The Lakeshore Theater‘s new-found focus on comedy, with a season curated by Paul Provenza, continues next weekend with Maria Bamford. I’ll let Maria describe herself with a bit about comedy club answering machines from her new album, How To WIN! (If you get the album before the show, you can learn all her new material and say her punchlines along with her. Because comedians love that*.)

Sometimes you call a comedy club and the answering machines is like “Cock-a-doodle-doo! Thanks for calling the Rooster Cove, home of the ten cent tequila truck! This week we have the hilarious comedy stylings of Maria Bamford! She’s a woman of a million voices, she’ll have you laughing all the way to 2007! Next week, Pumpkin Stick and his Banjo Steve!” Like, you have no idea what’s going to happen that week. I wish they’d let the comedians do the answering machine. You know, I’d do it, be like, “Uh hello, you’ve reached a former nail salon that seats four hundred. This week we have my quiet, odd joke-stories. I only do about four voices, actually. One low, one high, and a couple in-between. I’ll have you laughing or saying, ‘Well, I thought it was supposed to be Carlos Mencia. Well, it’s your bachelorette party. Well, she already start… you want…’ all the way to the parking lot. Next week, a guy who opens each show with a group sing-a-long about accidental date-rape. And then closes with the national anthem. Cock-a-doodle-doo.

Also, Chicago comedy site The Bastion scored a lengthy interview with Bamford.

Maria Bamford
Friday & Saturday, May 18-19, 8:00 PM
Lakeshore Theater
3175 N Broadway

* That’s a lie.