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Margaret goes ‘psyCHO’ on new tour

Stand-up legend and LGBT ally to play D.C. Oct. 9

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Margaret Cho, gay news, Washington Blade
Margaret Cho, gay news, Washington Blade

Margaret Cho says she’s ‘thrilled’ a portion of the proceeds from her D.C. show will go to Brother Help Thyself. (Photo by Mary Taylor)

Margaret Cho

 

 

The psyCHO Tour

 

 

Friday, Oct. 9

 

 

Warner Theatre

 

 

513 13th St., N.W.

 

 

$27.50-57.50

 

 

concerts.livenation.com

 

 

margaretcho.com

 

Tickets are also available for $87.50 that are being offered as a benefit for Brother Help Thyself. They include a meet-and-greet and photo with Cho. Details at brotherhelpthyself.net.

 

Margaret Cho is her usual busy self.

She’s prepping a new album of music, her second, for a late 2015 release. She earned laughs for her critique of Miley Cyrus at the VMAs while guesting on a newly retooled “Fashion Police” on E! and opened up in a Billboard interview last week that she was sexually abused and raped repeatedly while growing up in San Francisco. She teased the new album by playing one of her songs called “I Want to Kill My Rapist.”

Cho, a long-time LGBT ally and activist, has offered a block of 100 tickets for the Oct. 9 D.C. date of her “psyCHO Tour” to Brother Help Thyself, which she says she is “thrilled” to do. A “Marry Me Margaret” contest is underway in which couples can enter a contest in each city. Cho will marry one set of winners at each stop on her tour.

In March, she previewed the tour with a performance at the Gramercy Theatre in New York that will premiere on Showtime on Sept. 25, just before the tour kicks off in Michigan on Oct. 1. We caught up with her by phone from her Los Angeles home.

 

WASHINGTON BLADE: How did the marriage contest come about? Is it only open to LGBT couples?

MARGARET CHO: I urge LGBT couples to come and be part of this. It’s something I was able to do at City Hall in 2006 when it was legal in San Francisco. I got deputized by Gavin Newsom to do it. It’s a great honor and now I’m able to do it everywhere.

 

BLADE: The contest rules say the entries may not be “profane, offensive, pornographic, defamatory or inappropriate as determined by sponsor.” Hello? In a Margaret Cho contest?

CHO: (laughs) I wanted the entries to be brief. If you had all those things, it could get really wordy and long, so I just want people to present a very brief entry about why they think I should marry them and then I’ll pick one couple from each city. I’m really excited about doing it. It’s a great way to celebrate the marriage equality decision by the Supreme Court so that’s a wonderful thing.

 

BLADE: Where were you when the decision came? How did you feel?

CHO: I was in San Francisco and it was the very beginning of gay Pride weekend and I had done an event that Thursday night. Then on Friday, I was going to leave and right before I was going I saw that and I was so moved. It’s just so moving and really rewarding to see that you can affect change. It takes a long time to make it happen. I’ve been working on marriage equality since 2004, so it’s been a while but it’s a real testament to everybody who got involved and spoke up and made it happen.

 

BLADE: Is the tour going to be pretty much the show you taped in New York or was that something different?

CHO: There will be some things the same and some things different. The show is really about current envenoms too and that shifts over time so it winds up being somewhat different each time it’s performed. That’s just part of the kind of work I do. It’s always very live and so there’s a lot of option for turnover.

 

BLADE: Will you be singing on the tour as well?

CHO: A little bit, yes. Maybe one or two songs.

 

BLADE: How did the taping go back in March?

CHO: It was great, really phenomenal. I love performing there and I always love doing these specials too. It’s been a while. I hadn’t done one for a couple of years, so it was really great to get back to it. I have a whole bunch of them now and it’s something I want to keep doing.

 

BLADE: Tell me about this painting made from your blood. What’s that about?

CHO: I have a friend who was on death row, Damien Echols and through the efforts of myself and many others, he was innocent and we got him exonerated. He introduced me to his friend Vincent Castiglia who is a painter who paints in human blood. He’d only painted in his own blood before, but I wanted a portrait of myself, so I gave him some of my blood. I thought it would be weird if he did a portrait of me in his blood, so this was the first time he’d ever worked with someone else’s blood. So I gave him this really small amount, not even a pint. Maybe half a pint and he made this beautiful painting and that’s on the drum head of my band setup. So it’s special and amazing and in my house right now. He did an incredible thing. It’s much in the style of Da Vinci or something. He’s actually a very classical painter but he uses blood instead of paint.

