Those who’ve only seen Denver comedian and Westword cover boy Ben Roy his brief television appearances are missing the singular experience of watching him perform live, when they can hear his jokes in their windy entirety. But between moonlighting as the frontman for local music-scene champions Spells and winging his way across…

In most places, March is a month of renewal, of freshness and growth. In Denver, however, March exists merely to taunt snow-wearied Coloradans with the false promise of spring. Though the sun may continue to forsake our fair city, Denverites are fortunate to have plentiful opportunities to bask in the…

For over ten years, Deacon Gray has mentored young comics as the New Talent Coordinator at Comedy Works. Under his stewardship, the scene has flourished, with hundreds of new comics flooding the stage, eager to test their mettle and benefit from Gray’s experience. One of the blessings of a career…

By the time February settles in, Denverites have already plowed through their Netflix queues and ordered from every restaurant within their delivery radius, so by now everyone is ready to face facts and brave the dreadful climate for a chance to get out of the house. Between its centerpiece romantic holiday, historical significance and the odd leap year, February is a month for going about one’s business and pretending bot to be miserable. However, since nothing salves the weary valves quite like a truly hilarious joke, Westword has compiled a list of fancy-tickling comedy shows to keep readers giggling all throughout this short, bleak month. With a flourishing of new local shows, visits from comedy legends of past and present and even a smattering of Valentine’s Day themed entertainment, there are more reasons than ever to spend the winter laughing in the dark with strangers, trying to forget how lonely we all are.

Cartoons & Comedy, is one of Denver’s most purely fun shows for crowds and performers alike, a rare glimpse into childhood from the safely ironic distance of years past. The show offers a way to bond over shared memories and laugh at the absurdity we used to innocently accept at face value, all leavened by cheap beer and sugary cereal. Keeping a comedy show going for two years, particularly one that requires such elaborate pre-planning is impressive feat. In its two short years, Cartoons & Comedy has changed time slots, venues and formats, while retaining its childlike bonhomie and essential spirit. Along the way, they’ve enjoyed the nimble riffs of Denver’s funniest locals and drop-ins from comedy nerd heroes like Ron Funches and Rory Scovel. At the helm of this monthly endeavor is Chris Baker, who hustles his cherubic ass off cutting together a video package of old cartoons, wrestling videos and 80s toy commercials and booking a lineup of quick-witted comics every month. Westword caught up with Baker at Fifty Two 80s, a local retail outlet and archivist of half-forgotten treasures from childhood to discuss reaching the two-year milestone, the enduring appeal of nostalgia and coked out wrestlers.

Steve Rannazzisi is best known to fans for his role as the long-suffering Kevin MacArthur on FXX’s The League, but he’s also a prolific standup comedian. Touring the country regularly, Rannazzisi’s career has progressed from his humble beginnings working the door at the infamous Comedy Store in Los Angeles to performing on Conan, @Mindnight, and the Comedy Central Roast of James Franco. Westword caught up with Rannazzisi ahead of his upcoming headlining engagement at Comedy Works to discuss fantasy football fans, putting a new hour together, and why people’s passion for the ridiculous is a recipe for comedy.

Podcasts are in tune with the democratized spirit of Internet media; anyone with a microphone and a computer can offer their listeners unlimited hours of recordings, usually for free. Limited only by their imaginations, podcasters have a freedom of expression unrestricted by commerce, censorship or geography. Several great podcasts have blossomed in Denver’s flourishing arts community; here to celebrate them is Podcast Profiles, a new series documenting the efforts of local podcasters and spotlighting the peculiar personalities behind them.

Whiskey & Cigarettes is a podcast about podcasts, and much funnier than that glib description would advertise. Hosted by the local brain trust behind the Comics Against Civility comedy game show, Jake Becker, Zac Maas and Jake Browne. The podcast has evolved over the years. What began as an unfocused yet booze-soaked marathon of podcast clips and quips has sharpened into a more purposeful format boasting funnier episodes and attracting some high-profile guests. Be sure to join Browne and Maas at Spruce Tap House for the fan favorites round of Comics Against Civility, this Saturday, January 24th at 7:00pm.Westword caught up with the Whiskey & Cigarettes crew to discuss how the show has changed and their favorite guests.

To the untrained eye, Ari Shaffir would look like an overnight success. Hot off the heels of his latest 1 hour special Paid Regular, which aired January 16th on Comedy Central, Shaffir also has a new series, This Is Not Happening premiering on the 22nd. The taste-making network will also be distributing and showing reruns of Shaffir’s first hour Passive Aggressive. Despite the confluence of successes, Shaffir has been quietly plugging away at his act for years, generating web content like his video series “The Amazing Racist” and steadfastly recording the popular podcast The Skeptic Tank week after week in spite of his busy schedule. Shaffir is town this month to headline Comedy Works from the 28th-31st and starting off 2015 on a high note. Westword caught up with Shaffir to discuss his new special, offending audiences and his love of psilocybin mushrooms.

