Milwaukee one of only six cities on 'MirmanSchaalHodgman' stand-up tour

Source: Milwaukee Journal SentinelOct.mini storage 16--Alternative comedy fans will have a feast waiting for them Friday at the Pabst Theater, when Eugene Mirman, John Hodgman and Kristen Schaal -- all three top names in the quirky, witty, oft-surreal and always unorthodox comedy subgenre -- pair up for the Milwaukee stop of the "MirmanSchaalHodgman Sandwich To Go" stand-up tour.Their careers have frequently overlapped. Mirman, 39, and Schaal, 35, had recurring roles on the HBO cult comedy series "Flight of the Conchords" from 2007 to 2009. They currently co-star on "Bob's Burgers," playing the roles of child siblings Louise and Gene Belcher on the Fox animated series.Meanwhile, Schaal and Hodgman, 42, are also recurring correspondents on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." And Hodgman -- also known for authoring the absurdist and intentionally ill-informed "Complete World Knowledge" book trilogy and playing the subpar PC in Macintosh commercials -- endorses Mirman on his website as "one of the most consistently disarming, low-voiced and funny people I have ever encountered...who likes to drink scotch and stand near you at bars.""MirmanSchaalHodgman" marks the first time all three comedians are touring together. Milwaukee is one of only six cities they're hitting on the tour.The three comedians recently got on the phone together to talk Milwaukee, sandwiches and why their show at the Pabst will transform lives (but not really). Below is an edited, condensed transcription of the interview.Q. How did this tour come about? Why are you three in particular joining forces?Eugene Mirman: Because we all know each other. And we couldn't get Steven Tyler to join us.Kristen Schaal: This really is a dream come true.John Hodgman: I actually dreamed about it last night. We were a complete triumph.Schaal: Oh, nice!Hodgman: And my dreams tend to be prophetic, so I think it's going to work out.Q. So you guys are playing just six dates. Why only six shows?Hodgman: Six dates is pretty arbitrary. I would do seven. I would do eight. I would do nine. The reason we can only do six dates is Eugene and Kristen are both very talented and in-demand performers. I'm very lazy. The fact that we're getting together is as much for our own amusement as anybody else's, because we like each other and have known each other for so long.Schaal: And I feel like six is a number where it will still be exciting for us. If we were doing 20, I can guarantee by show 15 we are going to be burned out.Mirman: Basically, we're just doing a test run and hopefully in the future we'll do 45 dates.Hodgman: And the last one will be comedy polished to an emerald shine.Q. With so many cities to choose from, how did Milwaukee end up on this tour?Mirman: You're not going to like it. The reason is I think that's just how routing worked out.Hodgman: This is how you pander to the local press?Mirman: Well, we knew we were going to do Chicago. We knew we were going to be in the Midwest. Kristen and I have done shows there, and Milwaukee is a favorite. I like to go to the Public Market. I go there and touch all the raw meat.Hodgman: I played Turner Hall in Milwaukee, and I had the finest time, I have to say. I also stayed at a hotel called the Iron Horse Hotel, the hotel about motorcycles. It was the best.Schaal: We went to that spy bar (the Safe House) and I got a spy mug, and we use it every day for our coffee! Every day!Mirman: So the answer is, routing brought us to one of our favorite cities.Hodgman: Hey, let's not cal迷你倉 it routing; let's call it fate. The fact is these guys have been touring comedians forever, whereas I only started doing one-man shows last year. And what I've discovered is the few times I've been through the Midwest -- particularly the "M" cities of the Midwest like Milwaukee and Madison and Minneapolis...Mirman: And MmmmmChicago.Hodgman: And MmmmmChicago, they have a very special comedy audience. Because they're really smart, but also the people of the Midwest are there to listen to you. Unlike the people of my home state of Massachusetts, who come to a show in order to try and destroy you and make you cry, the people of the Midwest sit quietly and listen to what you have to say.Q. So what will you have to say? What will people learn from you?Mirman: We'll go through the entire scientific evolution of the universe. They'll learn what it's like to fall in love and lose everything you have. They'll learn that suicide is never an option.Hodgman: They'll learn what happiness feels like in their brains, in their hearts, in their midcalves.Schaal: You'll learn how to do your taxes.Hodgman: They'll learn a thing or two about themselves as well. We'll take a psychic reading of them.Hodgman: They're going to learn that contrary to popular belief, cat singing is the best kind of singing.Q. Where did the title of this show -- "MirmanHodgmanSchaal Sandwich To Go Tour" -- come from?Hodgman: A lot of people have been asking us that because it sounds like a Shakespeare quote or a line from "As I Lay Dying." But these are words that we put together ourselves. And in this communal sandwich, we're all the meat and all the bread. And you can have us and add a cup of soup for only $10.95. I'm curious man, I love sandwiches a lot. I want to know where I've got to go in Milwaukee.Q. Well, my favorite is an open-face meatloaf sandwich at the Comet Cafe.Schaal: Where? The Vomit Cafe?Q. No, no, Comet with a C.Schaal: Oh.Hodgman: (Hops on the Comet Cafe website). Winner of the Shepherd Express' Best of Milwaukee Best Hangover Breakfast!Q. Kristen, who do you think is going to be the funniest person at the show? And who is going to bomb?Schaal: The funniest person is the person who is going to be in all of our hearts that night, and that's Jesus. And I think Satan is going to bomb.Hodgman: My understanding is that we weren't going to decide that until the night of the show. We were going to roll a three-sided die to see which one of us will be the funniest and the other two will tank it.Q. Anything else that we need to know about the show?Mirman: Leave your kids at home.... People should have open minds, because what they're going to see is going to transform their lives. And if you want to put an asterisk that says that I'm kidding, that'd be good. I don't want people to come and actually think I'm going to transform their lives. I don't want to take on that responsibility.Q. Anything else, guys?Mirman: Milwaukee continues to be the bastion of freedom in the Midwest.Hodgman: Yeah, don't give in guys. Don't give in to tyranny.Mirman: And congrats on transforming your city and making it super fun.Facebook: fb.me/piet.levy.18Twitter: twitter.com/pietlevyIF YOU GOWho: Eugene Mirman, John Hodgman and Kristen SchaalWhen: 8 p.m. FridayWhere: Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St.Tickets: $32.50 at the box office, (414) 286-3663 and pabsttheater.org.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at .jsonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