EVERETT — If you’ve been to see stand-up comedy at Comedy Garage at Tony V’s recently, you’ve met the new hosts.
Tony V’s Garage on Hewitt Avenue hosts a free comedy showcase Monday nights. The open mic draws regional comedians working out their longer sets and local amateurs trying new material. A touring headliner — a new one is booked each week — rounds out the show.
After four years, Blake Kiltoff and Kate Carlson Carlsen have passed the mic. They said the delta variant of the coronavirus plus the surge in COVID-19 cases helped them decide it was time to go.
“I have an unvaccinated 6-year-old at home,” Carlsen said. “Hosting an open mic means a lot of close contact.”
Local comedians Adam Tiller and Quinn “Lil’ Q” Fitzgerald have been co-hosting Comedy Garage at Tony V’s since Aug. 16.
Kiltoff jokingly describes the new hosts as “two outstanding standout stand-ups” with a “definite sense of humor” or “at least awareness of comedy.”
Carlsen was more serious about their replacements.
“Adam and Quinn have been regulars at the mic,” she said. “Blake suggested that they take over for now, and I was on board. They are both really good guys.”
Like Kiltoff and Carlsen, Tiller and Fitzgerald will alternate which Monday they’ll play host. No matter who is hosting that night, you’ll get to see a five- to seven- minute set from both of them.
Adam Tiller, 32, of Everett, has been a comedian for three years. He calls his sense of humor dark and sarcastic. Tiller is a former host of weekend comedy shows at Laughs Comedy Club in Seattle. He also hosts a podcast called “Fadam and Friends.”
“We want to build on what Blake and Kate have done,” said Tiller, a scheduling specialist for airplane design. “Both of us were attracted to that room because Tony fosters an environment where we can feel really comfortable and experiment. He believes in comedians growing and developing.”
Quinn Fitzgerald, 22, of Seattle, also has been performing stand-up for three years. His comedy is mostly observational. He likes to joke about where he lives, his hoarding habits and that he just got his driver’s license. When he’s not on stage, Fitzgerald is co-hosting the “Funny Angles” podcast and delivering pizza for Hot Mama’s Pizza on Capitol Hill.
“I love Tony V’s, so it’s exciting to be able to take a bigger role in that room,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s probably my favorite room that I get to do.”
Comedy Garage was launched at Tony V’s in 2015. Each open-mic comedian gets three to five minutes on stage; a headliner is booked for a 20-minute set.
A fan of the show, owner Tony Verhey added a comedy room when Tony V’s moved to a bigger space next door on Hewitt Avenue in 2017.
“Tony’s support of amateur comedy at his amazing venue has had a formative influence on many contemporary darlings of the Seattle comedy scene — like me,” Kiltoff said. “So I’m glad the show will go on.”
That doesn’t mean Kiltoff and Carlsen won’t miss hosting Comedy Garage.
“I’ll be happy to just do comedy for a while,” Kiltoff said. “I’m looking forward to just going to Comedy Garage to perform and to see what Adam and Quinn can do with it.”
Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046; sbruestle@heraldnet.com; @sarabruestle.
If you go
Comedy Garage is a weekly comedy showcase and open mic held Mondays at Tony V’s Garage, 1716 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Features regional comedians working out their longer sets and local amateurs trying new material. The headliner for the Sept. 20 show is Blake Kiltoff. No cover. All ages. Sign up at 7:15 p.m.; show is at 8:30 p.m. Find Comedy Garage on Facebook for more information.
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