![]() Everyone went crazy for him, and stood again as he left, thrilled to have gotten to see one of the toughest tickets to get at the festival at a small intimate venue. He hammed it up as he walked down the long staircase from the green room to the stage, and did a short, but amazing set. Oswalt came out to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. A night that had already been stacked with great performers was bookended by two surprise headliners from the festival: Patton Oswalt and Ralphie May. One of the most amazing things that can happen at Moontower is getting to witness a headliner drop in at a showcase show, and Stars in Bars doubled down on that premise. If you have the chance to see her, anywhere, make sure that you do. Ali Wong is a power hitter and she isn’t going anywhere. If you asked anyone in the street, what was the best show you saw at Moontower, if the answer wasn’t “Ali Wong at the Paramount” it was because they didn’t get to see her perform. After an unforgettable debut hour special, everyone wanted to know- could Ali follow her own act? Or would Baby Cobra be an isolated perfect moment in comedy history? Put that question to bed because Wong came out swinging, and was the buzz of the entire festival. Going into the festival, there was no doubt in our minds that Wong would be the must-see headliner. Thank you to Carina and Samantha who helped us to put together this amazing team! Ali Wong at the Paramount Proves Wong is a Legend in the Making And our seventh performer- a prop act- brought down the house. We had three women, one trans performer, one character, and an Australian, and we loved them all. One of our performers had been on the Tonight Show, another on America’s Got Talent. Leni Mex, Christina Parish, Austin Smartt, Derek Kopszywa, Timothy Banfield, and HiFi Bong proved that Austin really is all about being unique. But the real surprise in Austin was that everyone was buzzing about our mic performers too. Gomez, and Dan Soder, who have such great chemistry with each other and our amazing hosts Ron Bennington and Gail Bennington, and they all made each other and the audience laugh the entire show. As always, our mentors were the stars of the show. Everyone was interested to see whether we could pull this off on the road- would we be able to book open mic’ers so far from home? Would they find it fun to face our brutal panel of mentors dead set on destroying them? Would it be fun for an Austin audience? The answer was a resounding “yes” across the board. *** Comedy 101 Highlights Austin Open Mic Comics:Ĭomedy 101 is The Interrobang’s first live show that we took to the stages of New York clubs, and Moontower marked the very first time we took the show on the road. For more on Austin check out our photo album from the closing night party, Gail Bennington’s Family Photo diary, and our own Comedy Junkie, Sara Lemes writes about her experiences at Moontower. This year, we found New York putting on the most memorable shows one after another. Every year there’s a theme to our favorites- last year it was the women who stood out among the stars. ![]() ![]() True to our predictions, many of our favorite moments took place at the shows we picked as the Must See shows for MT2017. Thank you so much to everyone, especially Nicole Giovia, and Sara Dahms, and all of our buddies on the Bennington show for helping to choose the best of the fest. As always, there were too many shows for any one person to attend, so we called on our extended network of friends and writers to help us choose the ten best moments of Moontower 2017. The city of Austin accommodated the festival’s comedians and fans with great weather, and the city did not disappoint with its great food, great fans and wonderful hospitality. This year Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival celebrated its fifth year as a fan-focused comedy festival and proved once again, that they know how to throw one hell of a comedy party. ![]() Images Courtesy of Bells & Whistles Productions Best of the Fest!
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