 

BLADE: You say the show is about the anger you feel associated with police brutality, violence against women and how insane those issues make you feel. How do you spin themes like that into something funny?

CHO: You have to really remember that you’re an entertainer. That’s the first thing. I definitely care about politics and I do talk about them but you always want to make sure you remember your purpose. I’m a comedian first, so that’s what I try to emphasize and that’s never far from what I’m doing.

 

BLADE: You’ve spoken of how saddened you were by the deaths of Robin Williams and Joan Rivers. How did you feel when they’d come see you perform?

CHO: I was always nervous, always freaked out. Robin was really there in the very beginning of my career. I knew him as a teenager and he would always come in and bump me so I’d have to go on after him and that’s really when I sort of learned how to be a comedian was from following him.

 

BLADE: How about Joan?

CHO: She would come in disguise. She had a subtle, kind of stealth way about her. I just adored her so much and when I would see her shows, you could never go see her before the show and she wouldn’t want to see you in the audience. It was always after the show because she would get too nervous if she knew you were there before. I don’t really know why, but she was always very nervous before a show.

 

BLADE: Do you greet people before or after yourself?

CHO: Either. I’m not as formal that way. If I have friends there, they can come back anytime.

 

BLADE: There’s always been a shock element to your show. Is it harder to shock people than it used to be?

CHO: It’s more about trying to be smart, not shocking so much. There has to be a reason why you bring something shocking up. There has to be a purpose to it. There’s nothing gratuitously shocking.

 

BLADE: You got divorced last year and have been through a lot in your personal life it sounds like. How are you doing?

CHO: I’m doing great.

 

BLADE: You seem like you’re always charging ahead on career stuff. Was that hard to keep going when you were going through personal stuff?

CHO: So much of my life is my work so that’s what I always have to look forward to. It’s a great social and fun thing for me. I really enjoy working and it’s just been so busy, I haven’t had time to worry too much about my personal life.

 

BLADE: Will we see you more on “Fashion Police”?

CHO: I’ll be back next week. I guess we’ll see. I would love to be a regular and I think it’s a good fit. It’s something I really enjoy doing. I love being there for Melissa (Rivers). It’s a great, fun show.

 

BLADE: How’s Melissa doing?

CHO: She’s doing great, really great. I think everybody’s really excited to be back and I love that.

 

BLADE: I know in general you like more outré stuff. What do you bring to the show that’s different?

CHO: I think I have a different perspective on fashion. I definitely favor something that’s more avant garde and edgier. Different designers, different kinds of looks. I think the oddball should be celebrated and the red carpet is a theater where people can really be dramatic or over the top. I look forward to encouraging that point of view.

 

BLADE: What do you do when you veg out?

CHO: Oh, I just smoke my own line of pot. I have my own line coming out that I’m really proud of. I got a lot of it for free so I have my own designer weed and Netflix. That’s all I need.

 

BLADE: What do you think of Kim Davis?

CHO: Oh gosh, I think she has an inflated sense of her office and what she’s supposed to do. She’s not making these decisions. The decision has been made and it’s legal for gay people to get married in this country. Her job is clerical. You can’t enforce your biases and prejudices in a government office.

 

BLADE: Tell us about your album and what else you have coming up.

CHO: I have some music videos that will be coming out in the next few months that my album will be out at either the end of this year or the beginning of next. I’m also doing some TV stuff with some shows that are just in the early stages of development but I’ll be doing some different things with writing and producing too.

 

BLADE: How is the album shaping up musically?

CHO: It’s comedic and fun, but it’s not just parody songs. I really want it to sound beautiful. I really enjoy music and singing and playing. It’s a wonderful expression. Sometimes I do a little in my shows but I’m still primarily a comedian.

 

BLADE: A bit like Sandra Bernhard?

CHO: Sure, yeah, although she’s much more of a singer than I am. I have more of a country sort of voice.

 

BLADE: There are a lot of issues you’re pissed off about and riff about in the show but overall are things getting better?

CHO: Absolutely. We are in a better place than we have ever been and it’s going to continue to get better. It’s wonderful. We’re teaching the world about how to treat human beings. We’re teaching humanity through our humanity.

