Comedy Caravan brings laughs

A sold-out Comedy Caravan show on a Monday night at Bear's Place, 1316 E. 3rd St., is not an unusual phenomenon. \nAudience members usually have to reserve tickets for the occasion early in the day, and evening finds them crowded into the small back room of the pizza parlor, sipping "Hairy Bears" (a mixed drink involving much whiskey and some fruit juice) and draft beer.\nSome people are die-hard Comedy Caravan goers -- every Monday they reserve tickets, and after the show, they come home raving about how hard they laughed and how many "Hairy Bears" they finished. So when the opportunity arose to review the show, I thought I'd give it a try.\nThe atmosphere is casual and laid-back. Many people are there for their second or third show, and many more are regulars. Those celebrating birthdays are encouraged to drink up and enjoy themselves.\nMonday night's show featured Doug Daum as the opener, and Professor Milo as the headlining act. Before the show, audience members had a chance to submit their "most intimate relationship questions" for Professor Milo to answer. The evening turned into a satire of relationship counseling, with both comedians sharing their expertise on the differences between the sexes.\nDaum started by rehashing some current events he had heard about in the news. He seemed floored by the fact that manufacturers are now considering putting warning labels on handguns. "If you're so dumb that you need a warning label on a handgun, you're going to need someone to read it to you," he quipped.\nHe went on to share his trials and tribulations of going through a divorce, and although many in the audience weren't and had never been married, Daum's jokes drew the laughter he was looking for.\nProfessor Milo took the stage, armed with a fiddle and acoustic guitar and many canned music tracks which he used throughout his act. He is billed as "not your typical marital therapist," and he added his own unique etymology of the word: according to him, "therapist" originated as "they're a-pissed."\nMilo is a touring national act, performing regularly at the Sands in Reno, Nev., and in Las Vegas at such venues as the Riviera, Aladdin, Golden Nugget and The Rio. He has appeared at Farm Aide a Fourth of July Picnic with Willie Nelson and on television on Showtime and The Nashville Network.\nWhile the audience at Bear's was probably a lot younger than Professor Milo was used to, he didn't have any problems at all making us laugh. He pulled out song parodies like "Go Ugly Early," which some audience members remembered from "The Bob and Tom Show."\nLate in the act, Professor Milo attempted to answer the audience questions he had collected earlier in the evening. It was funnier to hear the risque questions read aloud by an older man in a cowboy hat, boots and bifocals than it was to necessarily hear how he answered the questions. Toward the end of the Q and A session, Professor Milo apparently decided the questions from the college crowd were too racy, and abandoned the stack of index cards.\nProfessor Milo closed the night with a fun sing-along, which had the audience laughing and clapping, and did a short rendition of the Macarena, complete with fiddle and bow in hand.\nWhen the lights came up in the smoky back room, the crowd was a little worse for all the empty "Hairy Bear" pitchers, but the mood was light and rowdy. Another successful week for Bloomington's best-kept comedy secret. \nFor tickets to Comedy Caravan or for more information, call Bear's Place at 339-3460. Shows are every Monday 7:15 p.m and 10:15 p.m.