By Katie Potzick
According to their newest promotion, Comedy Caravan is “celebrating 22 years of laughter in Louisville.” The comedy club, located at 1250 Bardstown Rd., promises nights of jazz, jokes and magic, and has a packed schedule of performers and special events.
The outside of the club is not very impressive. This could be due to the fact that it is nestled next to a Subway in a strip mall on Bardstown Road. However, inside the club, the atmosphere is intimate, and all vestiges of the outside marketplace are forgotten.
The seating is first-come-first-serve, so it’s a good idea to get there 30 minutes, or even an hour, before a performance. The seating is in two sections: small tables close to the stage and tables behind a half wall in the back. The tables in front are sandwiched close together, creating little space to walk and a cramped seating area. These tables offer a personal view of the performance, but are not a good choice if you don’t want to be heckled or included in the jokes. Free popcorn is served in huge baskets on each table, so viewers can munch during the show. The Caravan also has a small menu that includes hot dogs, coffee, smoothies, cocktails and beer. Unlike most comedy clubs, the Caravan does not have a drink minimum, and you can enjoy the performance for just the cost of your ticket.
I went to see Jeff Jena, a little-known comedian, because I won free tickets from a radio station. Before the show started, clips from Saturday Night Live, Mad TV and Monty Python and the Holy Grail were played on a large screen behind the stage. These clips helped pass the time before the first act. Before the main comedian begins, there are usually two or three other comedians who perform. Before Jena, two men named Big John (a Comedy Caravan employee) and Ryan Springer (a local comedian) told jokes. Big John riffed on President Obama, Michael Jackson and the perils of getting older, and warmed up the crowd with all-inclusive feel good comedy. Ryan Springer was more edgy, and told complicated jokes with punch lines that took you by surprise. The crowd seemed shocked at some of Springer’s jokes, but I thought he was the funniest act of the night.
Jena relied mainly on crowd interaction, poking fun at marriages, older parents and not understanding technology. This worked because the audience was made up of mainly older couples, but I would have preferred comedy aimed more at my age group. Because we sat near the front, my group was heckled throughout the show. Although it was nice to feel like a part of the act, it made the show tense, because I never knew when we were going to be made the punch line. However, the whole show added up to two hours of almost non-stop laughter and a good night out. I recommend looking up the main comedian before you attend, to make sure you enjoy the kind of comedy being performed.
The ticket price is close to movie ticket prices, ranging from $8 to $15, but offers a nice alternative to the movies for a night out. Discount tickets are available online at comedycaravan.com.
