Talk Shows

Demetri Martin on Woody Guthrie, prop-comedy and not being a hipster

Demetri Martin's polished micro-jokes, nervous stare and intense appreciation of aesthetics have made him a welcome antidote to the wave of loud and sloppy comedians who have dominated the scene over the last decade. In advance of Martin's visit to Comedy Works South this Sunday for two shows (one i ... More >>

When Obama appears as Satan, where's Stephen Colbert?

Stephen Colbert, as a real human being, is useless to us. Yes, that's a very selfish thing to say, but we all know it's true. When he's stepped out of character in the past for interviews on Fresh Air or Meet the Press, it's mildly interesting, but it's interesting in the same way that it was intere ... More >>

Comic Adam Cayton-Holland booked for Conan January 29

Denver comic and former Westword scribe Adam Cayton-Holland will be making his standup debut on TBS's Conan next Tuesday, January 29. "This is my first appearance on a late-night TV show," Cayton-Holland tells us. "I did a small spot on the TV show Happy Endings, but yeah, in terms of late night and ... More >>

Lewis Black on socialism, Louis C.K. and the new NRA app

The most common byproduct of politics is high blood pressure, and no one experiences that kind of pre-stroke madness like standup comedian Lewis Black. With his shaky hands, bulging eyes and unbuttoned suit, Black often appears as an out-of-work schmuck who writes angry letters to the White House an ... More >>

Videos: After Aurora theater shooting, Craig Ferguson strikes right tone, Jay Leno doesn't

As was the case following the 1999 Columbine tragedy, late-night hosts faced a difficult task in dealing with early Friday's shootings at the Century 16 in Aurora. How to treat this horrific incident respectfully and then attempt to make the nation laugh? That night, Craig Ferguson passed the test ... More >>

Video: Tennis on Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Tennis on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night: Did you catch it? The "duo from Denver," as Leno introduced the act, performed "Origins" from the new album, Young & Old, and brought along a few familiar faces from Denver. Even thought they didn't see much face time, it was nice to see the two ... More >>

Reader: Tim Tebow might be a great NFL quarterback if he could use a T-shirt cannon

Our post about Tim Tebow's appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show noted that while even The Chosen One admitted he needs to work on his throwing motion, he proved to be a quick study with a T-shirt cannon. That got one of our readers thinking.

Pumped-up hits: Songs we loved until they got played to death

"Man, I used to really love that song until it got played to death!" How many times have you heard somebody say that? It's a legitimate gripe, especially if you work in place where the radio is played day and night. You inevitably suffer hearing the same goddamn songs hundreds of times a day. It's e ... More >>

Mark Udall proud The Daily Show's Jon Stewart agrees with him (VIDEO)

Video below.​Politicians featured in comedy bits on The Daily Show don't usually draw attention to their appearances, given that they tend to come across as clueless bozos. But Senator Mark Udall's office actually wants constituents to watch the following video, about a provision of a defense ... More >>

Open Air, new CPR station at 1340 AM: Launch emphasizes the safe side of adventurous

Back in June, we spoke with once-and-future Colorado Public Radio staffer Mike Flanagan about the impending debut of a new indie-rock station at 1340 AM. At 6 a.m. this morning, the outlet, dubbed Open Air, made its bow, and while it's clearly in soft-launch/preview mode at this writing, the messag ... More >>

Is my marijuana fueling the Mexican drug war?

Judgment Day is coming on May 21, says The Daily Show -- for 89-year-old Harold Camping

Camping and Stewart.​Billboards in Colorado and beyond warn that Judgment Day is coming May 21 -- at least according to the California-based Family Radio network, led by 89-year-old Boulder native Harold Camping. And according to a clip from last night's episode of The Daily Show on view below ... More >>

Jump through some hoops to get a free download of some Tig Notaro comedy!

Tig Notaro coming out with an album -- can you believe it?​Back when she was working as a music promoter in Denver, few probably would have believed that Tig Notaro -- who had at that point never even performed on a stage, let alone comedy -- would go on to the phenomenal amount of success she ... More >>

Amelia Earhart on Jaywalking: Is Jay Leno or woman who refers to 9News dumber? (VIDEO)

Amelia?​Update below: Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" routine features man- and woman-on-the-street interviews with alleged morons -- but one recent clip makes him look like a bigger dope than the woman he portrays as a brainless chump. That's because her reference to Amelia Earhart as a 9News persona ... More >>

Brace yourself for the new batch of Justin Biebers: Five heirs to the Bieb's teen-idol throne

​Justin Bieber and his $40,000 hair are making girls swoon all over the world, but this overnight sensation is not alone. Despite the fact that kids everywhere are obsessing and worshipping this pseudo-talented tween, there are more idols in the pipeline. Since kids have the attention spans of ... More >>

Comedy Central's Comedy Awards: Due recognition or sideshow?

