Other festivals should look at Fun Fun Fun Fest and be jealous of what it can pull off. And it's not just music festivals that should take a peak into the FFF playbook. Fun Fun Fun Fest’s Yellow Stage lineup is enough to put the biggest comedy festivals to shame.
The reason FFF works is that it’s not afraid to shake things up with square-peg acts who don’t fit perfectly into the round hole of stand-up. The Yellow Stage features some of the best and greatest stand up comedians from both Austin and the rest of the country, but we've picked the more obscure Yellow Stage acts to check out if you're looking for something a little different.
Rob Gagnon’s One Hour Comedy Festival — Friday, 1:45 pm
So let’s say that, due to an already hectic festival schedule, you just can’t bring yourself to step away from the music. You can’t bear to miss a second of Big Freedia or The Julie Ruin, so you wind up having to sacrifice spending time laughing it up at the Yellow Stage. You’re a music nerd through and through, and there’s no time for a comedy festival.
But if you just have an hour to spare, you can still get the full comedy festival experience in just one hour. Rob Gagnon condenses the comedy festival into the stereotypes you'd expect to see on display, such as the Stoner Comic, the ever popular Some Asshole with a Puppet, the Unattended Child, and today's rising star, the Drunk Couple in the Front Row.
Okay, Fun Fun Fun Fest will feature Doug Benson, filling their Stoner Comic quota, but that's their only similarity.
Miami Imrov Machine — Saturday, 2:45 pm
The FFF Yellow Stage has always known that improv comedy is about more than a bunch of bored coworkers forced to participate in a team-building exercise. Improv requires a very particular set of skills — skills that are acquired over a very long career. If you want to see the perfect execution of said skills, the Miami Improv Machine has got you covered.
Imagine an improv troupe that just got back from the clubs on South Beach, and you have the Miami Improv Machine. Featuring perpetual partiers Money Marone, Cashtronaut, Margarita and Jaylennium, their personas give their performances and games an upbeat energy similar to a couple of trust fund babies hopped up on ecstasy in the club.
Master Pancake Video Jukebox — Sunday, 1 pm
Why would you want to take precious time out of your packed schedule to see a comedy team that performs in Austin several times each month at the Alamo Drafthouse? Such a silly question shouldn’t deserve a response, because Master Pancake is an Austin institution and should never be missed if the opportunity arises.
These professional movie mockers are also taking a break from sitting through feature films to make jokes and are instead taking aim at rather silly music videos, such as Billy Squier’s “Rock Me Tonite.” And if you have any friends visiting from out of town, you have a convenient means of introducing them to the kind of entertainment you get to enjoy on the regular.
Bridget Everett — Sunday, 4:15 pm
The Yellow Stage definitely doesn’t skimp on women in the lineup, with a solid selection across the board, and for a performer who is truly outrageous (and a personal favorite of comedian Amy Schumer), you need to check out Bridget Everett.
Everett basically performs in the style of alt-cabaret, mixing the spoken word with her jazzy singing voice while often wearing outfits that are barely hanging on to her ample figure. Singing and talking about body image and sexuality, Everett’s act ultimately makes you want to celebrate the body you were born with.
Comedy from the New Movement — All Weekend
“Buy local” is the popular mantra in Austin right behind “Go back to Dallas,” but we shouldn’t forget to “Laugh local” while we’re at it. Several of the afternoon shows on the Yellow Stage come courtesy of improv and sketch acts with ties to the local comedy theater.
Several TNM shows that you usually see in an intimate theater setting will be out in the open air with a larger audience (and a Taco Cannon). Take some time to watch Judge G-Su, the improv dating show One Night Stand, The Real @ChrisTrew Show with the theater’s co-founder, Chris Trew, and more during the TNM Comedy showcase on Sunday.
The music may get the most buzz once November 8 gets here, but comedy at Fun Fun Fun Fest is the ultimate trip if you can give it a chance.
See how much (or how little) Bridget Everett wears at Fun Fun Fun Fest.
