Lilia Cabello
Staff Writer

Audience members crammed themselves into the Ice House’s main entertainment room Sunday, Nov. 19, to laugh and drink the night away at some of comedy’s up-and-coming talent.

Despite persistent pestering from the waiters about the two drink minimum, the host of the night, Dana Eagle, kept the laughs coming while also building anticipation for the next performers, of which there were quite a few. One of Eagle’s most memorable lines was in speaking about her trademark dark-rimmed glasses.

“They’re not just my man magnet,” she joked.

The first comedian Eagle introduced was Frasier Smith, who seemed to enjoy the contrast made between his irreverent jokes and his grey professor suit and red tie. Calm and quick, he kept the jokes coming.

In a slight sarcastic tone, more cynical than funny, Smith shot out a few one-liners definitely worth remembering. “I’m sweating like George Bush at a spelling bee” was a hit, as well as “I found Osama Bin Laden; he’s on MySpace.”

The next comedian was Sideequi Fuller, who had much to say about women and love.

With lines like “Women talk all the time because they don’t want anyone else de-programming you,” Fuller kept the women in the audience giggling and the men clapping.

Another hilarious moment was when Fuller said his Latino friends constantly mispronounce his name, calling him "ceviche," which is a popular seafood.

Fuller rounded out his performance with a crazy backflip and then wandered offstage.

The third comedian was Tim O’Rourke, a regular on "The Drew Carey Show" and a writer for some of Nickelodeon’s most famous cartoons.  Honest, upfront, animated and witty, O’Rourke delivered some truly comedic jokes. A tall, big man, O’Rourke poked fun at his weight while keeping the audience entertained.

Some of the other topics he rambled over were babies, psychology and earthquakes. Commenting on a news special about earthquake preparation, O’Rourke asked, “How do you prepare for an earthquake, everyone jump?”

After O’Rourke left the stage, Eagle threw out a few jokes before she introduced the last entertainer. Having shared a little bit more of her comedic presence between each performer, she continued with a joke about depression.

“You know, there’s a statistic that says 80 percent of Americans have depression. The other 20 percent of you caused it,” she said.

In the midst of laughter, the last performer, Tom Papa, walked on stage. Dressed in a baseball cap and sweater, Papa looked like a young father ready to take his kids out for a stroll. Much of what Papa joked about did actually involve his family, but Papa did have some other funny gems of truth to share with the audience.

“Hard alcohol is the only drink that comes with a story,” he started off with.

As he rambled over women, kids and fatherhood, Papa kept the audience near tears with his wisecracks.

“It’s fun watching other people suffer. It’s evil, but it’s funny,” he commented about human nature.

Papa rounded off the night with a few jokes about love.

“A lot of people today say I’m waiting for my soul mate. I say, find someone you can tolerate, find someone you want to sleep next to without throwing up in the morning,” he said.

It was nice to laugh hard, and to forget about all the seriousness in our lives right now. Despite the two-drink minimum, and overpriced drinks (since when did a simple Coke cost $3.75?), the jokes were hilarious and the night was an adventure through the twists and turns of comedic stylings.

For more information about upcoming shows and performers at the Ice House, call (626) 577-1894.

Lilia Cabello can be reached at lcabello@ulv.edu.