(Image: Capitol Hill Comedy/Bar)
The free market has spoken. You may have heard from Fox News that Capitol Hill Comedy/Bar “canceled” a few professional comics. Luckily, anybody interested can still catch the acts… in Tacoma. It’s the American way.
“We stood up for the values of the neighborhood and we stood up for our neighbors,” Dane Hesseldahl tells CHS about the decision by Comedy/Bar to cancel a handful of scheduled 2024 acts.
The decision to drop the comics from the club’s calendar came as the Broadway venue had second thoughts about the scheduled comics and material that leans heavily on material crafted to provoke and skewer all things woke and progressive.
The decision to make getting “canceled” public by posting the email from Comedy/Bar’ about the decision was the comics’.
“It’s been turned into this thing about cancel culture and censorship,” Hesseldahl said. “We didn’t think it was a good fit.”
CHS reported here last year as Comedy/Bar took shape in the space formerly home to punk vegan bar the Highline under Hesseldahl, part of a long-running stand-up comedy presence at Broadway’s now-shuttered Jai Thai.
“We try to curate shows that are diverse, and not only diverse culturally, but also diverse across a range of experience,” Hesseldahl told CHS at the time. “We’ll bring on some people for their first booked show, or somebody who traveled down from Vancouver, and we want to give everyone those opportunities.”
Hesseldahl says that being part of Capitol Hill means creating a comedy club that fits with the communities that call it home.
“My hope is people will see we value our neighbors, we value our neighborhood,” Hesseldahl said.
Meanwhile, as the rightwing media debate including takes from everybody from Seattle talking head Jason Rantz to anti-woke Deuce Bigalow star Rob Schneider burns itself out, the situation also provides an example of another important American value — the power of capitalism. Holding to your values is the best call for business, the club owner says.
“There is a market for safe space comedy,” Hesseldahl said. “A place where people can go and feel like they won’t be ridiculed.”
Capitol Hill Comedy/Bar is located at 210 Broadway E. Learn more and check out the upcoming schedule of performers at comedyslashbar.com.
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Lol I’m sure this place is great. Pre approved comedy only.
Fox News is stupid but so is letting “advocacy groups” have say over comedy club bookings. The “free market” is when tickets don’t sell, not when minders cancel shows through private email threads.
“Safe space comedy”, but unironically. Not for me
The business made the decision. Not “advocacy groups”
Also? What’s wrong with voicing an opinion?
It ain’t just Fox News ya outta touch with reality neomaxizoomdweebie.
its 90% of America.
90% of Americans are asses? I doubt it.
Lol @ commenters following the fox news bit. A private business that has performances on effing broadway decides, maybe just maybe it’s in their interest NOT to hire performers whose whose whole bit is opposing efforts to make racism and bigotry socially uncouth again. How DARE they!
Not necessarily a fan but I always find it funny when the owners/producers/people in charge talk about wanting to foster diverse viewpoints…except for more right-leaning ones. I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
Anti woke is specifically raging against voices of diversity and inclusion. I mean, It’s their entire content. It’s absurd (but common lately) to characterize opposing that as inconsistent with diversity.
Shall they support murder rape and other felonies too?
Is there no line?
Why did the venue book them in the first place? By then subsequently canceling the shows, it turned into a story.
Bigotry/racism/transphobia, people abuse those terms because the power they have in prog spaces. I see your comment clarifies the issue as “against voices of diversity and inclusion”. Sounds you want ideological conformity from your comedians & claim the sin of racism as a tool to achieve this end. I would tell you to enjoy being a customer there, but you sound like an HR type that doesn’t go to stand up comedy.
Another variation on “Being intolerant of intolerance is intolerant!”
It makes no sense and repetition isn’t going to change that.
Also, to be clear, “against voices of diversity and inclusion” isn’t my clarifying anything – It’s the single fundamental message of the whole anti-woke movement. I mean this isn’t twisting words or creating a straw man, it’s the idea being sold in overt, unmasked form.
You’re just repeating yourself but not actually presenting proof that these people were bigots. My entire point is that people like use abuse terms in order to enforce ideological conformity. Your entire whole world view that comedians are either for the “anti-woke movement” or for “diversity and inclusion” just shows that social politics has completely ruined your ability to enjoy things. 95% of people fall into neither fully woke or anti-woke and it’s fine if comedians reflect that.
Not in a hurry to go catch a show there
When I moved to Seattle 15 years ago part of the draw was that there were interesting cultural aspects that challenged the status quo and the culture here seemed to be accepting of different ideas broadly. It certainly seems like that openness has vanished. Sure, it’s the clubs call on who they book, but what is most disappointing to me is what this club backtracking on shows they had already booked due to the culture police demanding cultural homogeneity. Where are the rebellious? The free thinkers? I feel like we have expelled anyone that doesn’t lick the establishment boots out of this town. Sad.
