by Joe Buffaloe
Daily Lobo
A Monday night of barhopping is usually a forgettable experience.
But the Hodgepodge Entourage is out to change that.
"I go to Japan, and they always have karaoke, or at least something to do," founder Aaled Wentzel-Fischer said. "We want to make people think, or laugh - to make it a memorable night, instead of just going to a bar and drinking."
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Monday was the third time in as many months that Burt's Tiki Lounge at 313 Gold Ave. S.W. has hosted the Hodgepodge Entourage, a variety show featuring stand-up comedy, short films, live music, trivia and prizes.
Things got underway a little after 10 p.m., when the first performer, who identified himself as Mahad, did a short stand-up routine. For his first time performing in front of an audience, he kept the laughs frequent and the audience engaged. It was a solid beginning to what turned out to be a consistently funny night at Burt's.
The amateur quality of the show was almost palpable, but like any good entertainment at a bar, that was part of the fun.
After the stand-up comedy, the hosts began the night's trivia competition. Maybe it was due to the audience's alcohol consumption, but even asking trivia questions drew a considerable amount of laughter. The winners received a double-feature kung fu movie from Burning Paradise Video at the end of the night.
This was followed by an impromptu talent competition featuring members of the audience. Out of someone who could wiggle his ears, another who burped for an inane amount of time and another who made up a song about "cat women" on the spot, it was the singer who won two movie tickets to the Guild Cinema.
Next, Mark Harris, another first-time stand-up artist, provided some comedy dirty enough to go below even a bar's standards of taste, using a mannequin he found on stage as a prop.
For the members of the audience fond of exercising their higher cerebral powers, several short movies by Basement Films were screened, using an old-fashioned projector and a white blanket on the wall. Basement Films is an independent film company in Albuquerque that makes use of old footage - such as photographs and illustrations from history books or British instructional videos from the '60s - to weave humorous, disturbing fables of modern life.
Wentzel-Fischer said the reason he features film and promotes businesses in the independent film trade, such as Burning Paradise Video and the Guild Cinema, is that Albuquerque is so involved with making movies, and he wants to get more people into independent films.
Acts for the show have been found throughout the community, mostly through word of mouth, Wentzel-Fischer said.
"Albuquerque is a talented city," he said.
He started the Hodgepodge Entourage shortly after moving to Albuquerque from New York, he said, and hopes it serves as a gateway for his production company.
As far as plans for the future, he said he'd like to have mostly stand-up comics perform.
Hodgepodge Entourage
Burt's Tiki Lounge
313 Gold Ave. S.W.
Check calendar at
BurtsTikiLounge.com or call
247-2878 for dates
21 and over
Free