Performance Revue

Bill Bullock started out as a huge fan of live comedy in Chicago and eventually developed a taste for performing. Now he's quite good at it.

Bill features on shows all over the city and produces 2 of his own: Something Else at Beauty Bar, and Congrats on Your Success. Congrats is hosted by local bookstore, Uncharted Books. It's been going strong for 6 years and was even featured on the Netflix series 'Easy'.

Here he is, performing his birthday set at Beauty Bar.

Watch the performance here:

https://youtu.be/qtF9-m-7Wp8

Watch the performance with commentary:

https://youtu.be/CPGiUq3VWOs

Today I present to you one of my personal favorite comedians, Jillian Ebanks.

Jillian is one of those comics who makes me laugh, even when no one else is laughing. I try very hard to stifle my laughter when recording these live sets, but you can hear me chuckle all over this track.

Jillian is a co-founder of BAPS comedy (that's Beautiful And Powerful Sistas) and a Bob Curry fellow at Second City. BAPS is a show dedicated to featuring women of color in comedy, music, poetry, and spoken word performances. Along with the brilliant Adriennes of BAPS (Adrienne Brown and Adrienne Brandyburg), Jillian writes some of the best sketch comedy I have ever seen, fearlessly finding the humor in sadly relevant material, such as racism and misogyny.

In this set, she tackles both topics, while weaving in references to Harry Potter, rap music, and her personal pole dancing journey.

Watch the performance here:

https://youtu.be/h_ip95FSB0E

Watch the performance with commentary:

https://youtu.be/f8fqBav3660

Today I have a set and a revealing interview/ amateur therapy session with my friend Janice Rodriguez.

Janice learned from local Chicago greats like Kelsie Huff and Alex Kumin and is the founder of Las Locas Comedy. Las Locas started out in a large salon, packing it to the brim at every show and now works as a pop up showcase at larger venues. Las Locas features women of color, usually with Latin backgrounds, and an honorary loca.

Janice is one of those rare performers who not only has a serious hustle, but uses it to elevate those around her. Her style is the frank everywoman.

Also, Eddie Murphy's Comedy specials were 'Delirious' in 1983, in which he wore red leather, and 'Raw' in 1987, where he wore purple.

Watch the performance here:

https://youtu.be/ZivWECE4JoE

Watch the performance with commentary here:

https://youtu.be/_mewCk6FWJM

And so it begins!

Welcome to the first official episode of Performance Revue, and we're coming out swinging with Chicago comedian Matt Brown!

His attitude, subversion, and unique voice felt equal parts "sassy drag queen" and Joan Rivers. The style feeling like an old-school, quick-witted, Vegas show throwback with a very modern, queer sensibility.

View the performance here:

https://youtu.be/bHQtiD4S06M

View the performance with commentary here:

https://youtu.be/Fy_Nz23COu4

Thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe!

An introduction and primer for my new show; Performance Revue!

The teaser contains clips from interviews with the following performers:

Matt Brown, telling us what impression he wants to leave on his audience.

Jillian Ebanks, discussing the conundrum of being both a feminist and a Drake fan.

Le Aboav, talking about their gender identity and how it can impact a performance.

Samantha Berkman, opening up about the origin of her comedy superpowers (if you happen to be either of her parents, you might want to skip this section).

Episode 1 drops this Friday (October 26th)!