Stand-up comedians may never be allowed to complain about chatty bachelorette parties or drunken hecklers ever again. The heavy metal talk show Two Minutes To Late Night, hosted by the dapper GWARsenio Hall, has taken distraction to a whole new level by having a slew of young comedians do their sets from the maelstrom that is the mosh pit at a Skeletonwitch concert. Filmed at a Brooklyn bar called Saint Vitus, the chaotic segment is called “Open Up This Mic.” It’s difficult to imagine any comedians signing up for this torture test, but Joon Chung, Daniel Perafan, Lucie Steiner (who wisely wears a helmet with a face mask), Chris Donahue, Tim Duffy, Katie Rose Leon, and James Folta all make the effort.
To say the least, it’s difficult to get a joke in edgewise here, amid the hyped-up fans and the eardrum-shattering music. The challenge of “Open Up This Mic” is to make it to the punchline of a joke while still standing. Every complete joke told is a victory in this environment.
Truly, this is the open mic night of the damned.