquale Mason Lerner Scott Teeters Josh Keefe Lynette LaMonica Albert Im
Lance Gilstrap Maggie Maye Michael Navarrete Sister Katrina Kenneth Ulstad Jennifer Hill Scott Hardy
Ruby Collins Matt Willis Mike Faeber Sheena Simmons Kerri Lendo Joel Keith Nick Mullen
Michiel Dillon Ramin Nazer Chuck Watkins Sean Mooney Jeremy Neal Jake Flores Seth Cockfield
Mike Dee Mitch Collier Jonathan Pace Steve Cox David James Paul Theron "Marz" Steve Fucile
Tony Salinas Shane Hebert Vincent Hernandez Sunnie Wegner Theresa McAllister Torrence Brown Scott Browning
 
* Orange indicates advancement to Semi-Finals

 

Matt Bearden's Reviews:

April 6th:

Round 1 - Quick Review

April 13th:

Round 2 - Part 1

Round 2 - Part 2

April 20th:

Round 3 - Part 1

Round 3 - Part 2

April 27th:

Round 4

April 28th:

Round 5

May 4th COMING SOON

May 5th COMING SOON

Comments

cockistan's picture
by cockistan - Apr 21 2009 - 9:15pm

Bearden is totally pulling a Bearden with these (lack of) reviews!

JakeFlores's picture
by JakeFlores - Apr 29 2009 - 2:16pm

if the green blocks are going to make a picture at the end

Bryan Gutmann's picture
by Bryan Gutmann - May 8 2009 - 7:47am

The blocks make a smiley face. Could be Jesus. I'll send it to the lab.

TheChad's picture
by TheChad - May 8 2009 - 8:56am

He is Risen! He is Risen! Let the Host Rejoice and the Unrepentant bow down and prais...

wait. what?

Chris Trew's picture
by Chris Trew - May 8 2009 - 1:09pm

I want to vote on a poll on most likely to win.

Ramin's picture
by Ramin - May 9 2009 - 7:01pm

it's close to the end and i don't think it'd be worth the time to set one up. a "least likely to win" poll, on the other hand...

derekphtpt's picture
by derekphtpt - May 12 2009 - 4:11pm

Congratulations to everyone who advanced last night and good luck to those going tonight!

jaylafarr's picture
by jaylafarr - May 12 2009 - 10:14pm

you know who you are.

Ramin's picture
by Ramin - May 13 2009 - 1:41am

i forgot to advance to the finals. we're still friends though, right jay?

belinda.carroll's picture
by belinda.carroll - May 13 2009 - 9:21am

Great show last night!! Congrats to everyone that made it through! Next week should be fun :)

dalexander's picture
by dalexander - May 13 2009 - 6:13pm

if they are going to have the "comic ghetto" for the finals?

belinda.carroll's picture
by belinda.carroll - May 14 2009 - 1:55pm

<---- NOOBIE What's the getto comedy dealio?

TheChad's picture
by TheChad - May 14 2009 - 4:14pm

It's where Jeremy Neal and Chuck Watkins live.

seanathan's picture
by seanathan - May 14 2009 - 5:01pm

other than the home of neal and watkins, other than part of golightly's set, and other than an under appreciated elvis song, what is this getto thing? (i see a velveeta room/ government cheese joke coming my way now)

Brian's picture
by Brian - May 14 2009 - 5:20pm

My guess is they're referring to that reserved, left-hand side of the showroom where the comics sit. Also, who dares to underappreciate "In the Ghetto"?!?!

dalexander's picture
by dalexander - May 14 2009 - 6:02pm

on all counts

seanathan's picture
by seanathan - May 14 2009 - 6:44pm

glad to know it's something normal. the way you presented it, i was thinking something like a competition for worst joke, or a poor man's spite club. it really got my hopes up.

dalexander's picture
by dalexander - May 14 2009 - 9:20pm

is the poor man's spite club

belinda.carroll's picture
by belinda.carroll - May 15 2009 - 8:47am

I think we do that at Cap City on Sundays.

tjt2513's picture
by tjt2513 - May 14 2009 - 5:34pm

Ha Brian, not only do you have great deducting skills, but the 2 cents part...nice. But yeah Im sure he is referring to the reserved comic section. And, if we all have to pay for tickets, Im assuming they arent reserving a section. There aren't enough seats and most of us just stand around and get bitched out by "dad" to get a seat anyway.

belinda.carroll's picture
by belinda.carroll - May 15 2009 - 8:50am

Bitter much, T?

Bobblehead's picture
by Bobblehead - May 15 2009 - 11:21am

It should be noted that any comic that competed in the contest this year is allowed free admission. You just can't get friends/family/strangers into the Finals for free.

belinda.carroll's picture
by belinda.carroll - May 15 2009 - 12:30pm

Oh Good.

I thought that when Margie said "No comps" she meant for us too.

