At least MXC's on -- some most extreme comfort on the most extreme elimination night
And 4 shows in New Orleans this week!
Est. Read Time: 5 minutes. Read Time brought to you once again by the Ashburton Energy + Hair Logistics Group, in association with the Bradley Hills Bureau of Corrections + Housing.
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SHOWS
NOLA - Thursday 11/14 at Gospel Coffee - 6:30 - Free
NOLA - Friday 11/15 at Rendezvous Tavern - 9pm
NOLA - Saturday 11/16 at Howlin Wolf (The Den) - 8:30pm - $10
Sunday 11/17 at Comedy House NOLA - 4:30pm - $20
Historical Roast of Queen Elizabeth II at the Hollywood Improv - Nov. 29, 7:30PM
Sternal Journalists!
On the night of the election, my partner and I were looking for a bar to draw us away from the TVs and distract ourselves from the night for a bit.
We walked by a real divey one that had a small conspiratorial-looking group, but was mostly unpopulated. Not wanting to accidentally be drawn into conversations about the night we weren’t trying to have, we opted for the bougier, livelier one down the block.
The bougier, livelier spot turned out to be lively only because it was hosting the impromptu celebration of an Improv 101 graduation show. The comedy scene being its own small civilization in decline, I of course knew one of the people in attendance at this celebration.
When she explained what the gathering was for, she put on some half-joking dead eyes and said, “I just sat through an entire improv performance.” We laughed and I said something along the lines of, “Well, at least tonight it’s better than what’s going on elsewhere.”
And she said, “Oh, what’s happening? I haven’t looked at any of the election stuff.” Multiple other people from the party, themselves improvisers high on the stuff that is a first taste of performing live comedy without all the bitterness of continuing to perform live comedy, leaned in and said, “Yeah, wait. What is going on?”
“…do you really wanna know?”
“Sure!”
“I mean…”
And then somebody cut in to ask about a move someone had during one of the scenes and they immediately lost interest in what the quickly-developing outcome of the presidential election was.
We sidled over to the bar, slightly shell-shocked at how different our view of the world was from these little improv goblins.
We had a drink, but the bar closed a little earlier than we wanted it to. So, walking back, we though, eh let’s look at the dive-y place.
We peaked in. Only one lady was at the bar. We asked if they were still open and the bartender gave us some friendly shit because he had seen us consider the bar and move on earlier. “Oh, now that everybody’s closed! Nono, come on, what can I get you?”
As it turned out, the woman at the bar had been a volunteer at a polling place all weekend. She was feeling the cocktail of joy-from-having-been-around-organizey-people and despair from what was about to be cemented as a crushing defeat.
She was on the opposite end of the spectrum from the improv goblins. It was exactly what we were looking for, and we found it in the unexpected place.
Also unexpected: “At least MXC’s on.”
The bartender gestured to the TV. And in fact, Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, one of the greatest television shows of a bygone era (the era of SpikeTV) was indeed playing. If you’ve never seen it, it was a repurposed Japanese game show from the 80s dubbed over with nonsensical commentary almost 20 years later in the mid-2000s. It was Wipeout, but more irreverent and original.
We couldn’t hear it, but I knew Guy LeDouche and Kenny Blankenship were waxing frat-tastic about the various physical challenges being performed. And for some time, we watched people get joyfully knocked off of trampolines and bounce off of twirling padded bats into man-made creeks.
It was nice. We were all there. Us looking for respite. The bartender looking for customers. The lady looking for a break. Some fun Japanese people in the 80s. Some comedy writers having the time of their lives in a recording booth in the mid aughts. Some first time improvisers.
None of us knew what was gonna happen. And I thought, “Oo-ee, this feels like a tableau worth relating in the SternJourn.”
And that’s all the meaning I can presently muster from the current moment in history. At least I now remember that MXC is a thing.
Recommendations
A Real Pain. Movie. There are a lot of movies out as the Oscar race starts to ramp up. I wanna see Anora and Conclave and all that jazz, but don’t sleep on this Jesse Eisenberg written/directed movie about two cousins taking a trip to Poland to honor their grandma. While I’m someone who hates it when Eisenberg writes a Shouts and Murmurs (why is he getting the foot-in-the-door satirist opportunities???), I really loved this movie. Tons of searingly accurate insight about adult close friendships/relationships. Laughs. Existential quandaries. And only 90 minutes.
America Has Changed. So Has Jon Stewart. Podcast Episode. If you’re looking to engage with “what now-ism” around the election but are weary about getting too in your head, I think this episode of Ezra Klein’s podcast from before the election is an appropriate mix of hopeful-stuff-that-there-is-still-reason-to-be-hopeful-for and getting real about stuff that needs to be gotten real about.
Hey Jane. Song. Last week, I recommended Tyler, The Creator’s newest album Chromakopia. If you haven’t listened to it, I am now just recommending a single song from it because it’s so good and I really want you to listen to it. “Jane” is an honest, gut-wrenching lyrical reasoning with his partner about what to do about a potential future child between them. It’s a good and dizzying song and I hope it gets you to listen to the album. I think he might be the greatest artist of my micro-generation.
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. Television Show. All the above being said, it is very much a product of its time and you might not like everything they say. But I think it’s mostly just fun.
Anyway, that’s all this week. Sending all the normal love plus some!
Julian
Really great piece! Being in public always helps when a crisis blooms, and you need real people around you.
I totally remember MXC, but I totally forgot one of the hosts is named Guy LeDouche!!!!
Incredible. My friend Sam and I used to watch MXC on SpikeTV, then take out his mom's tape recorder and record ourselves commentating SlamBall games. I miss Bush's America.