1-27 Laugh Riot Vol 1, Punk Standup Comedy, Jesse Irvin, Gab Bonesso, Sam Zayvan, Pittsburgh @Mr. Roboto Project

We went to this show with minimal expectations. A $5 comedy show is great value, but how many laughs you get is questionable. In a dry venue at that. But when we left we were all really happy and it was a good time. I wouldn't call it punk comedy, but maybe a little bit.

Sam Zayvan - This dude was seriously funny. We were all crying. By far the most funny of the night. He's from Afghanistan and Atlanta. He didn't have much of an accent so I assume he was mostly raised in the US. His jokes were a little bit lewd, which is completely fine by me. His one joke about being proud that his girlfriend banged John Mayer was gold. We died.

Jesse Irvin - I liked this dude too. He had funny jokes about being in his 30s and bald and cats. We laughed and had a good time.

Gab Bonesso - She's a Pittsburgh comedian. Energy through the roof. Her tagline was something like 'but I'm the crazy one.' It didn't do it for me. She had some really funny and smart jokes though. She was the best entertainer of the night because of her energy. Good set. She made some joke about my hat because I was the only person wearing a cap backwards unfortunately. She also told everyone she thinks I have a huge penis though my go-to move shouldn't be just whipping it out. Side thought: was that my #metoo moment? Nope, she can tell everyone that whenever she wants.

Hi's - price, laughs, venue
Low's - driving in the murky rain, sober venue.

They said starting in March this will be a monthly thing. They should have some of these at the Shop or somewhere you could get boozed up.

1-23 Flobots, McLovins, The Slims, Remy Vega & Brittney Chantele, Pittsburgh @Rex Theater

I've been out of the game of writing about the shows I've gone to. Since Skull Fest I just got behind and didn't try too hard to catch up. But it's a new year and this is the first show of the new year for me so I'm back on the train. Boom.

Remy Vega and Brittney Chantele - They were really good. Two separate artists who have collaborated on music recently. Vega is a DJ and producer and rapper, Chantele is a singer rapper mix pretty much. They were really good. Vega did some freestyling taking words yelled from the crowd. That was especially good. Chantele's songs were real chill, and socially aware. I enjoyed the set.

The Slims - This started out strong, ended weak as can be. First there were three dudes on stage. One guy playing bass, one rapper, and one dude with a guitar and some sort of effects table slash keyboard thing. The first song was good with all three dudes. Chill garage rock rap low key king of vibe. Then the bass player left stage. I guess he was just a friend and they were playing their shit together. Then the rapper and guitar dude did a few songs. These were good too. Not as good as the first jam though. Then the rapper left the stage. It went way downhill from here. Turned into shitty guitar rock songs dedicated to dude's mother and girlfriend and shit. Good thing the hockey game was on in the next room.

McLovins - Just awful. They're a soft rock band. They didn't make any sense on the show. Did they win a battle of the bands or something? Wasn't into that at all. Again, hockey game and beer.

Flobots - Killer show. Both rappers have really nice and different voices. The old songs are good, the new ones are good. Killed it. The lady playing the fiddle is really what makes their live show. She's really good and very entertaining. I hate the one new song though, Quarantine. It's like they turn into some shit stadium rock band for the chorus. Either way, they were very very good. I should have seen them by now, really.

Hi's - Flobots, Vega and Chantele, the Rex
Low's - Who put together this lineup? Pittsburgh surely has better rap and rock options for such a show.