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The Ice House is a particularly special spot in the nightlife of Pasadena; a place where comedians have started their careers and a place where they often return. It’s a beautiful building with a smaller, more intimate room than most larger comedy clubs that you might find in Downtown Los Angeles. The wait staff are kind beyond words, the food yummy and they have a great selection of drinks. I had the joy and pleasure of attending a show there last night.
We ordered drinks and food and sat down to wait for the show. Marc Maron comedian, actor, and my personal favorite podcaster was headlining.
The host of the night, Frazer Smith, came out to introduce the first comedian and did a little stand-up on his own. Mr. Smith was frankly hilarious as he sauntered about the stage making jokes, snapping his fingers and baiting the crowd into some serious laughs.
After his bit he introduced Chris Garcia, a Los Angeles based comedian whose storytelling was second to none. He does a fantastic imitation of his parents and one bit in particular, about the way his mother wants him to dress, had me in stitches. Somebody I would definitely watch again.
Chris’ set was fantastic and by the time Marc came out the audience was nice and amped up.
Marc came out, sat on a stool, and immediately began talking about his father, who was actually in the audience that night. Once he got started he never let up, never backed down. I don’t think I’ve ever really laughed so hard in my life, he was so funny I had to put my camera down. All the while he also has this amazing ability to be very poignant while he’s talking. It’s not just meaningless rage up on the stage, he’s voicing anxieties that were so easy to identify with that sometimes it felt like you were just in a living room with him, talking.
Marc is known and has been known for his bouts of anger while performing; it’s a mainstay of his stand-up. I’ve watched all his specials, listened to his podcast and watched his show Maron over and over. I love what he does but what really excited me more than anything was to find out that some of that anger had cooled a little bit. He was still cynical, still on fire but, to my joy, he seemed to be just a little bit more peaceful and as a result I found him to be much funnier. It’s like he’s cutting with a razor now when he used to use a hammer. His humor was precise and I couldn’t get enough. I could identify with that and nothing is better than a comedian you can understand.
It was a night I won’t soon forget. Marc is performing two more nights at the Ice House, both nights are sold out. I would like to give an extra thank you to the people at the Ice House who made the night so much better for us. I will definitely be going there again and all of you should as well.