Margaret Cho, gay news, Washington Blade

Margaret Cho hopes her new music album will be out by year’s end. (Photo by Austin Young)

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Sampson returns to D.C. in the spirit of truth and laughter

Entertainer featured at DC Comedy Loft

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Sampson returns to D.C. later this month for a string of comedy shows. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Sampson McCormick, a native of Southeast D.C. and comedy veteran of more than two decades returns home for a run of performances intended to uplift and inspire laughter.

In addition to the end of summer dates, Sampson is also promoting two film projects, “Love The One You’re With,” a dramatic comedy that follows a Black gay couple in the throes of relationship challenges (written and produced by McCormick) streaming on Amazon Prime; and “All The Men I Met But Never Dated ” (written by Muneeb Hassan and produced by McCormick) a short about a Pakistani man who faces the painful conflict of living in the closet in order to avoid the turmoil that living out loud in his culture would bring. 

McCormick brings the laughs to the DC Comedy Loft for five shows, Aug 29-31 with special guest and regional favorite RayDiva. For tickets, visit dccomedyloft.com.

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Paula Poundstone on comedy, COVID, and worm farming

Beloved comic performs at Birchmere this weekend

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Paula Poundstone returns to the Birchmere this weekend. (Photo courtesy Poundstone)

Comedy legend Paula Poundstone is appearing in Alexandria, Va., on Nov. 11 and 12, no matter what wrenches are thrown into her travel plans. 

Set to arrive in Dayton, Ohio last weekend, Poundstone was stuck in a situation eerily similar to the plot of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” After being stuck on a flight from Rochester, N.Y. to Washington, D.C. and missing her connection to Dayton, Poundstone and her promoter flew into Cincinnati with a mother-son duo stuck in a similar situation. The quartet ended up driving to Dayton together while Paula completed a telephone interview with the Washington Blade, making it to Dayton just in time for her 7:30 show. 

Despite her travel troubles, Poundstone was more than happy to discuss her upcoming show in Virginia. The Birchmere Music Hall, the venue for her performance, holds a special place in Poundstone’s heart. 

“The Birchmere was the first job I did after Trump was elected, and I will never forget that experience, I hope, because it was so healing to be with this group of people and to feel free to say what I thought and felt in as comedic a way as I could,” said Poundstone. While she hopes that a healing energy isn’t needed for this show, Poundstone is ready to deliver a fresh and funny show for her fans. 

Her comedy routine has been evolving for 42 years, and despite her recent memory issues, Poundstone finds a way to create a unique experience for each audience, leaving the piece nearly entirely unscripted. She discusses the usual hits, like current events and raising her (now “not fun at all”) children, but also likes to rely on good audience interaction. 

“My favorite part of the night is just talking to the audience.”

Before COVID cancelled her meet and greets, Poundstone had a set of fans attend three shows in a row and come to her after the last one singing praises for both her overall performance and her ability to deliver a constant rotation of fresh content. 

While Paula loves her job, touring leaves her with little to no free time. “All I care about all day long is, you know, finding a wall I can lean on to sleep,” leaving little time for her pre-show routine of MSNBC and writing for her hit podcast, “Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.” 

Aside from her regular performances and podcasts, Poundstone has a unique hobby to help her pass the time. She interviewed a vermicomposter on her podcast not too long ago who introduced her to the world of worm farming. 

After volunteering at her local food bank during the stay at home order, Poundstone saw the amount of food waste being produced and decided to bring home the 20-gallon barrel to open her very own worm farm. She sells the waste created by her worms for $4 a pound, or if you are looking for a personal experience, you can pay $30 for a pound of worm waste, a video of the farming process, and Poundstone will name one of her worms after you.

The worm farm is far from Poundstone’s final goal in life. Since COVID interrupted everyone’s lives, she realized how lucky she is to be in this profession. “People come up to me and tell me how important it is, you know, people say ‘Oh I haven’t laughed that hard in I don’t know when’ you know, and we got a lot of laugh about.” While the tour is still moving along, Poundstone urges fans to attend the performance as masked and as vaccinated as possible, so we don’t get stuck in another new wave. 

Even if worms aren’t your cup of tea, you will have a great time at Paula Poundstone’s tour, this Friday and Saturday at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria. Tickets and additional information can be found at paulapoundstone.com/tour.

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Peace Corps group to host comedy show

Hilarious lineup at Kramers of some of the funniest comedians

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Grassroots Comedy will partner with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C. to host “Super Spectacular Comedy Show for Cultural Understanding” on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Kramers (1517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.).

The event will have a hilarious lineup of some of the funniest comedians in the region with a thing or two to say about cultural understanding.

Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

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