Club Deluxe's long-running comedy night has been going through some changes of late. About two years ago, the show went from weekly to monthly—it's now held every third Monday. Then, last fall, Kate Willett, who previously produced the show, moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy, after spending most of last year opening for Margaret Cho.
With Willett's departure, the show is now being co-produced by comedians Jane Harrison and Josef Anolin. We checked in with Harrison to learn more about the show, and what we can expect at tonight's event.
Harrison's been doing comedy in the Bay since 2013, first producing the comedy show "Misery Index" at the Mission's Rite Spot Cafe, and then stepping in to produce the Club Deluxe show last year, after Willett asked her to take over. She's also a five-time Dirty Haiku Champion at Tourettes Without Regrets, and recently appeared on an episode of Viceland's Flophouse, which you can watch here.
Photo: via Jane Harrison
What's it been like running the show so far? "I freaking adore other people giving me their shows when they move, because they've had to do all the ground work and convince a bar to let them do a show and build an audience and then I just show up and follow their advice and get a free drink and slowly destroy the show," Harrison told us in an email.
"[Club Deluxe] really is one of my favorite bars in the city. The bartenders are rad, the customers/audience skew sophisticated and attentive, and the vibe is completely unmatched. Also, it just looks so fucking cool. It's so old-fashioned I could imagine my grandmother getting knocked up in the bathroom."
Tonight, Harrison promises a killer lineup. Lydia Popovich is headlining, along with Irene Tu, Andrew Orolfo, David Nguyen, and Imran G-i. Willett, visiting from L.A., will make an appearance as well.
"[Audiences] love [Popovich] from the start of her set just because she's so magnanimous and arresting, but if there is a sleepy crowd, she will make them wake the fuck up," Harrison said. "It's a gift."
And everyone else? "I could tell you how much I adore everyone else we've got, but then you'd have a book called 'Comedians I Love/Am In Love With' by Jane Harrison, and it would be 6,000 pages long and very boring."
We also asked Harrison about her thoughts on Bay Area comedy at present. Here's what she had to say:"My takeaway would be to come see live comedy in the city because people are slipping away to L.A. every day, and you could see them now for free when they're gonna be charging $80 in five years.
Even more than that, even bigger than the "I saw them when they weren't famous" pitch, is that there are thousands of comics who have something interesting to say for five minutes, who haven't been put through the wringer to get on TV. They have just as much value. Come out, get a drink, laugh your ass off and support some people who just wanna make you happy."
