One-Two Punch

A few weeks ago, I had my first experience at The Punchline. I don’t know what took me so long, but in my 4.5 years in Atlanta, I had never been and I LOVE stand up comedy. Always have. When my friends were watching cartoons, I was watching Rosie O’Donnell’s “Stand Up Spotlight.” True story.

Aaaaaaaanyway. I can’t believe I had never been to the Punchline before, it’s a total Atlanta experience as far as I’m concerned.

From the Punchline’s website:

Atlanta’s Number One, #1, Best, Top, Premier, Supreme, Numero Uno, Comedy Club since 1982 is The Punchline. With more than a million customers entertained, we’ve had more than 3,000 comedians perform at our club, which is more than any other comedy club presently or formerly in Atlanta can claim.

The reason we went was to see Craig Robinson, better known as Dunder Mifflin’s own Darryl (from The Office, duh.)

Witness:

He did his entire set on keyboard and he was so funny I got a better ab workout laughing that evening than I did at Boot Camp that morning. Fact. And I’ll tell you, the opening dude was even funnier, in my opinion. If someone could tell me his name, I would be so grateful. I wish I had written it down because he. was. hilarious.

But perhaps the BEST PART of the evening was afterward when we went to grab a drink at Café 290, the neighboring Jazz club.

If you’re not familiar with Café 290, it’s an Atlanta institution – open 7 days a week from 6pm to 2am. Apparently, from time to time, the celebrity comics performing at the Punchline will make the trek across the parking lot to make cameo appearances. While Darryl did not come hang out with us, we were THOROUGHLY entertained all night by Café 290’s very own “Tommy o’ Box.”

Listen, I am asking… no, I’m begging…no, I’m DEMANDING that you go to Café 290 and ask Tommy (the bartender in the sports bar area) for “Tickets to the Sky Box.” I am certain that I do not understand what transpired once we did so, but what I do know is this:

We were handed a wheel featuring a zillion different phrases scrawled around the dial:

We spun the dial and it landed on our phrase:

Tommy then proceeded to rattle through one of the adult nursery-rhymes he apparently wrote and memorized specifically for each phrase.

THEN…he put the “Sky Box” on his head……popped open the door, like some super freaky Jack-in-the-Box, and finished the rhyme.

At it’s conclusion, Tommy informed us we had been “Boxed by Tommy o’ Box.“

I can’t decide if it goes into the Top 5 Most Awesome Things of All Time or Top 5 Weirdest Things of All Time. Or both.

In any event, I suggest you check it out.

Told you so…

xx, L

PS Oh, and Eric was there too.

The Punchline
www.punchline.com
280 Hilderbrand Dr NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 252-5233

Cafe 290
www.cafe290atlanta.com
290 Hilderbrand Dr NE
Atlanta, GA 30328-3900
(404) 256-3942