Riff Trax live!

Last month I had the good fortune to be able to attend a live show put on by the Riff Trax fellows as they savaged the modern classic BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR. This allowed me to mark two things off my Bucket List- 1) see a live show of the Riff Trax guys and 2) finally see BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR. I had heard how brilliantly terrible the film is and had been putting off the experience until just the right event could be arranged. Clearly this was it.

The Riff Trax team of Bill Corbett, Michael Nelson and Kevin Murphy are veterans of the great television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 and their occasional live performances are very much in the same vein – find a bad movie and make merciless fun of it from beginning to end. These shows are broadcast through Fathom Events to theaters around the country on the night they are performed. I suspect that getting to one of those screenings might be a good time but since I live in Nashville I got to actually be in the live audience as they beamed the show out to all the other theaters! Take THAT Hollywood! It seems that the production company that handles all the technical stuff for these live events is based here and it’s just easier to produce the show at the historic Belcourt Theater in Nashville and send it out to everyplace else. So that means I got the chance to not only see the show but to be in the front row and on camera for everyone watching it to see! Awesome! And I wore my Paul Naschy Werewolf T-shirt from Fright Rags just to stand out from the (admittedly already strange) crowd. Any additional Naschy out there in pop culture is good as far as I’m concerned!

Of course, these shows are just an addition to the regular Riff-ing these guys do over on their website. They record and sell comedy commentary tracks for any movie they wish for fans to download, sync-up with the film at home and turn a beloved or not so beloved movie into a guaranteed chucklefest. Truly these men are doing necessary and positive work that benefits all of humanity and should be rewarded with your hard earned dollars.

Before I end this post I have to take the opportunity to thank two wonderful people in my life who made it possible for me to attend this show. My dear girlfriend Yvette encouraged me to join my buddy John to finally see a live Riff Trax show even though I was reluctant to take a weeknight away from the family. John has gone to most, if not all, of these live performances and I was thrilled to be asked to accompany him to this one. I loved every hysterical second and I can't thank both of them enough for pushing me to go. I certainly want to see more the next time the guys come to town!