One of the blessings of a career in standup is being a part of the small but fiercely loyal community of fellow comics sharing the same journey. When one of our own is down, the shock reverberates through the scene. Comedians, who generally lack essential skills and a sense of meaning in their lives, scramble to help out. Nearly every time, shepherding them through the efforts is Terri Barton Gregg, who organizes countless benefit shows and fundraisers through her company, Hold Please Productions. When Comedy Works’ New Talent coordinator and de facto mentor to Denver’s fledgling standups was diagnosed with cancer, comics and fans alike were eager to give anything back to the man who inspires us to try harder. Westword spoke with Gregg to discuss Deacon’s treatment, the benefit show lineup, and to define several Yiddish words.

2014 was a strange year for comedy, marred by scandal, controversy, and the tragic loss of legendary talents. New comics seized the spotlight, blossoming into full-fledged stardom on the strength of career-best showcases and others saw their acclaim diminish. Frankly, it made us shudder a bit to see the lead-in photo of Bill Cosby from last year’s list. Fittingly, Hannibal Buress, the comedian who launched a thousand think-pieces by refusing to remain silent about the accusations against Cosby, is having a banner year. Admittedly whittling down the ranks from ten to five necessarily omits some fine hours of comedy from the list. Specials like Patton Oswalt’s Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time and Jim Gaffigan’s Obsessed are worth seeking out, but lack the distinction of their finest work. Meanwhile, performers like Nick Offerman and Wyatt Cenac, whose American Ham and Brooklyn were released last year, seemed to merely coast off the goodwill of their TV careers, experimenting with interesting formats but mostly stumbling through laugh-free hours. Every comedian listed here, however, is at the top of their respective games, turning in their funniest work yet.

January is an overrated month. Resting on its New Year’s laurels until Martin Luther King Jr. day, January battens against the treacherous snow and punishing cold, assuaging its regret over resolutions broken with indica, hot toddies and Netflix marathons. Comedy, however, has the dubious fortune of being impossible to over or underrate. Either you’re laughing or you’re not. Whatever it is that happens to tickle your fancy is at once both entirely subjective and impossible to equivocate with rhetoric. With that in mind, here’s a collection of comedy shows for you to laugh or not laugh at. With perennially listed local favorites and returning visits from high profile headliners, there are plenty of reasons to bundle up and check out a comedy show this wintry month.

Josh Blue is truly a singular talent with an undeniable facility for hilarious riffs that seem casually tossed off. He has an uncanny ability to be instantly likable from the moment he grabs the mic, even as he doesn’t shy away from challenging suspects. Blue has been a pillar of the Denver comedy scene for several years now, but he first broke out nationally when he won NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2006. Throughout his illustrious career, Blue has found triumph mining his cerebral palsy diagnosis for comedic gold. A man of multitudes, Blue is also a skilled athlete who played on the U.S. Paralympic Soccer team.
Blue is closing out a pretty stellar 2014 at the home club where he developed his skills. Aside regularly performing in state and across the world, he also appeared in a prominent role in the baseball comedy 108 Stitches.

In addition to providing the pizza-soaked lifeblood of the Denver comedy scene and sponsoring some of the town’s best local showcases, the SexPot brand has really hung its hat on its namesake showcases at the Oriental Theater. Producer Andy Juett has pulled out all the stops for the one-year anniversary show, “A Chilly Evening with Todd Barry,” and thusly landed SexPot’s biggest headliner yet. Barry is a veteran standup best known for his appearances on such TV shows as Flight of the Conchords and Louie, as well as films like The Wrestler. Fresh off his last special, The Crowd Work Tour— which consisted of nothing but crowd-generated riffs and good-natured mockery — Barry has a fresh bundle of jokes for SexPot’s loyal crowd. Although this month’s showcase concludes SexPot’s monthly engagement at the historic Oriental, (which will hitherto be reserved for high-drawing headliners and special occasions) the brand is charging forward, and relocating the monthly show to the Baker staple, 3 Kings Tavern.

In celebration of SexPot’s special showcase, Westword caught up with Todd Barry to discuss working on new jokes after spending last year focusing on audience riffs in his Crowd Work Tour special, his European podcast fans and his most well-known film and TV roles.

Strippers and standup comedians have more in common than it would seem at first blush. Both performers take to the stage –usually alone– trying to evoke a reaction from an audience full of creeps they’d avoid in other circumstances. Bridging the gap between these two disparate art forms, in much the same way as cocaine did in the 80s, is comedian and host of “Ball Bustin’ Bingo”. Less of a Drag Queen than a Drag Empress, Mona Lott seized upon the idea to have comedians and strippers share the stage in “a game of strip poker that uses jokes instead of cards.” The show, called “Stripped Down Standup” has been packing the house with crowds of over 200. The next show is happening very soon, on Wednesday, December 3rd at the Denver Improv. Doors open at 6:30pm for the 7:30pm show. Tickets cost only $7.50 on the Denver Improv website.

