Wow folks. Just wow. We truly are blessed to have such a smart and supportive fan base as we do. It’s getting to be redundant, starting these lineup announcements with declarations of love for you all, but I just can’t help it. A show can only be as good as its audience, and for my money, you guys are the best audience around.

We’ve entered into a bit of a contract here. You keep coming and enjoying the show, and we will keep bringing you the very best talent Chicago has to offer, along with some very exciting out of town guests. Take this week for example:

Your headliner, Mike Stanley

Mike Stanley is a real special type of performer, equally skilled at telling charming stories as he is at ranting about the ills of society. Mike can be witty or confrontational, pithy or brief, and no matter what it’s going to be hysterical. His range certainly comes in handy while he is out touring the country by himself or with his crew The Wind Up. We’re quite excited to have Mike with us this week, and we’re sure you’ll absolutely love him.

With…

Amy Sumpter

Fair warning, some of you may not be ready for what Amy Sumpter’s about to throw at you. She’s going to hit you like a pound of bricks, a really funny pound of bricks. A really tall, really funny pound of bricks. A really tall, really funny pound of bricks that just happens to be one of the women behind the kates. Watching Amy perform is a real treat, certainly one of which you should not deprive yourself.

Ryan Beck

Ryan Beck and I used to do stand up together back in college; in fact it was my friendship with Ryan that directly led to me beginning to do stand up. If I hadn’t started doing stand up, I never would have moved to Chicago, so in a very real way, without Ryan Beck there would be no Comedy Evening. Of course, that means Ryan’s also in some small way responsible for my house burning down. But I’ll go ahead and forgive that because he’s just so funny and so delightful. Ryan currently works out of New York, and we’re all very excited to have him swing through for a little visit.

Mike Joyce

Boy, that Mike Joyce sure does look happy, doesn’t he? What could make a man so happy? Being an incredibly talented performer who can be found doing shows all over the city? Perhaps. Running the Rathskeller open mic, without a doubt one of the best in all of Chicago? Probably. It certainly could be either of those things. Or it could be a couple of belts of the old whiskey. I’m no expert on what makes people happy. I am, however, an expert on funny people, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that Mike Joyce is one such person.

As always, the drink specials will be popping off and the post-show dance party will rage on long into the night. Will there be special guests stopping by? Maybe. I have no idea. I guess we’ll just have to find out together. See you there.