On the heels of headlining the sold-out Moontower Comedy and Oddity Fest in Austin last week, the Kids in the Hall have announced their first US tour dates since 2008’s “Live As We’ll Ever Be,” with the “Rusty and Ready” Tour 2014. As of right now, they have announced dates in the following five cities coming in June:
June 6 Boston, MA The Wilbur Theatre
June 7 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall
June 8 Philadelphia, PA Merriam Theatre
June 13 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
June 14 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
So, sorry, any US city that’s not Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago or Detroit. Better luck next time! The press release, via AEG reads:
The all new ‘Rusty and Ready’ is the first tour for Kids in the Hall since 2008 and will see the return of fan favorites like Chicken Lady and Buddy Cole, from their long running HBO TV series, along with outrageous new skits that confirm why Kids in the Hall are one of the most successful comedy groups of all time.
On that note, was anyone aware that, since 2012, The Nerdist YouTube channel has been quietly uploading dozens of Kids in the Hall sketches, complete with interviews and commentary following the sketches? I’ve watched some here and there, but not as comprehensively as I should have; so what better time to get caught up in anticipation for this new tour? (Well, those of us who can go — again, sorry other cities.) Here’s a handful of favorites that I’ve picked out:
“Love and Sausages”
I’m starting out with one of the Kids more surreal sketches, because they’re kind of my favorites. “Love and Sausages” was a a weird, Eastern European-inspired opus, blurring the line between sketch and short film — which could have come from no other mind other than Bruce McCullough and apparently “almost broke the troop up.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sON0He2mTC8
“Salty Ham”
One of my all-time favorites. “A man my age shouldn’t be up looking for … GATORADE STREAMS in the backyard!” The commentary laments that this originally having been a stage sketch may have hurt it, but I couldn’t disagree more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvbvqYGgBqM
“Cause of Cancer”
If you think about how sensitive people are about this stuff in 2014, it is kind of amazing that the Kids in the Hall were able to get away with making cancer jokes back in the late ’80s/early ’90s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP3X0dSV9kI
Cops: Running Naked
Mark and Bruce’s “cops” characters are so hilariously versatile that they’re the single characters that have been transcended into the other Kids projects, both the feature film Brain Candy and the stellar minseries Death Comes to Town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhItXFBRk_Y
“The Monkeys”
In another surreal sketch, “The Monkeys,” an eccentric old man ostensibly holds an entire town hostage with the threat of killer monkeys, heard screeching in the background.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfv6u4An8hU
“Convenience Store”
I feel like this is one of the most criminally underrated sketches, but another one of my favorites. There is no more beautiful thing than an apathetic convenience store worker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjqz6sc9GA
“Daves I Know”
I’m in a running group which contains a good 4-5 Daves, who the rest of us collectively refer to as “the Daves.” Because this sketch is so ingrained into my memory, I can’t ever refer to them in that way without this song coming to my mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF1chLj1fro
“Chicken Lady: Homecoming”
OK, fine — I’ll throw in a Chicken Lady sketch to finish it out. Arguably one of the most popular characters, it’s cool to hear Mark describe how she was conceived. This one is probably my favorite of all the Chicken Lady sketches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbyKywWvlCE
You can visit The Nerdist website for even more Kids in the Hall behind-the-scenes sketches.
