Back in 2015, we decided to help informally kick off the Milwaukee Comedy Festival by asking eight comedians to take the stage at Bremen Cafe and gently (or, in some cases, straight-up viciously) make fun of the city they love in our inaugural Roast Of Milwaukee event. Following the wonderful response to those verbal punches thrown in the direction of Milwaukee, we decided to do it again with an even bigger and better event at Club Garibaldi the following year. Then a standing-room-only affair last August. Since there’s no shortage of material about Milwaukee out there, we figured we’d do it again.
On Monday, July 30, a sold-out crowd at Club Garibaldi enjoyed a ton of jokes, plenty of jabs, and unofficially kicked off the Milwaukee Comedy Festival at the 4th annual Roast Of Milwaukee. Comedians Dana Ehrmann, Patrick Tomlinson, Matt Werner, Carter Deems, Jeff Wheatley-Heckman, and Kaitlin McCarthy all lambasted the city (and each other). Milwaukee Comedy Festival founder Matt Kemple and other media personalities—including Ramie Makhlouf (105.7 The Fan), Tarik Moody (88Nine Radio Milwaukee) and host Jon Adler (FM 102.1)—joined in on the biting-but-loving roasting action. Oh, and we raised a bunch of money for the Milwaukee Women’s Center in the process. King Eye & The Squirts, meanwhile, blew the house down (and somehow offended one or two people in attendance) before the show.
This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Join Surly at Somerset Amphitheater for the brewery’s annual Darkness Day on Saturday, September 29. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of King Eye & The Squirts (“Squirm,” “When The Sun Goes Down”). Subscribe to On The Record via iTunes or Stitcher (for free!).