The Craig Robinson Show, Pittsburgh

Tallyhead Alexis files this report about Craig Robinson’s show in Pittsburgh this past Saturday.

All of the headliners were in town because they have been in Pittsburgh for the past few months filming the new Kevin Smith movie called “Zach and Miri Make a Porno.” In fact, my boyfriend and I actually saw Kevin Smith in our local grocery store a few weeks ago — surreal!

They just finished up shooting and threw this little shindig at the Improv as both a wrap party and a way to have some fun with the locals.

The Improv website said to arrive between 10:15-10:30, because the show started at 11. My boyfriend and I got there around 10:30 and got in line, thinking they would start letting people in soon.

WRONG. We stood outside in the FREEZING cold (probably in the teens with the wind chill) and snow for literally an hour. I have the windburn on my face to prove it. It was awful, and we were never told why we were kept waiting so long nor did we receive any sort of apology. By the time we got in and everyone got settled, the show started close to midnight.

The first comedian was a guy I had never heard of before, but he was pretty funny. He talked for about 10-15 minutes before introducing Craig.

He sang some songs with a live band (his brother was the band’s keytar player) and chatted with some audience members. He didn’t do any traditional “standup” and mostly sat behind the keyboard chatting and ordering drink after drink from the bar — haha.

After awhile, a funny actor/comedian named Ricky Mabe came out and did a short set before Kevin Smith took the stage and did about 15-20 minutes of standup. He told a funny/painful story about getting out of jury duty because he had anal fissures — the same condition that Kevin Malone suffers from.

After Kevin’s bit, he gave the stage back to Craig who played more music and chatted some more before introducing Seth Rogen. He did a funny skit that he wrote that actually required someone from the audience to participate.

After he finished, he turned the stage back to Craig, who was clearly the man of the evening. By this point, he was pretty intoxicated, and he kept singing a song asking women to “take their panties off” and he was even wearing a shirt that said “take yo panties off.” Haha.

He and the band jammed and chatted for a little while longer before the show ended around 2:30 in the morning, which technically was 3:30 in the morning after we sprung forward. Craig did not talk about “The Office” or the new Kevin Smith movie at all; it was clear that they were all just there to have a good time.

Overall, the show was fun. It’s definitely something that doesn’t happen often in little old Pittsburgh.

It was especially a treat for Kevin Smith fans because many of his regulars were also in attendance like Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson. Tracy Lords and Katie Morgan were there as well. The entire thing was filmed and they are planning on putting it on the “Zach and Miri” DVD, so eventually all of you will be able to see it as well. :)

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