By Peter Lindblad
Quality control was asleep at the switch last week, so please forgive the oversight.
Missing among the recommendations for last week was the delightfully raunchy and ridiculous Steph Tolev, who performed at the Skyline Comedy Club in Appleton last weekend.
Skilled at both sketch comedy and stand-up, having founded the “Kids in the Hall”- and “SCTV”-influenced duo Ladystache in her home country of Canada, Toronto’s Tolev tore it up on “Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill” on Netflix to make a name for herself. And Vulture named her a “Comedian You Should and Will Know.” Absolutely ludicrous, with a self-deprecating and audacious style onstage, Tolev appeared in the recent film “Drugstore June,” while acting alongside Burr, Bokeem Woodbine and Bobby Cannavale in “Old Dads.” Don’t miss her when she comes around again. But that’s all in the past. Let’s focus on the future. Here are our picks for this week’s shows:
Comedy on State – Madison
Kyle Kinane (March 28-30) – Kinane is returning to the scene of the crime. Comedy on State is where the gruff and crusty comic recorded his acclaimed comedy album “Trampoline in a Ditch,” so he’s intimately familiar with the Madison club. Plus, he’s originally from Addison, Illinois, also home to boxer Leon Spinks. Kinane has all his teeth, he’s insightful, and he’s a fellow Midwesterner, with a blue-collar background and the “Boogie Monster” podcast he cohosts with Dave Stone. An inebriated Kinane hilariously recounted the story of the “Haymarket affair” on Comedy Central’s “Drunk History,” while somehow managing to articulate the significance of one of the most important events in U.S. labor history. Go get his new album Dirt Nap, and get all your Kyle Kinane info here: https://kylekinane.com/
Skyline Comedy Club – Appleton
Jordan Jensen (March 28-30) – And you think you have a weird family? Wait until Jensen tells you about hers, which made for an interesting childhood, to say the least. The first female comic to win “New York’s Funniest Stand Up” at the New York Comedy Festival in 2021, Jensen is unapologetically open and revealing about her life, which led to being featured as a “New Face” at the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Jensen is a regular at the Comedy Cellar, and she’s been on Sirius XM. Get you some Jordan Jensen here: https://www.jordanjensencomedy.com/
Milwaukee Improv – Brookfield
Yamaneika Saunders (March 29-30) – A force of nature, the vibrant, dynamic Saunders is here to slay, with an unusual outlook on everyday living, funny stories for days, and improvisational fire. A writer, actor, and stand-up comedian, Saunders has written for Amy Schumer and “That Damn Michael Che.” She destroyed at the Just For Laughs Festival, with a half-hour Comedy Central special and a special for Netflix’s “The Degenerates” to her credit. Catch her on the second season of “Flatbush Misdemeanors.” Check her out on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/yamaneika/?hl=en