Riff City headlined by one of the greats! 

Despite the looming arctic freeze that set in this week, or perhaps because of it, comedy fans from around the city descended on Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick last Friday where Connor O’Malley headlined Riff City, the monthly show hosted at the Grattan Street Bar. 

The live stand-up showcase hosted by Alex Boswell and Jenna Sherriton is one of many comedy events hosted at Pine Box Rock Shop and around Bushwick, centering the neighborhood in Brooklyn’s own stand-up comedy boom. 

“Conner is everyone’s favorite comedian and it was a dream to have him on our show. His comedy represents what we are trying to emulate at Riff City!” Boswell shared with us in a follow up message after the show.

Boswell and Sherriton played double duty as hosts and stand-ups kicking off the “Wicked Riff of the West” themed show with Jenna searching the crowd for Alex, only to have Alex emerge in full Elphaba green face makeup and witch hat to deliver a half-hearted rendition of Defying Gravity using the mic stand as a broom. The duo continued to warm up the crowd by asking audience members if they thought they were an “Elphaba” or a “Glinda,” only to conclude that each of them were actually a “Boq.” 

Throughout the night Boswell and Sherriton introduced many of the comedians as their good or dear friends, and they held that chemistry with each of the performers, creating an inclusive atmosphere that made the show feel like an extension of a close-knit comedy community. Which I think is becoming a hallmark of Bushwick stand-up. Their material was undeniable, and each of their individual sets stood out as highlights of the show.

Along with O’Malley, the show featured six other comedians from around the city including Bobby Condon, Molly Zalman, and a breakout routine from comedian and filmmaker Whitley Watson whose cool demeanor and sharp material was disarmingly inviting, like the highlight of a night out would be talking shit with her in the corner of the bar. She had a joke about her boyfriend not being into BDSM that has already entered the lexicon between me and my friends, and another about the new prison workout craze on the Lower East Side, CONBODY, that dares you not to think of it every time you get off the M at Delancey. Whitley will be releasing a new special coming out at the end of February/early March. 

Another stand-out set was by North Brooklyn comedy darling Ryan Ciecwisz, who hosts his own weekly open mic on Wednesdays at Alligator Lounge. Ciecwisz has truly come into his own as a writer and performer and his set at Riff City had points where his writing was so precise and detailed that you thought he had to be coming up with it on the spot. His loud, expressive and boyish delivery is like if John Mulaney grew up listening to John Mulaney. It allows him to be cheeky without being crass and so he can talk about video editing porn and creating Italian Hentai (Hentalian) without it ever feeling vulgar. 

Conner O’Malley closed out the show, delivering a set that was the kind of funny that struck you dumb, unable to make a noise other than perhaps an earnest “that was so funny.”  If you have a chance to see him live, you simply must. Bring your friends, bring your lovers, bring friends and lovers that you’re on the fence about and if they don’t laugh cut them out. 

“I really like it in here, thanks for having me,” O’Malley opened, commenting on the natural wood-paneled venue at the back of Pine Box Rock Shop. “It’s got a real 2013 Buzzfeed vibe. Respect.” 

O’Malley held the audience in an orchestrated tension between the completely absurd and unbelievably stupid. A workout routine he picked up from the Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama podcast “Renegades,” him and his wife being banned from PornHub, and a quick riff on an audience member wearing a Desert Storm shirt. 

“Does your shirt say Desert Storm?” he leaned back on the mic stand waited a beat and said, “and you think that’s fucking funny?” a credit to his ability to hold a room that this brought the crowd to a roar. “116 soldiers died, 109 from accidents before the war started died, and you think that’s funny?” And we did. 

As the crowd shuffled back into the bar and the laughter faded into conversation, O’Malley’s set felt like a mark of recognition for the budding comedy scene in Bushwick.Follow Riff City to catch their next show at Pine Box Rock Shop and check out our calendar for the best upcoming comedy shows in North Brooklyn!