SXSWORLD

SXSW's Comedy Program Primed for Quantum Leap in 2012 by Scott Schinder O story," notes Janeane Garofalo, who began attending SXSW as a music fan, and more recently has returned frequently to perform standup. "People in bands tend to be comedy fans, and a lot of comedians wish they were in bands. So it's a natural fi t." Although the SXSW Music Festival had previously hosted scattered standup perfor- mances, SXSW began embracing comedy in earnest in 2008, presenting a night of parallel stand-up showcases at the adjoining Sixth Street venues prominence of standup comedy. While ini- tially used as an occasional diversion that refl ected the natural affi nity between the worlds of alt-comedy and alt-rock, comedy has come into its own as an increasingly popular attraction during SXSW week, with many of America's foremost yucksters gracing the festival's stages. "Th e music/comedy connection is an old ne interesting development in the recent years of SXSW's ongoing evolution has been the increasing exposure for comics who don't get mainstream exposure. Th ere's a whole new generation of comics who are never on mainstream televi- sion, yet have enormous followings through their podcasts, or through Funny or Die or YouTube. I think that SXSW has been really good for a lot of the comics who have used those media to build audiences. It's a good opportunity for those comics to connect with their audiences, and to perform for new people who are likely to be receptive." Although one might expect that SXSW's bounty of stand-up performances, along with some thematically arranged shows and tap- ings of several popular comedy podcasts. Garofalo observes that SXSW off ers "a lot of Velveeta Room. Th ose shows proved so suc- cessful that they were expanded to two nights the following year and three in 2010. SXSW 2011 raised the stakes further by presenting six nights of comedy spread across the Film, Interactive and Music schedules. Along the way, SXSW has hosted an expan- Esther's Follies and the Above: Janeane Garofalo performing in 2009 Below: Eugene Mirman with Doug Benson in background at SXSW 2011 sive who's-who of the alt-comedy world's leading lights, including such rising stars, cult favorites and soon-to-be-household-names as Patton Oswalt, Aziz Ansari, Doug Benson, David Cross, Marc Maron, Paul F. Tompkins, Maria Bamford, Todd Barry, Hannibal Buress, Margaret Cho, Wyatt Cenac, Dave Foley, Donald Glover, Andy Kindler, Natasha Leggero, Morgan Murphy, Chelsea Peretti, Kevin Pollak, Brian Posehn, Kristen Schaal, Amy Schumer, Matt Walsh, Reggie Watts and many, many others. "It has really taken on a life of its own," says SXSW's Charlie Sotelo, who has booked SXSW's comedy showcases since the inau- gural 2008 shows. "Th e interest keeps growing every year, so we've kept up with that. Every year, we've built on the year before, and every year it's gone gangbusters. But I think that 2012 will be a quantum leap for comedy at SXSW." Indeed, SXSW 2012 will present no fewer than eight consecu- tive nights of comedy, once again taking over Esther's Follies for an ambitious slate of shows that will feature audience favorites, as well as some notable SXSW newcomers. Th e shows will incorporate the usual 32 SXSW ORLD / N OVEMBER 2011 comics, and I get to see tons of great bands. Austin is a pretty fun place even when it's not SXSW, so being in Austin during SXSW is pretty great." ■ SXSW 2012 Comedy runs from March 10–17. Stay tuned to sxsw.com for line-up announcements and showcase times. attentive and really fun," Mirman states. "Th ere are always thousands of things happening at the same time, so it's a real com- mitment for people to choose to sit down for several hours at a comedy show, rather than going to a bunch of rock clubs." "More and more, it seems like the younger people stay through the whole thing," Garofalo agrees. "Th at's been really encour- aging, because it kind of hurts your feelings when people get up and leave, even if they're leaving to go see My Morning Jacket." For Garofalo, much of the appeal of per- forming during SXSW is the opportunity to partake in SXSW's, and Austin's, other attrac- tions. "I'm a sucker for walking up Congress Street and stopping at every craft table and cupcake truck," she says. "And for seeing any off -the-beaten-path band that's playing in a yard or a parking lot." "Th e biggest reason to keep coming back is that it's super fun," agrees Mirman. "I get to see lots of friends who are musicians and excess of event options could easily distract audiences, Eugene Mirman, who has per- formed every year since 2008 and began attending several years before that, speaks highly of SXSW comedy crowds, a surpris- ingly high percentage of whom seem to arrive early and stay put through the mara- thon shows. "Th e crowds have been really great, really SAM SEIZART J DENNIS THOMAS

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