Live, from Peoria Illinois, it’s Saturday Night at The Jukebox Comedy Club starring Ali Drapos with special guest stars, Amber, Joe, Gary, Dan and Regan.
Now please welcome our pre-show dinner host, Shelton’s!
We’re starting out at Shelton’s for a quick dinner before the comedy show at the Jukebox Comedy Club.
Shelton’s is located nearby on Farmington Road. As I entered I saw two familiar faces at a table in the front corner of the dining room…
It’s my friends and frequent MBIP guest stars, Amber and Joe!
They’re looking fabulous as always and it’s always a treat to have them along for the evening!
Stephanie was our friendly waitress and she brought drinks and took our dinner order.
I love it when things happen like this!
Here’s the main dining area and there’s another room off to the side of the bar.
Speaking of the bar, here’s a few shots of it.
They’ve got an impressive amount of beers on tap behind the bar.
As I made my way back to the table, Stephanie had just arrived with our Saturday night dinner!
Saturday night is unfolding before our very eyeballs!
We got an order of Sweet Chili chicken wings, Amber got a side salad and she and Joe split a bacon cheeseburger and fries.
The food was delicious and it was a satisfying pre-comedy Saturday night dinner.
Amber’s looking at me like, “put the fucking camera down and let me eat in peace!” Ha, ha, ha!
Okay, I told you that Shelton’s was just down the road from the Jukebox Comedy Club and…
Whoosh…here we are at the Jukebox Comedy Club for their Saturday night late show.
There’s several comedians on board for tonight and the headliner is Ali Drapos.
Let’s go in and let the merriment begin!
There’s the bar and check-in station and Gary is behind it with an ice-cold bottle of Budweiser.
We’re off to a great start in here tonight!
There’s the owner and host of the Jukebox Comedy Club, Dan Conlin!
Dan has run Peoria’s oldest comedy club for over 20 years. He’s hosted a multitude of local and national comedians here at the Jukebox and if you’ve never been, you should come out and support this oasis of laughter on Farmington Road.
They have a full bar plus pizza and snacks to enjoy before and during the comedy shows.
Autographed photos of comedians that have appeared here line the walls of the Jukebox Comedy Club.
From the top: Bob Goldthwait, Norm McDonald, Tom Green, Tom Arnold and Gilbert Gottfried.
There’s paintings of two comedic legends from right here in Peoria, Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sam years ago and you can read about that right here.
it’s showtime, I got my Norm McDonald ticket and we made our way to the comedy theater, there’s a framed photo of the headliner, Ali Drapos from Chicago.
As we made our way in, we met Regan who’s going to be doing a stand-up set tonight.
It was nice to meet her and I look forward to her comedic stylings on stage!
There’s the iconic Jukebox stage and Dan’s warming the crowd up.
He said that cameras and photos were forbidden, but he gave me a special pass and I said I’d take the photos without a flash so as not to be a distraction.
Okay…it’s showtime at the Jukebox Comedy Club!
Here’s Heath Thornton who was the emcee for the evening and as you can see, there was an abundance of comedic talent opening up tonight’s show.
Every comedian did a short set and it was fun to see such a wide range of different comedic styles in one evening.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for tonight’s headlining comedy star…
Ali Drapos!
Ali came on and she killed it from the start. She’s got a magnetic stage presence and an engaging rapport with the audience.
She spotted me taking her photo…
And pointed at me and told me to get her best side!
That was too funny and I was happy to oblige her request!
Ali’s comedy set was so fun and entertaining. She’s a great story-teller and she had the audience in the palm of her hand the entire evening.
Ali’s based in Chicago and has acted in theater in New York and Los Angeles. She toured the country as part of Second City’s Touring Company doing improv and she writes and has performed in her self-written plays.
You can read more about her here at her website and you can follow her on Twitter.
Do yourself a favor and listen to Ali’s Wedding Story, it’s one of the most absurd, unique and funny tales I’ve ever heard!
After the show, Ali mingled with the crowd and I got a chance to chat with her and take her photo.
Amber took a shot of myself and Ali and it was a pleasure to meet her and enjoy her wonderful comedic show.
Hopefully she’ll come back to the Jukebox soon!
Thanks to Amber and Joe for hanging out with me and a big thanks to Dan and everyone at the Jukebox Comedy Club for a fun evening, as always!
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2016 W. Farmington Road
West Peoria
309-981-5635
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3527 W. Farmington Road
Peoria
309-635-3900
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