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All in
good fun
By Mike Fisch
First Annual Comedy Jam
Featuring Rich Hall, Mike Binder, Judy
Tenuta, and Dave Coulier
Michigan Theatre
Two shows tonight: 8 and 10 p.m.
$10.50
of study
fun I m
many t
how to r
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for exan
Even
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missing
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Jam is
Theatre
learn th
but they
energy
up com
. That routine can be a lot of
ust attest. You can also learn
hings over such a weekend;
oll a quarter off your nose, on-
I surface, into a glass of beer
mple.
so, people stuck in the party-
tudy rut are missing out on
ng more electric than beer
g games. These people are
comedy.
Arbor's first Annual Comedy
tonight at the Michigan
e. Those who attend will not
e nuances of playing quarters,
y will be part of the wonderful
that flows from a good stand-
ic to his audience and vice
This energy cannot be sold in a
poured from a pitcher, or
from a keg, and you can't
re when it runs out.
fills the stand-up comedy
show with electricity is the potential
for failure. That chance that the
positive energy will run out, that the
comedian will not be able to save his
act gracefully when he senses the
crowd's strained laughter. For the
four comics performing in tonight's
show an energy shortage seems an
impossibility.
. After interviewing Mike Binder,
creator of and performer in the Ann
Arbor Comedy Jam, I walked with
him along State Street. We noticed
fliers for the Comedy Jam resting on
all of the car windows we passed.
"My little brother (age 22) is doing
this," Binder shouted. "He's passing
these out - I know he is. That little
shit means business." He stopped to
ask strangers if they had seen the guy
passing out the fliers. Nobody had.
"You know, I should probably find
him and help him out. He really
means it this time (pointing to the
cars and the Comedy Jam-covered
kiosks).
We walked by a crowded Steve's Ice
Cream and the 27-year-old Binder
wondered why there was no poster on
the shop's window. I looked down at
the poster he had given me and
decided that I would donate it to the
worthy cause of selling out Binder's
show. Binder thanked me and took the
poster, but unfortunately no one in the
vicinity had any tape. "Hopefully my
brother will hit this place later," Bin-
der said as we walked on.
The same Mike Binder who has put
up many a flier for the Comedy Jam,
has also produced and performed in
one of the highest rated comedy
shows of the last year, The Detroit
Comedy Jam, which was an H.B.O.
comedy special. He is writing a movie
called Coupe De Ville for the Oscar
winning producers Rollins and Jaffe
(they produced many of Woody
Allen's films as well as the movie Ar-
thur). He has landed parts in many
situation comedy pilots, and perfor-
med on Saturday Night Live, and the
David Letterman Show.
Writer/actor/producer/comedian
Mike Binder does not have to put up
fliers for the- Comedy Jam.
Promoters can do that. He does it
because this show means a lot to him.
Last year the show was cancelled, but
this year Binder is even more deter-
mined that a full-scale stand-up
comedy show will work in Ann Arbor.
Said Binder, "I want it to work. If
people get behind the Comedy Jam
I'll put on a killer show here every year.
There have been times when I've
done interviews and just said 'Yes,
Uhuh,' but this show means too much
Seepage 9
M ANY STUDENTS at this versa. T
university get into a weekend bottle,1
routine in which Friday and Saturday drained
nights are reserved for partying, and buy mor
Sunday, by default, is the sacred day What
INSIDE-
Cover story
It might seem strange that week after week
now, the cover story has started above the in-
dex. This is not optimal. Facts are though, the
space above the index is intended for
publishing letters to Weekend. It would seem
that no one has anything important enough to
say. Oh, by the way, Mike Fisch looks into a
new facet of the Ann Arbor comedy
scene. The cover photo of Comedy Jam
performer/organizer Mike Binder was taken
by Daily photographer Andi Schreiber. See
above.
Local bands
With new vinyl in the stores and a New York
show scheduled on October 8th, Map of the
World is charting their course as Ann Arbor's
premiere new music band. Although band
members Khalid Hanifi and Sophia Hanifi were
sometimes misleading during the interview,
you'll get the picture. See page 3.
Books
High-profile star gazer Carl Sagan has again
hit the public eye with the publication of his fir-
st novel, entitled Contact. The public loved his
explanation of the universe, but can he predict
its future in absorbing fiction as well? See
page 4.
Theatre
Double feature: An interview with the am-
bitious new leader of the University's theatre
department and professional theatre program,
and a preview of the program's first produc-
tion. Read about a man and his theatre depar-
tment. See page 5.
Entertainments
This regular feature of Weekend magazine
proves there's more to Ann Arbor nightlife
than walking around smashingrbottles. And
let's not forget afternoon and morninglife. En-
tertainments is your guide to what's playing in
campus and first-run films, concerts of all kin-
ds, theatre, and dance. And for the day when
nothing quite looks good, check out the "Fur-
thermore" listings. See page 6.
Food for thought
Hunger abatement, like many primal con-
cerns, is a priority occupation of collegiate life.
While food as sophisticated entertainment is
often subverted by budgetary considerations,
it is essential to keep abreast of the diversity of
eats - to be prepared for any sudden or
calcualted mood shift - and fill the tank ac-
cordingly. See page 11.
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T AKE A LOOK at the photograph on the left: That's
entertainment. Now look at the photo at the right:
That's entertainment. Stand back predatory logicians,
entertainment is what entertains.
If you think about it, is screwball comedy any less
sacrosanct than Greek tragedy? Is one on a high altar
and the other merely candy for the mind? Or are they
both just mind food, a sacrifice to no one but oneself?
Isn't the idea of pulling the chair out from under
someone at least as old as the concept of the fall of
man? Do classical music and literature really have a
monopoly on universal, timeless expression? Was
Beethoven tapping anything more primeval than the
armpit fart?
It's questions like this that make this week's
magazine look ideal, or at least something both John
Candy and Rostropovich could sink their teeth into.
O.K., so maybe it's not quite ideal - there aren't any
reviews of movies or classical events this week - but
you get the idea. The magazine will be as diverse as it
can be every week; we're trying for one of everything,
and more of what everyone likes.
Oh, by the way, keep those letters piling in. We'll rent
another building if we have to.
Mail a piece of your mind to:
Weekend magazine
c/o The Michigan Daily
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
- - ._
,,,
Magazine Editor ........................Chris Lauer
List Editor............................ Joyce Welsh
Contributing Editor .................. Randall Stone
Cover/Graphics .................... Peter Williams
Business Manager ......
Sales Manager .........
Assistant Sales Manager
... Dawn Willacker
.Mary Anne Hogan
..........Yuna Lee
. .. .0.0 ..
The magazine is edited and managed by students on the staff of The
Michigan Daily at 420 Maynard, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. Copyright 1985,
The Michigan Daily. Weekend, (313) 763-0370; News, 764-0552; Circulation,
754-0558; Display Advertising, 764-0554.
2 Weekend/Friday. October 4. 1985
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