Cho and Kids In The Hall, fun for the whole Gay family

Cho and Kids In The Hall, fun for the whole Gay family

by Richard Kennedy - SGN A&E Writer MARGARET CHO W/ LIAM SULLIVAN MAY 10 7 & 10 PM PARAMOUNT THEATRE $32.00-$42.00 KIDS IN THE HALL MAY 15, 8 PM WAMU THEATER $33.50-$39.50 Margaret Cho is one of the hardest working celebs out there. Between live performances and television appearances, she is constantly ruffling feathers somewhere. She will be joining the "True Colors Tour" again in Oklahoma City. After a successful go last year, this will hopefully lead to even more dates on that tour's roster. This fall, she is creating a new TV series on VH1 called The Cho Show. You can check out her blog at www.margaretcho.com where she tackles every political and social issue in today's news, offering her passion and humor to help spread the word against everything from the war in Iraq to puppy mills. A longtime activist for Gay rights, you can also find her fiery support for the National Day of Silence in the same blog. Her last live foray showed that she's not only a stand-up comedian, but truly a performance artist. With "The Sensuous Woman," she combined burlesque dancing in her presentation as she donned feathers and even a skintight lycra bodysuit while cavorting with another dancer in various sexual positions to "Me So Horny." Always cutting edge, she took this on the road with indie bands like The Dresden Dolls. With her new series, she promises more of the same. Expect up-and-coming artists and performers as well as her usual attack on the gender and sexual mores that rule our popular culture. In works is a real mother/daughter pageant that she is already looking to find contestants for. This one will truly be based on talent, interview and civic work, but not in a preachy manner & rather, the Cho way! I will never ever miss a Cho visit to Seattle. Just filling the theatre with fellow fans gives you a unique feeling that you are not alone in the world. Everyone there was an outcast in school and as adults, like Cho, we've embraced everything that made us unusual - coming together to celebrate her outrageousness - not to mention Cho really knows her shit when it comes to politics. She is a regular pundit on political talk shows and brings her research right into her work in the most irreverent way. Liam Sullivan, an up-and-coming comedian who has taken the internet by storm, opens that night. You've probably seen his work without even recognizing the name. He was the creator of the Kelly character who sang "Shoes" in what YouTube named one of the top ten videos of 2006. In the same vain as Dave Chapelle and Sasha Baron Cohen, Graham has created the Liam Show (www.liamshow.com), which he writes, produces, directs and stars in. He is constantly updating and changing his characters for his live performances and is a true original like Cho. Check out his videos online and you will see that he's not only hilarious, but bizarre and provocative as well. Catch one of two performances on Saturday night at either 7 or 10 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or at the Paramount box office if you want avoid service fees. It's hard to believe that hardcore Kids in the Hall fans have been watching these guys since they debuted on HBO back in 1989. After being discovered by Lorne Michaels, the five Canadian actors came together to create an innovative and groundbreaking comedy sketch show that garnered a huge cult following of both straight and Gay fans. In the '90s, they accumulated three Emmy nominations and numerous Gemini Award (Canadian Emmys) nominations and wins! After seeing many Gay caricatures in '80s spoofs, the irreverent wit the Kids brought was refreshing and hilarious. With the openly Gay and brilliantly funny Scott Thompson in the group, a comedy team was finally laughing with us, not at us. Thompson created Buddy Cole, the bitchiest queen with the sharpest tongue, judging everyone in sight and taking Gay stereotypes to the extreme. On the other side was his character "Butch," the moronic Queer that didn't care if a guy yelled "faggot" at him from a car, as long as he was hot! The biggest reason to catch KITH live is because they are completely outrageous. Television could never capture the energy of Scott Thompson. Even his interviews on shows like Conan O'Brien are totally shocking at points. When guesting with Hugh Hefner, Thompson brought on his own "bunnies," two middle-aged leather daddies with beer guts to back him up, then talked about his abusive love-hate relationship with his pit bull that actually made Conan speechless. This energy in front of a live audience is sure to get unpredictable moments with those who've followed them for years. As for these fans, they are a pretty savvy group of comedy lovers. We aren't talking about stand-up comedians; we are talking about performance artists who can be completely off-the-wall and even surreal with creations like "Chicken Lady" or "Cabbage Head." The crowd showing up at a Bjork concert is the same bunch of hipsters you'll see at WaMu Theater on Thursday. All the guys have been very successful upon leaving the group. Mark Foley had a long-running series with NewsRadio and a reoccurring role on Will and Grace. Bruce McCulloch has not only been acting, but writing and directing such films at Superstar and Dogpark. Scott Thompson has even brought Buddy Cole out of the martini bar and on the road for solo shows. It's the fans that keep bringing them together for the road shows though - everywhere they go, they fill theatres with adoring pursuers waiting to see the guys don dresses and bring back their favorite personality. Their MySpace page promises this tour will bring The Kathies, Headcrusher, the Sales Guys, Buddy Cole, and people you've never met before (but somehow recognize from your everyday life). Check them out at www.myspace.com/kithtour08 and go to www.kidsinthehall.com for a complete list of all their DVDs. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.

Emerald City Comicon not just for geeks anymore

by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid - SGN A&E Writer Emerald City Comicon May 10-11 Washington State Convention and Trade Center Years ago, when I trekked up to Vancouver, BC to interview Jay O'barr (The Crow), pretty much the only other folks there were of the 9-to-12-year-old boy and a few girls variety, and the same could pretty much be said for when I went to the Emerald City Comicon back in the bygone '90s. Now, with the popularity of such standards as Spider-Man, and one graphic novel comic-to-film, Sin City, just about everyone's jumping on the bandwagon to see what we comic geeks always knew to a fun way to escape boring reality. This year's Comicon will not only be bigger than the one I remember, but feature a stellar lineup of guests including not only fan favorite Gigi Edgley (who I interviewed the last time she was in town at a much earlier comicon), but new fan favorites Julie Benz (Dexter's girlfriend, and Darla from Angel and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer). There will of course be vendors selling mainstream titles from Marvel and DC and my own favorites from more edgy companies - those that aren't out of print like cool vampire series Sunglasses After Dark, and Vamps. Along with a costume contest and artist talent search, this year's comicon will also feature an auction for artist Josh Meders (Frank Frazetta's Swamp Thing), who has been suffering with cancer for the last several months. Tickets are available at the door on the days of the show and start at $30 for all three days, and are only $15 on Sunday.