Ten Comics Enter, One Comic—Actually, They’ll Probably All Live in the End

Now-monthly standup showdown pits regional comics against one another in good-natured joke-off

Local comedian and, as of not so long ago, comedy event producer Esther Coker tells SFR she’d describe the burgeoning comedy scene in the area as “booming,” and we’re inclined to agree. A million years ago, there was a comedy club here—then, in the dark times, we were lucky if we’d get a handful of standups in town per year. Now, though, with Coker and so many others leading the way (shoutout to stalwart troupe Wayward Comedy and the CloudTop Comedy Festival from earlier this month), you can get your jokes in on the reg all over.

The big thing currently residing on Coker’s plate would be her now-monthly event, Santa Fe’s Standup Comedy Contest, a gathering of the minds and mics that pits comics from in and around Santa Fe and Albuquerque against each other. The rules are simple: 10 comics enter and the audience picks their top three favorites, with cash prizes going to the winners.

“The others, of course, get trucker hats and merchandise and free drinks and fans and glory and an invisible puppy,” Coker tells SFR. “Plus they get the greatest thing of all: bragging rights until the next contest.”

Coker says the shows that have been going down on the Reunity Resources farm have been well-attended. Santa Feans are ready to laugh, it would seem.

“It’s a friendly competition, and I have to say that my ultimate goal, my one-to-five-year plan, is to have a yearly competition between Albuquerque and Santa Fe comics,” Coker tells SFR, adding that she’d like to transform her No Bull Comedy production company—and the contest itself—into nonprofit ventures. “It’s a great way to encourage standup comedians to involve their audience, and to learn how to craft better sets, write more and practice more in the hopes of better fostering better comedy.”

Cochiti Pueblo-based standup Korey Herrera hosts the whole shindig, and given that the warmer evenings are waning, it could be the last outdoor event for awhile. Coker says to stay tuned for future venue announcements. (Alex De Vore)

Santa Fe’s Standup Comedy Contest: 6 pm Thursday, Sept. 29. $5. Reunity Resources, 1829 San Ysidro Crossing, (505) 393-1196

Team Alex

If Santa Fe galleries are correct, folks in the art buying game have a real hankering for landscapes. But who among us hasn’t grown tired now and then of the puffy cloud/blue sky/red mesa showings that seemingly inundate the genre? Who among us hasn’t longed for more? Enter David T Alexander, a Canadian painter with a knack for transforming the everyday into abstracted pieces of wondrous strangeness. Known for water reflection imagery (a technique that is basically what it sounds like), Alexander takes familiar elements of landscape and turns them on their heads, crafting swirling and bizarre colorscapes that simultaneously incorporate abstraction, surrealism and contemporary flair. You can get lost in one of these bad boys, and we suggest you do so at Evoke Contemporary this week. (ADV)

David T. Alexander: Infinite to Infinitesimal Opening: 5-7 pm Friday, Sept. 30. Free. Evoke Contemporary, 550 S Guadalupe St., (505) 995-9902

A Rose by Any Other Name

Gotta hand it to Smoke the Moon gallery—they’re trying out some very cool things over there on Canyon Road. And not to stick it too much to the artsiest street in town, but it’s not exactly known for taking risks. Of course, Los Angeles-based artist Stephanie Rose Guerrero is not a risk per se, more like a bold statement. At the upcoming permanence of forgetting exhibit at Smoke the Moon (Guerrero’s first in the state), the artist presents a dreamy pastel vision of reality, one that’s better than what is and represents what might be if we could only grasp it. Time moves slowly with utopia visualized across naturalistic elements merging into scenes of tech and animal life. To borrow a phrase from the gallery itself, think of it like magic realism...where we could be if we just figured out a shared means of escaping the humdrum real world. Oof. Chills. (ADV)

Stephanie Rose Guerrero: the permanence of forgetting: Noon-4 pm Thurs-Sun through Oct. 23. Free. Smoke the Moon, 616 1/2 Canyon Road, smokethemoon.com

Suzanne—You’re All That I’ve Wanted of a Girl

It was almost vexing to learn singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega is headed to Santa Fe’s notably small St. Francis Auditorium. See, Vega’s what we call a legend, even if that word gets thrown around a lot; a veritable master of her craft and the kind of musician from whom everyone knows a song or two, even if they don’t realize it consciously. Still, as a capper to one of the most varied and badass musical summers our town has had in ages, it’s a pretty nice one. Vega’s one of the songwriters who helped contempo-folk find its footing during the resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, a deeply emotive singer with one of the most gorgeous voices in the biz and a powerhouse lyricist with more than 30 years under her belt. Think of her like a storyteller who makes it easy to connect. Go. Feel something. Do it. (ADV)

Suzanne Vega: 7:30 pm Tuesday, Oct. 4. $30. St. Francis Auditorium, 107 W Palace Ave., (5050) 476-5072