Overall, it needs work. The people trying to run this mess should go get some lessons from cities that have been doing this longer and more effectively. It could’ve been worse like SXSW or ACL Fest, the titleholders for the term clusterf**k.
My biggest beef was with the badge system. I was tempted to buy the $130 badge when it was initially offered at $100. What immediately put me off were two things.
- The lineups were barely figured out so this would be a huge financial risk.
- The badges didn’t give access to the A-list shows at the Paramount.
I went with the a la carte option which proved to be cheaper and more satisfying, see below for details.
Which group received priority (badges v. ticket holders) was also inconsistent, again, I will explain.
The festival kicked off for me at the Cap City Comedy Club on Wednesday evening with Maria Bamford. Opening was a former Milwaukee resident, Jackie Kashian. Jackie didn’t specifically say where she originated from but when she asked her father to meet at 76th and Bluemound, I knew! Be on the look out for Jackie on Comedy Central and This American Life.
Maria had all new material but I hadn’t seen her live in five years. I’m looking forward to a new record containing those bits covering Paula Dean recipes as a hidden suicide note, lazy alternatives to cooking and her rather biting criticisms of organized religion. I didn’t get to meet her this time. I wasn’t torn up. I mainly wanted to know if she would turn up at the Adventure Time marathon because she’s Hot Dog Princess, LSP’s mom and the evil Guardian Angel.
Thursday evening was Marc Maron, I covered him earlier.
Friday was Dand Gould & Friends at the Scottish Rite Temple, a Mason hangout. I wasn’t sure if the “& Friends” part would be sketches or he was going to record parts of his podcast for the show. Instead it was Dana doing his routines as the MC for a few other comedians: Maria Bamford (abbreviated stuff from Wednesday, I didn’t mind), Andy Kindler (he plays Mort on Bob’s Burgers), Chelsea Peretti (writer for Sarah Silverman, “Parks & Recreation”), Tom Rhodes (a staple on Comedy Central in the Nineties) and John Ramsay (former winner in Austin). A fantastic mix of styles, topics and gags.
After the show I got to talk briefly to Andy, told him I love his voice work, namely Paula’s boss on Home Movies. He smiled, said thanks. Tom Rhodes was really cool. We talked about his Vietnam special and he handed me his latest CD for free, said if I really like it, please write nice things about it on iTunes and Amazon. My major goal was talking to Dana again, I wanted to see if he was open to giving me a shipping address for the Star Trek special I found with him in it. Back in January, Dana told me he didn’t have a copy of it. So I found a videotape for $10. I told him my proposal. Since he didn’t have this in his collection, I was going to digitize this and a friend would help me make a DVD of it with chapters, etc. This would be our gift to him for all the years of laughter. He quickly sent me an e-mail with his iPhone! Now I need to go rent the breakout box and work out a time with Jarrett.
Would I attend this again? Maybe. When I told Dana about the confusion over scheduling, here he apologized and said his schedule caused the delay in setting up his commitment. Fair enough but I think the numerous others should’ve been worked out in advance. Compared to other cities, a $130 pass is a bargain. It isn’t when it’s a crapshoot on which artists you may see.
The other sticking point are the locations. Austin is fortunate to have all but one venue be relatively close. Sadly, the odd-man out is our dedicated comedy club that resides off of 183 in a messy neighborhood. Andy Kindler couldn’t resist making jokes about this, namely how it’s next to a discount hitch store. Inside Cap City is perfect. Outside, Cap City is a pain in the ass: parking is a mess too. If you’re taking a vacation to attend this, you’re spending some serious cab fare to hit Cap City or skipping it altogether.
Finally, the inconsistency on seating. At Bamford, the VIP ($800)/Badge people got the tables in the middle at Cap City. Fair enough. At Maron, the Mohawk had two entrances and “seating” areas. The VIP/Badge people went in through the front door and got to sit; we ticket-holding peasants went in through the back door and stood in the balcony area. My view was nice, I just had to focus out the Feist concert up the street and the smell of the portable toilets whenever the wind kicked up. At Gould, the VIP/Badge people were ripped off. They were let in after us ticket holders and the VIPs only got dibs on the first two rows.
I think the problem with the Moon Tower organizers lies in their origins. It’s mostly the same people who run the non-profit Paramount setup. They’re accustomed to elderly wealthy patrons ponying up a few thousand bucks here and there. In exchange they get the first crack at buying the good theater seats when Tony Bennet comes to Austin. A comedy festival isn’t the same crowd plus Middle Class people expect better treatment when they purchase an all-access pass.
Let’s see what 2013 has in store. First order of business, Austin needs to maintain what few moon towers remain or it defeats the point of the fest’s name.