Two acts balance laughs with lots of flying stuff
Most comedy shows don't involve flying knives or flaming lawn chairs. But those props are the stock in trade of the Airborne Comedians and Fly by Night Dangerous Comedy, two acts on today's First Night bill. Both are comedy duos that trace their juggling and jokes back to vaudeville and street performing, but each takes the tradition in a different direction.
Dan Foley and Joel Harris of the Airborne Comedians, who play three shows at Hynes Convention Center Hall D this afternoon, are a veteran family-oriented act. They come off like the Smothers Brothers without a straight man, often juggling chairs and musical equipment while Foley plays guitar and parodies pop music. Since moving objects are not funny in and of themselves, Foley and Harris realized early on that they needed a comedic element to complete their act.
"We found we were better received and got bigger audiences and more money when we made the act into more of a comedy thing, which was character-driven," Foley says.
The Airborne Comedians take their inspiration from classic slapstick artists such as Charlie Chaplin and modern clowns such as Bill Irwin. Fly by Night looks more to old-time sideshow acts and maverick magicians such as Penn & Teller.
"We kind of consider ourselves more of a new age vaudeville -- classic vaudeville mixed with contemporary humor," says Stephen King (not to be confused with the author and Red Sox fan). King and partner Ryan Dekoe run their own entertainment company in Holyoke featuring fire eaters, belly dancers, hypnotists, and even lumberjacks, and those performers influence the duo's act.
"Because we're involved in this type of entertainment, we meet a lot of eclectic people along our journey, and they tend to show us things here and there that are interesting, and we kind of incorporate them into the show," says King.
Tonight's early evening shows at the City Place/Transportation Building will be toned down a bit from Fly by Night's usual college act, but you can expect to see some of the sideshow elements, possibly including a stunt in which Dekoe staples a dollar bill to his forehead.
"We do some juggling, whip cracking, we walk on broken glass," says King.
Traditionally, stand-up comedians take a dim view of jugglers and guitar-playing comics, and the Airborne's Foley has been both. Theirs is not a nightclub act (Foley points out that the lack of space alone would kill it), and some comics feel that any prop other than a microphone and maybe a stool is a crutch for the unfunny. Foley is aware of the prejudice but takes it in stride.
"I would say we are a couple of rungs below the magicians, but easily a rung above the mimes," he deadpans.
The Airborne Comedians perform at Hynes Convention Center Hall D, 900 Boylston St., today at 1:15, 3, and 4:30. Fly by Night Dangerous Comedy will be at City Place/Transportation Building, 115 Stuart St., tonight at 6 and 7:30. Admittance is free with a First Night button ($15). See FirstNight.org for details.
Ring in the laughs
Steve Sweeney plays an early 7 p.m. show at the Comedy Connection before moving on to Dick's Beantown Comedy Escape in Chelmsford at 10:30 p.m. . . . Dane Cook plays the 9:15 and 11:30 p.m. shows at the Connection. . . . The Comedy Studio hosts Steve Calechman, Myq Kaplan, Tommy Morello, Robby Road Steamer, and the Steamy Bohemians tonight at 8. . . . Jimmy Tingle plays the Off Broadway in Davis Square at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. . . . Mike McDonald and Paul Nardizzi play the Dedham Community Theatre at 8 and 10:15. . . . Patty Ross, Brian Kiley, Dave Rattigan, and Amy Tee play the Roma Restaurant in Haverhill at 7 p.m. . . . Larry Myles, Larry Lee Lewis, Matt Shirley, Ellen Moschetto, and Joe Espinosa play Legalities Restaurant in Beverly tonight at 9:30. . . . Tony V., Jimmy Dunn, and Tissa Hami play First Night at Hynes Convention Center at 7:30 and 9:30. . . . ImprovBoston plays First Night at Hynes Convention Center at 7:30.