Nate Bargatze has been on the cusp of stardom for a few years now. For a comic whose fanbase includes luminaries such as Marc Maron, Bargatze’s act is much more approachable than his comic’s comic reputation might suggest. Affable and generally TV-clean, Bargatze has a playfully dark sensibility that’s buoyed by the innate comic timing of a Southern accent. He’s appeared on Conan, Maron and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, who also brought Bargatze along to feature on his Clean Cut Comedy Tour. His debut album Yelled at by a Clown made it to the Billboard Top Ten Comedy Charts and he’s toured extensively with the USO, performing for deployed troops in Iraq and Kuwait. Bargatze has already endeared himself to Denver crowds with a strong showing on last year’s High Plains Comedy Festival. Westword caught up with Bargatze ahead of his upcoming headlining weekend at Comedy Works Downtown to discuss comedy festivals, seeing comedy scenes grow, and playing pizza box baseball at High Plains.

Whether you’ve been staunchly making merry since Halloween or crankily sneer at the holiday cheer each year, December is unquestionably dominated by its traditions. Driven by consumerism, religiosity, and compulsory family bonding; for many, December is a month spent in frantic shopping malls and airports. This year, amid economic anxiety, polar vortexes and heartbreaking news reports, people might find themselves in dire need of a laugh. Entertainment is usually an afterthought in December, typically limited to agreeably mediocre Hollywood spectacle. Denver comedy, however, bundles up and trudges on through the month. While we may have fewer high-profile visitors than last month’s banner programming calendar, we have a proliferation of locally-produced showcases, including two live sketch comedy shows, for fans to enjoy. Our city’s comedy clubs and theaters are hosting on-the-rise comics and international TV stars with a devoted cult following. With events geared towards all sorts of audiences, ranging from the family-friendly to the 420-friendly, Denver comedy runs the entire giggle gamut this snowy month. So brave the polar vortex and take a break from the seasonal doldrums at one of these fine comedy shows.

As the holiday season approaches, the entertainment calendar for the month holds a cornucopia of comic delights in store for local giggle gobblers. Sidling up to a table richly dressed with top notch performers, local comedy fans will be heartily stuffed and belly-sore by the month’s end. With options including a Denver comedy institution celebrating its fourth anniversary, two of The Daily Show‘s most accomplished correspondents dropping in for grand theatre shows, club sets from movie stars and comic heroes alike, as well as a truly exceptional month of programming from both Comedy Works locations, it’s a moveable feast of funny all November long.

Bob Saget has a famously dichotomous public image. While he’s still most widely recognized for his ’90s television ubiquity, Saget was a standup long before he became a huggy surrogate father to a generation of Full House viewers. While the ribald nature of Saget’s act is less shocking now, thanks to his appearance in The Aristocrats and a role that subverted his family-friendly image on Entourage, what stands out about Saget’s humor is how defiantly strange it can be. Saget’s penchant for the absurd shines through, whether he’s onstage or behind the camera for the underrated cult comedy Dirty Work. With his first book, Dirty Daddy, due out in paperback later this month, Saget is really hitting his stride. Westword caught up with Saget over a rambly and digressive phone conversation to discuss Dirty Daddy, his dichotomous public image and why you shouldn’t have sex with things.

October is a month for costumed ghouls and seasonal melancholy. As the autumnal leaves drift wanly into the dampened streets and crumble under the indifferent feet of passersby, many listless Denverites may find themselves in dire need of a laugh. Fortunately, this October promises a bountiful giggle harvest from Denver’s comedy crops, with the return of some of our most creative local showcases, laudable fundraising efforts, and visits from comic luminaries drifting into town on the tide of several decades’ worth of nostalgia. Though the confluence of sporting seasons means firecer competition for the wandering attention of local entertainment-seekers, comedy is bringing its A-Game this month. Whatever your fancy, Denver comedy is poised to knock the touchdown right out of the park for a ha-ha-hatrick this October.

Screenwriter, actor, podcaster and comedian Brock Wilbur’s outsized ambition matches his mountainous physique. He records at least an hour of standup every year and then starts fresh with new material and he’s coming to Denver for his autumnal joke harvest this year. In addition to touring across the country as a standup as well as writing and producing films, Wilbur co-hosts the podcast with Rob Ondarza and Joe Starr (who will also be recording his set for a standup album of his own). This is the third live album for the industrious Wilbur, this saturday at the Voodoo Comedy Playhouse. He’s also featured on friday night’s Sex Pot Comedy Aerial Menagerie showcase with locals Jay Gillespie and Haley Driscoll along with co-headliners David Hunstberger and Dan St. Germain. Westword caught up with Wilbur before his trip to town to discuss his slash and burn work ethic, balancing screenwriting with comedy, and the motherly guest of honor at his taping.