Andy Andrist redux, Bruce Jingles, Amy Miller, Caitlin Weierhauser at the O

Bruce Jingles brings his smart observations, eloquent storytelling and pitch-perfect comedic timing to The O on June 1. He’s the second half of a weekend double-header doubling down on The O’s commitment to creating an uptown jazz and comedy club.

The Unbookables’s Andy Andrist headlines at 8 p.m. on May 31. Tickets for his show, a free-associative trip through his kaleidoscopic mind with side-trips to the floor, may still be available for $8 via Eventbrite.com, or you can pay $10 at the door.

It’s Jingles’ first visit to Tucson, and he performs at both 7 pm and 9 pm on June 1. Tickets are $10 via Eventbrite and $15 at the door. A favorite in Southern California’s stand-up comedy stomping grounds, Jingles plies relatable tales of everyday life with, for example, law enforcement, stereotyping, and weed. He drives them cheerily home with impersonations of people audience members may recognize from their own lives.

Jingles is a popular podcast guest and a fixture on USO tours. He’s been seen on ABC, VH1, TMZ, NUVOTV, and two Showtime specials, and he appeared in the 2008 dark comedy Driving Bill Crazy. His live comedy album, Bruce Jingles: Comic, released by RBC Records, can be found on iTunes, Pandora and Spotify.

The O keeps rolling on Wednesday, June 5 with Amy Miller, Caitlin Weierhauser and Steve Hernandez. According to her bio, headliner Miller was one of Comedy Central’s Up Next comics for 2018, and was a breakout favorite in Season 9 of Last Comic Standing. She’s also appeared on the Adam Carolla Show, Viceland and the Doug Loves Movies comedy podcast. Most recently she guested on the Stephen Colbert Show.

Miller describes her comedy as “personal, political, and 100 percent authentic.” She earned her comedy stripes in the Bay Area, but began attracting more widespread attention when she moved to Portland’s rich and even more diverse comedy scene.

She won the title Portland’s Funniest in a 2015 competition sponsored by Helium Comedy Club and was voted Portland’s Funniest Comedian in both 2013 and 2015 by readers of the independent Willamette Week. She was the first woman to top either, let alone both, of those contests.

Her album, Solid Gold, is available on the prestigious Kill Rock Stars label. Her podcast, Who’s Your God, with fellow O linep member Steve Hernandez, is at libsyn.com. She’s performed at numerous comedy festivals, including SXSW, Bridgetown, Big Sky and the San Francisco Sketchfest.

L.A.-based Weierhauser describes her comedy as social commentary with “coach vibes and … unhinged enthusiasm, often political, frequently personal and entirely too tantrum-prone.” Naturally she was cast in a Disney movie. It’s Timmy Failure, being readied for the 2020 debut of the new Disney streaming service, Disney +.

Weierhauser was voted one of the top three performers at Big Sky Comedy Fest and has performed for Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Bumbershoot, and the All Jane Comedy Fest.

Also from L.A., Steve Hernandez founded the popular LA bar show, Chatterbox Comedy Night. He was featured as a Field Correspondent on I Love You, America! With Sarah Silverman and appeared in Comedy Central’s Corporate.


Local First Arizona kind of spells LAF

Tucson’s favorite cartoonist and raconteur David Fitzsimmons hosts a comedy show at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 5 at Borderlands Brewery. Admission is $5 at the door or in advance via squareup.com.

The event wraps up a Local First Arizona Roadshow hosted from 4 to 7 pm by the Rialto Theatre at its offshoot entertainment venue 191 Toole. It’s at the other end of the block from Borderlands.

LFA-member the Comedy Alliance of Tucson (full disclosure: I am its founder) organized the comedy show to include, besides Fitzsimmons: Roxy Merrari, host of Comedy at the (Surly) Wench; Monte Benjamin, known for clean comedy rooted in his experiences as a black American; Matt Ziemak, co-host of the monthly Brew Ha Ha comedy show at Borderlands; Mo Urban, stand-up comedy coach at Tucson Improv Movement, founder of a half-dozen local comedy shows and frequent guest in Arizona comedy festivals; Alex Kack, a leader in CAT, producer of this show and host of several local comedy shows, and Josiah Osego, a popular guest in comedy shows in Phoenix and all over Southern Arizona.

Ever the joker, Borderlands Brewing Company co-owner Michael Mallozzi says, “Running a business is no joke! But that doesn’t mean we can’t laugh! Join us for the Local First Arizona Roadshow to support your local businesses because you can’t spell laugh without LFA.” (Just don’t overthink it.)

Michael Peel, Southern Arizona Director of Local First Arizona, says the LFA Roadshows, which are free to the public, are a new program to get business members out in the community, like farmers’ markets promoting products and services. Peel says, “We create fun and engaging ways to connect local businesses to the community on a regular basis and keep more dollars in our local economy. 

Peel and Mallozzi have been advisers in the formation of the Comedy Alliance of Tucson (CAT), seeing it as a means to expand the local business sector using comedy as a draw. Since it was established last year, CAT has worked with local businesses to create more opportunities for comedy in Tucson, promoting existing shows and venues while encouraging new ones. The organization promoted its first CATcomedy520 LOL crawl last January and currently is networking and pursuing initiatives with FEATS-AZ, the Marana Chamber of Commerce, Visit Tucson and TEN WEST as well as Local First.

Peel says, “Expect different themes and a rotating cast of LFA members and partners each month spotlighting and celebrating what makes our community so unique.”