Thanks for clearing that up!

tjt2513's picture
by tjt2513 - May 15 2009 - 3:01pm

Im not bitter at all! That guy was annoying though, a few of us were sorta making fun of him, calling him dad.

belinda.carroll's picture
by belinda.carroll - May 15 2009 - 3:08pm

Totally kidding, T. :) I know, so out of character for me.

derekphtpt's picture
by derekphtpt - May 16 2009 - 11:08am

t (Sweet).

matt bearden's picture
by matt bearden - May 18 2009 - 4:10pm

In little pockets spread over Austin, 14 people are starting to really think about their sets, and at the same time, stave off the butterflies. Really excited about the show. Most competitive finals ever? Maybe not. But certainly the deepest. Really think Cap City needs to get hot dogs.

Brian's picture
by Brian - May 18 2009 - 6:55pm

might not be able to make it to the finals. Could someone post the results?

- Sad in Austin

seanathan's picture
by seanathan - May 18 2009 - 10:47pm

3rd- Andy Ritchie
2nd- Ruby Collins
and your winner for the funniest person in Austin 2009...

Bryson Turner.

joke of the night- Ruby Collins (robots scare me)

everyone else got a lovely cyan blue participation ribbon.

norman's picture
by norman - May 19 2009 - 8:02am

I gotta bitch about this a little.

First, let me start of by saying, Thank you Cap City for a great contest and for all the opportunity you afford us Austin comics.

But, I was a bit miffed that they reneged on letting the comics who had participated in the contest in for free. I get that the show was oversold and there wasn't any room. (and there literally wasn't even standing room when I sought it out). But, had I known there was a chance of this happening, I would've bought my ticket in advance to make sure I could be in the big room to see my friends perform.

Has this happened in years past? Giving the benefit of the doubt, it might of caught the club by surprise as well. And, I'm not sure what could've been done differently. But it seems to me that they could've found a way for participants in the contest to be accommodated.

J Mo's picture
by J Mo - May 19 2009 - 8:13am

I posted this at velveeta forum also, maybe I'm off base, but . . .

That is really ridiculous if people couldn't get in who paid to participate in the contest. I know that there are fire marshall issues, but it's not like it was a surprise that the show was sold out. Contestants should be given a ticket to the finals ahead of time -- or at a bare minimum, they should be told they won't be able to get in without one, as Norman suggested.

I know there are reasons beyond prize money to do the contest, but I think the prize money itself is a disgrace, in that it is mostly funded by the comics themselves. Dr. J, do the math for me on this please. Number of contestants times 15 bucks divided by total prize money doled out. It's a racket, considering how much extra revenue (I have to assume) Cap City makes on those ten Monday and Tuesday nights.

I think everyone who participated this year ought to sign a petition that next year's prize money be at least double the amount of total entrance fees -- so the prizes are funded fifty-fifty by the comics and the club.

And to further sweeten the pot, I'd increase the contestant fee to 20 bucks. If you can afford 15, seems like you could afford 20. That would further boost the prize money potential. Maybe increase the entrance fee, but guarantee everyone gets a ticket to the Finals.

Comics of Austin unite, is what I'm saying.

Just my two cents, maybe only worth one cent since I didn't even go to the contest this year, except for part of one night.

norman's picture
by norman - May 19 2009 - 8:20am

I wasn't really looking to start a labor movement here. Just think it would be nice if participants could get a ticket, or be told they should buy one if they want to be sure they can get in.

J Mo's picture
by J Mo - May 19 2009 - 8:27am

Sorry Norm, didn't mean to implicate or exploit your good name. Just want the comics to get a bigger slice of next year's pie, as you guys are the reason people buy tickets, drinks, food.

matt bearden's picture
by matt bearden - May 19 2009 - 10:19am

There is an issue here (as already pointed out) that 110 free seats in a 300-person house creates an issue. Also, not to be a total company man, but I'm pretty sure Cap City WAS caught off guard last night. There is ALWAYS a huge drop off in attendance for the finals. I can't remember it ever selling out. Generally the last round is populated with more established comics whose only friends are just other comics, or folks that have already been burned out on seeing them. It's a harder show to pimp. So, I actually think we should celebrate the fact that the contest has perhaps reached a tipping point where the general population is beginning to take interest. That being said, here's my solution:

Would comics be happy watching from the bar area were a closed feed provided? We put a big screen on the little stage, pipe in the sound . . . it means we could watch, cheer and comment without disturbing the show. The sticking point here would be the already too busy bar staff would have 50 extra thirsty folk to contend with.

