STAND UP TUESDAYS: Two for Tuesday! Nate Craig, Kristin Key

June 18th, 2013

Angie Frissore

Stand-Up Tuesdays is a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

This week, Angie puts a spotlight on Nate Craig’s and Kristin Key’s comedy careers. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

In celebration of the two-year anniversary of Stand Up Tuesdays, I’m proud to bring you a double dose of comedy delights in this, the first ever 2-for Tuesday. As summer kicks into high gear, you’ll want to be sure your devices are chock full of hilarity, and comedians Nate Craig and Kristin Key more than have you covered.

Los Angeles-based comedian Nate Craig has been featured on the Bob & Tom Radio show, and has written for NPRs A Prairie Home Companion, with Garrison Keillor. Aside from being the creator and executive producer of The Visitors Locker Room on Fearless Radio, his latest full length comedy album, “Infinity”, is a refreshingly honest offering of Craig’s creative and perfectly-timed material.

“If you can’t take your kid out in public without putting him on a leash first,” Craig muses, “it’s not time. You’ve got to build a split-rail fence and break that thing like a horse.”

Craig offers his views on the world around him as well as his own self and Wisconsin upbringing, providing his audience with an instant connection to the comedian as a person. He’s not just on stage cracking wise to garner laughs; he’s sharing a piece of himself that clearly shows that he doesn’t think he’s better than you.

“The last time I was home, we got into a ridiculous argument,” Craig states, referencing an interaction with his mother. “You ever get into an argument with one of your parents and realize that this person is batshit fucking crazy? And at the same time, you realize that you should have realized this a long time ago.”

Craig was a featured performer in last year’s HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival and was also featured at the 2007 DC Comedy Festival. Nate has also appeared on NBCs hit show, “Medium”, produced by Rene Echevarria, and taped for “Last Call with Carson Daly”. An established performer with national credentials, Nate is well on his way to becoming one of Americas top entertainers, and his new CD “Infinity” serves as a testament to his comedic prowess.

Let’s switch gears and focus on one of the funniest ladies coming up in comedy, Kristin Key, whose new CD “The Moral of the Story” (Uproar Entertainment) is just an absolute delight from start to finish. Key, who has appeared on “Last Comic Standing” and “The Improv”, breaks all sorts of boundaries with her no-holds-barred take on lady parts, vodka-soaked tampons, and having children.

“I just don’t think I could ever love something that did that to me,” Key states, after describing an advertisement she recently saw for vaginal mesh implants. “It’s hard not to blame your child for the rest of your life, you know – they just turned your area…you know those old cars, how the inside roof is just sagging? With like cigarette burns in it?”

It’s not often that a female comedian is able to broach topics that their male counterparts can joke about with ease – like their own assholes or selling their personal parts for money – but Key effortlessly glides from talking about her nephew confusing her for a man to wishing she had the nerve to actually try putting a vodka-soaked tampon inside of her own body in such a way that nothing she says seems quite as, well, colorful as it actually is. Yes, Kristin Key can dish out fart jokes in a way that I’ve never seen any male comic do thus far.

Towards the end of Key’s performance, she picks up her guitar and belts out a few hilarious Texas-style songs ranging from her love of a sandwich to the crap which is reality television. Key has the perfect recipe for incorporating funny songs into her act – save them for the end, rather than try to interject them throughout her set. It’s a refreshing and highly entertaining way to round out an exceptional recording.

Key’s comedic timing and ability to recall jokes from earlier in her set is incredible as she floats seamlessly through her set. There are no awkward pauses or comments from the audience to throw Key off – instead, Key delivers a solid hour of absolutely brilliant comedy.

Between Nate Craig’s wholly enjoyable release, “Infinity”, and Kristin Key’s “The Moral of the Story”, you won’t need to look very far to get some intense, ab-toning laughs into your life. Both recordings serve as a testament to what a good comedy show should be – and both should be in your grubby little paws as soon as possible. You can pick up Nate Craig’s “Infinity” on iTunes right now, and while you’re there, grab your copy of Kristin Key’s “The Moral of the Story” as well. Do it – you’ll thank me later.