​Comedy Central announced an awards show devoted to comedy today. It will be called The Comedy Awards and will air simultaneously on Comedy Central, VH1, Spike, TV Land and Nick at Night on March 26. On one hand, comedy does tend to get boned in the other major awards, particularly the Oscars ... More >>

The Musical Comedian

Hosts with a Toast

Conan's new show: Basically the same as the old show, except on TBS

​Since sometime circa the late '90s, Conan O'Brien has been the best of the late-night talk-show hosts. While Jay Leno did jokes so tame they would've felt just as at-home coming from a purple cartoon dog in the middle of the afternoon, Conan's formula continued to feel fresh and relevant -- s ... More >>

Barack Obama names Betsy Markey & (kind of) Michael Brown on The Daily Show: VIDEO

Obama and Stewart.​President Barack Obama's extended interview on last night's episode of Comedy Central's The Daily Show had some unexpected Colorado flavor. Not only did he specifically mention Congresswoman Betsy Markey, who's in a difficult fight against Cory Gardner, but he also reference ... More >>

3OH!3 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno reflecting on "My First Kiss"

In case you missed it, 3OH!3 was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night performing "My First Kiss," the first single from their new album Streets of Gold. Compared to their shiny vest, bulging-chest-hair and mustache flaunting turn on Jimmy Kimmel last month, this performance is slightly mor ... More >>

Dan Drayer leaving Colorado Public Radio for DU gig

Dan Drayer.​Dan Drayer is a public radio lifer. He's spent 22 years working in the business, thirteen of them at Colorado Public Radio. And while he left the network once before, back in 2005, he stayed in the field, and returned to the CPR fold two years later. After tomorrow, however, he'll ... More >>

Video: Local cartoon studio Mighty Fudge animates "I Got Lenoed"

Three not-evil Jay Lenos.​While Colorado doesn't boast that many animation studios, those we have are known to pack quite a punch. Take Mighty Fudge Studios, a Boulder operation that for the past eleven years, has been churning out Saturday morning-style cartoons with an adult twist by way of ... More >>

Wanda James's advice to critics of The Daily Show's Denver weed story: "Chill"

Wanda James gets licked on "The Daily Show."​The Daily Show's send-up of the Denver medical-marijuana scene earlier this week didn't thrill everyone in the MMJ community. Westword marijuana critic William Breathes, in a post about what viewers didn't see, noted reading "blogs and posts from f ... More >>

Our updated medical-marijuana directory

​ Even the wiseacres at The Daily Show have noticed Denver's booming medical marijuana scene -- not to mention William Breathes, one of our MMJ critics. But Breathes isn't just a pretty face (albeit one whose mug was obscured by smoke and more during his Daily Show appearance) -- and he proves ... More >>

The Daily Show smokes Denver's pot scene -- and our weed critic

At last, critic William Breathes as seen in his natural habitat.​The Daily Show's long awaited dissection of Denver's medical marijuana industry finally reached the screen last night, and the results were smokin'. Along with the anticipated ganja gags (a pile of cheeseburgers makes a guest ap ... More >>

The Daily Show weighs in on South Park's Mohammad controversy

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Conan in Denver: Team Coco to unite at Macky Auditorium, Ellie Caulkins Opera House

​Breathe easy, Team Coco: Conan O'Brien's "Suck on This, NBC!" tour will stop in Denver/Boulder. Conan will do two shows in May: Sunday, May 9 at Boulder's Macky Auditorium and Monday, May 10 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, both at 8p.m. From the press release:

Anvil didn't give up its dream of bringing metal to the masses

Conan O'Brien joke about Westword's medical marijuana reviewer search: Laugh at us, America!

We're as sober as especially sober judges here at Westword -- yet, for whatever reason, we're just getting around to posting a joke Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien told about our search for a medical marijuana reviewer back on November 17. At the end of our quest, we wound up doubling our (and hop ... More >>

The Legendary Griffin

Good for Laughs

Originally from Longmont, humorist Kirsten Schaal returns for a set.

Video: Kristen Schaal does Daily Show bit about growing up in Colorado

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cBurka Banthedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorEconomic Crisis Last night, Comedy Central aired a repeat of the July 1 Daily Show that included a segment with comedian Kristen Schaal (whom you might recognize from her role as obse ... More >>

Brian Rohrbough says Columbine segment for Oprah permanently canceled

Photo by John JohnstonBrian Rohrbough. A report about the tenth anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School that was originally slated to run on Oprah's April 20 program, but host Oprah Winfrey ordered it yanked at the last minute. In a statement, Winfrey says she made the decision because ... More >>

Talk Talk

Waylon Lewis brings big ideas to a bigger stage.

Randy Brown on the cancellation of today's Columbine-related Oprah broadcast

Kate Battan, Dave Cullen and Dwayne Fuselier on a Columbine-related episode of "Oprah" that will no longer air today. As pointed out earlier today in a blog about the many media appearances of Columbine principal Frank DeAngelis, Colorado journalist Dave Cullen, author of the widely praised volume ... More >>

Gail Schoettler has the final word on vagina-gate

The stir over KHOW talk-show host Peter Boyles's use of the names "Vagina DeGette" and "Vagina DeJet" in reference to Congresswoman Diana DeGette has pretty much run its course -- which is precisely what Clear Channel Denver exec Kris Olinger hoped when she ordered Boyles to drop the topic. But to ... More >>

Colorado Public Radio dials back on new talk show

In the July 2008 blog "Colorado Public Radio Plans Two-Hour Weekday Info Block," Sean Nethery, CPR's vice president of programming, said that "in a matter of weeks, not months," the service would formally announce the expansion of its weekday news program, Colorado Matters, from thirty minutes to ... More >>

Matthew Moon Lands Song on Budweiser's Olympic Promo

Oliver Twist

The Daily Show's John Oliver on fake news and afflicting the comfortable.

The Big O

Queen City of the Plains

Nathanial Trotter has a plan to crown Oprah.

Drunk of the Week

Pearl Street Grill

Rescue 9/11

This year, a handful of shows provided the healing power of laughter.

Off Limits

Wherever you go, there you are.

Best collapse of a PR campaign

John and Patsy Ramsey

Best TV personality vs. government official feud

Barbara Walters vs. Bill Owens

"HELLO, DENVER, YOU'RE ON LARRY KING LIVE!"

OFF LIMITS