What says you?

seanathan's picture
by seanathan - May 19 2009 - 12:25pm

it would at least be more comfortable than crouching on the rim of the room for the whole show, and we'd all be able to actually see. look at you with the swell idea!

norman's picture
by norman - May 19 2009 - 3:30pm

I understand the logistics are tough. And I wouldn't want to be the person in charge of corralling all the cats in attendance last night. And as I already suggested, the club may well have been caught off guard by all the people who showed up. I just hope that going forward the club will include some caveat into the emails that we'd only be allowed in free if the show didn't sell out, and that we might want to buy a ticket to guarantee a spot. The eight bucks wasn't gonna bankrupt me, it just never occurred to to me that I should buy one since I was told contestants would be allowed in free.

As to Bob's points, yes... they did reneg. We were told we could enter for free and then we couldn't. That's a reneg. To be clear, everbody at the club was very nice and apologetic about it. I'm sure they didn't plan for things to happen this way. I'm simply suggesting that in the future, they approach it differently.

How I think it should be handled, not that what I think makes any difference, is that a section should be reserved for contestants. If they're not there by 15 or 30 minutes to showtime, they can start to fill in those seats. But the contest is a success not in spite of the various contestants, but because of them. I think accommodating them for the finals should be a priority. Matt's suggestion is a good one as well, but who knows what kind of expense is involved in setting that up and whether the club would be interested in undertaking it.

Having belabored that point, let me once again say to Margie, Katy and everyone at Cap City, thanks for a great contest and a fantastic venue. Now... to go clean the crap off my nose.

matt bearden's picture
by matt bearden - May 19 2009 - 5:03pm

What I think we should do is: Have this open discussion, find solutions, get motivated for change, and then in true Austin comedy fashion, lose motivation and do nothing 11 months from now! Who's with me?!?!?

norman's picture
by norman - May 19 2009 - 5:27pm

I've already moved on.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a funeral to plan.

dalexander's picture
by dalexander - May 19 2009 - 7:57pm

i remember the finals being packed. don't remember the logistics of admission.
as far as the closed circuit, hell yeah.as for waitstaff, bar service with an extra bartender would work for me.

TheChad's picture
by TheChad - May 19 2009 - 8:47am

I was halfway through a response to Norman and then deleted it when yours popped up.

I think entry to the contest should explicity include a house seat in the finals. If that means that the $8 gets added to the entry fee, so be it.

Maybe halfway through the contest somebody thought that 110 free seats in a 350-seat room was going to hit the bottom line. And comics are notorious for tipping poorly. And we annoy the crap out of people whose job it is to monitor fire code concerns by standing in doorways. On the other hand, we also are the reason that the servers cleared at least $500 a piece in sales last night. Anybody count how many staff were on?

DougE's picture
by DougE - May 19 2009 - 9:06am

Uh...are they hiring?

Bobblehead's picture
by Bobblehead - May 19 2009 - 11:44am

I have to disagree with you, Chad. And you Norman. The club didn't "reneg" on it's offer to comics. The deal has always been, and will always be, first come first served at Comedy Clubs. You both had the option to show up early enough to make sure you got a seat.

I don't think the entry fee should have a guaranteed finals ticket for contestants, because you just don't know how many of those comics will actually show up. I would prefer that the seats be available to audience members versus possibly sitting empty if someone who was disappointed with the results didn't show.

I do, however, think the idea of a closed feed into the main room would be a good idea. It would be a great place to watch the show, comment, and commiserate. That's where most of the community generally ends up anyway. I just don't know if it would be feasible for the club, considering how we (comics) have a very healthy habit of roaming, and filling every square inch of a venue with conversation.

Ramin's picture
by Ramin - May 19 2009 - 12:13pm

I agree completely with Bob. Non-comics should always get seats over comics because they're actually there to watch the show, not "the competition".

The feed into the main room would be beyond awesome.

Also, I need to restructure how these comments are showing up. This is impossible to follow, my bad.

belinda.carroll's picture
by belinda.carroll - May 19 2009 - 12:36pm

Ramin get your shiznit together! How are we supposed to bitch coherently if not given a forum that's easy to follow?

Closed feed. I like it. That is all.

TheChad's picture
by TheChad - May 19 2009 - 12:56pm

I don't feel like any kind of contract was breached; I'm just saying that next year I'd be happy to see the club charge me for a seat in advance and if I don't show, it's my loss.

Of course, I actually paid for a seat last night (two weeks ago) and didn't get to use it, so I have a feeling that the room would fill up anyway.

The real answer is a bigger room and I had heard rumors of a potential for a larger space. Broad speculation, there; take with grain of salt.

And DougE, I don't think they make that kind of money every weekend.

The audio feed is a simple patching issue. It's been a long time since I was a sound engineer, but I can't imagine that it would be hard to accomplish.

shani's picture
by shani - Sep 25 2009 - 10:43pm

hello to every one , my name is shani and i am member of baseball express I am really impress to read about the final and semifinal list i want to say congratulation to all of them who reach in final i can understand the feelings of wining some people express their happiness when the got baseball tickets for final match . i also want to say that is tough competition so do more practice do win , do hard work as player tight their baseball cleats very good preparation and practice mean good enjoyment in final.