Venue: Murphy's Pub on Madison

Murphy's Irish Pub lives in Midtown on Madison Ave and traditionally, it's been the grimy punk and rock joint that locals flock to on any given day of the week, being the neighborhood spot. It also happens to be the only bar for a few blocks that serves hard alcohol!

So, why not do a comedy show there? Great idea. The room is now run by Randall Holcomb and Kate Lucas. Kate typically MCs the night, with her style of neurotic charm. "Victory!" she cries in her Dexter's Laboratory-type voice, after the night goes well.

Irish pub and comedy? How does that work? To tell you the truth, very carefully. On any given Tuesday night, you might find a few of the regulars showing up and a lot of comics in the audience. The regular rockers don't always turn up, but the regulars that do show, tend to be 40s-ish bar flies that do enjoy the comedy. They've been great and very supportive thus far.

Punk rockers and hard alcohol, why didn't we think of trying to do comedy here before?

Well, we did have comedy at Murphys in days past. The legend goes, Katrina Murrell was doing comedy during a band show, not even the comedy night, when she was very new and very drunk and very much on a chair. She was being heckled and began shouting (hilarious) obscenities at a particular female patron, who happened to be a girlfriend of a manager or an owner. Managers don't really like when people talk smack to their girlfriends, so that night was canned.

Now it's back, every Tuesday at 10:30pm, with a new crew of comics and some comics returning with more experience under their belts. On any given week, you can typically see Memphis comedians like Will Stephenson, Randall Holcomb, Josh McLane, Jane Haze, Brandon Sams, Michael Kline, Stephen Kline, Caryn Loveless and if you cross your fingers and wish hard enough, you might be graced with a performance by the nefarious Mo Alexander.

If you come out, come prepared to see a slightly different show, with games and different ideas, because it's a total workout room for comics. And remember, there is a full bar.



Murphy's Irish Pub
1589 MADISON AVE.
MEMPHIS, TN 38104
901-726-4193

Show starts at 10:30pm
Hosted by Kate Lucas
FREE!

Memphis Comics: Mary Jordan

In the South Eastern United States, the idea of smart comedy is not quite as popular on the road as one might think. (No! Go on!) Yes, it's true. So finding a gifted comedian who has worked the road and still maintains a genuinely intelligent act without going too far into the world of working blue is few and far between - but Memphis has such an act with Mary Jordan. For the time being, at least.

All that and a woman! Go on! Alright, I intended to.

Mary Jordan is a very gifted comedian, not just as a stand up comic, but also as an improviser. Mary started out her stand up career at the Looney Bin in Memphis when she was 16 and the Looney Bin was still had a pulse. In high school, she was able to start flexing her improvising muscles. Upon turning 18, Jordan joined the Memphis improv troupe, FreakEngine, which has a cult following in town. A few years passed and she defected from FreakEngine to the much cooler and hipper troupe, the Wiseguys where she is currently until she defects again like a commie Pinko to Chicago.

But enough about improvising, that's a whole other blog; it's Mary Jordan's stand up we are highlighting here, people. Mary Jordan's comedy on stage hits hard with the hip, erudite comedy fan. Her political jokes are always topical, and always on point. She evolves with the change in times (see: Mary Jordan not making jokes about Ann Coulter). Her jokes are sarcastic, passive aggressive, yet biting. It's like a dram of aural scotch, goes down so smooth and sophisticated, but in the end your still getting drunk, only with laughter.

Though, despite the fact that Mary Jordan's humor can be geared toward political or social issues, she is not a divisive humorist. For example, when asked,"Israel or Palestine: who would win the World Cup?" She answered,"Trick question: Latvia (isn't it time they got some attention? They have been dressing like a whore.)" If any Latvians were offended, we at the Memphis Stand Up Comedy Blog apologize.

The biggest change coming up for Mary is the fact she'll be moving to Chicago on April 4th to pursue bigger opportunities for all of her comedy endeavors. There will be a final farewell and roast of Mary Jordan on Saturday March 21st at the Full Moon Club at Zinnies East. Show up for your last to see Jordan in action and watch some other mean people lovingly rip all of her accomplishments into shreds!

For more information about this show go to The Wiseguys Events page.

For more information about Mary Jordan, please check out these links:
Mary Jordan's Blog/Official Site
Mary Jordan's MySpace Page