Stand-up comedy and live music go together like milk and cookies, and if you switch off Kimmel and Conan, you can get the combo right down the street.
In recent months, the Upper Haight’s Milk Bar has begun hosting The Comedy Jam Night every Thursday night, with comedians and musicians from around the Bay Area and beyond coming together for a flavorful and booze-laced evening.
Originally started out this past January as your typical stand-up night under the name of “Monday, Monday, Monday!”, the show began incorporating a local jam band called Medicine Bug into the comedy sets in April, and the formula worked. The event name was changed and Milk Bar granted the collective the Thursday night slot in August, as the program was bringing in a fair amount of business for the club.
The typical show kicks off with a few words from MC and event mastermind Clay Newman. Then Medicine Bug provides backing for a rotating group of comedians, mostly out of the Affirmative Action Heroes collective. Started by EJ Allen, the Affirmative Action Heroes was originally brought together to form a sketch comedy group, a plan which came to a halt when, according to Newman, they realized that “none of us knew how to work a camera." The group adapted to become the “Comedians of Comedy”-style troupe that we know today.
During the show, each performer has five to seven minutes to make you laugh, while Medicine Bug maintains the atmosphere with a personalized soundtrack for each artist. Sometimes the band provides a steady background rhythm punctuated by a well-timed guitar twang or rimshot, sometimes comedians will riff off the beat for a line or two, and sometimes the real magic will happen: a comedian and the band will spontaneously figure out a song. (Check out this NSFW video for what the audience experience is like.)
Newman, a local comedian, came up with the plan accidentally after performing at 50 Mason Social House in between sets from some local bands in 2013. “It was a terrible show for a comedian,” he said. “People just thought I was a roadie that was talking too much.” But Medicine Bug happened to be playing that night, and saw the possibilities.
Newman joined with the band to try out a few comedy jams at Petaluma venues, then they landed a Monday night spot at Milk Bar to try out the San Francisco crowd. Word has been spreading ever since, with the jam getting promoted to Thursday nights and audiences growing accordingly.
Check Milk's Comedy Jam Night this and every Thursday night at 8pm, with no cover before 10pm. If you can't wait that long, check out Milk's Tuesday night comedy lineup Milkin' It, which features another free night of comedy, this time hosted by comedian Jules Posner.