What a bizarre comment. Rebellion and free thinking and anti-establishment is exactly the opposite of right-wing ideology.
Great post, sums it up perfectly.
The good news is there are plenty of other places to go off the hill.
“Backtracking”
It’s called “New evidence”
I’ve really enjoyed the shows I’ve seen at Comedy/Bar and look forward to supporting them even more. Thank you for creating a space that is safe for truly diverse identities and experiences. Wishing you much success!
The left used to challenge convention, push boundaries, and have a sense of humor. Now leftist thought is stifling, policed, bullying and conservative in its liberalism. I never thought I would see the day when urban cultural events are safe spaces (boring) and the suburban cultural spaces are edgy.
Punching down isn’t edgy nor funny, it’s cheap and tacky… 🙄
Saying anything is definitively funny or not funny is asinine. Can’t legislate taste.
If your taste is making fun of marginalized communities, I can definitively say that your asinine 🙄
When every agency in US Federal Government, nearly every state government, military contractors, the international banks and nearly every multinational corporation shares your ideology… it’s hard to still make the argument that you are “marginalized” and that the people that are mocking those powerful elites are “punching down” but here you are… still trying to make that argument. Congrats. You’re high degree of cognitive dissonance is oddly impressive.
Your level of cognitive dissonance here is absolutely astounding, I’m honestly speechless if this is what you believe 😵💫
Also, there’s no legislation here… It’s a business responding to a cordial letter from the community that it operates within.
You sound like the folks that argued that the hotels that got booked to host the Marjorie Taylor Green and Matt Gaetz shitshow conventions should have honored their commitments 🙄
I’m pointing at the moon, you’re looking at my finger.
I’m 100% supportive of the business inviting (or uninviting) anyone they wish. That’s their prerogative.
What is disappointing is that Seattle used to be a place where dissident voices could be heard and as a broader society we saw the value in hearing different perspectives and how doing so enriched each of our understandings on various aspects of life. We seem to be reverting to the type of culture that would arrest a Lenny Bruce. This is not the way.
Punching down isn’t edgy, Lenny Bruce understood that and wasn’t out there making fun of marginalized groups, he was making fun of the authorities and conventions that tried to maintain societal order. There are plenty of comedians that still do this today without actually making fun of others.
The four comedians that were “cancelled” have plenty of clubs around the country they can play in, yet there are plenty of clubs around the country that folks from marginalized communities don’t feel comfortable in, understand the difference there?
You know what isn’t edgy? Having the Thought Police approve/disapprove what can and can’t be said in the public square to create a “safe space”. Those that refuse to use Newspeak are banned for thought crimes.
“I read a book!”
Ooh, you (possibly) read 1984 and completely missed the point!
It’s not a public square, it’s a comedy bar in a gay neighborhood…
No one is being banned or silenced, these comedians are performing elsewhere and have their own podcasts.
If you want to see Newspeak, look to FL where they have stripped mention of racism and de jure segregation from the story of Rosa Parks… 🙄
It’s just a blip… but the Supreme Court will be taking up trumps subversion case, thus empowering those who oppose progressive bubble ideology to “speak to power”. I know it was just one business, but the moral fabric of America is changing around us, it will be an interesting 2024 and beyond. And there are a lot of people who would prefer to survive rather than fight. Sooo… let’s just hope this national attention or local attention, is nothing more than click bate.
“Moral Fabric”
Like Nazi marches? Racial terrorism? Storming the Capitol/inserection.???
Fox News pretending to be free speech anything is a joke, considering they support book banning, burning products in protest of leftwing ideologies, punishing “woke” corporations, etc….
That said, whatever happened to heckling as a response to bad comedy? I don’t believe in censorship of any kind. It doesn’t work, and people often decontextualize, misunderstand, or misinterpret jokes.
Heckling is shitty imo. Nothing worse than taking time to go see a show and then some rando decides nope, you don’t get to enjoy it.
Whatever happened with just not going to stuff you don’t want to go to?
Whatever happened to just not commenting on things you don’t agree with? 🙄
I mean generally that’s just called a discussion.
Well…they went to court to be free to lie and won…That’s as free as speech gets…lol
“Safe space comedy” sounds like an oxymoron.
The far left side are a dour bunch.
I live on the hill. I’ll be attending this joint for sure.
Comedy has been about challenging the status quo since kings were cutting the tongues out of jesters mouths. Congrats to the new kings…