Hand Shoes, Horse Grenades and Hilarity

Experience a live panel-style comedy show every Sunday with a YouTube simulcast of Hand Shoes & Horse Grenades at Luckey’s Club in downtown Eugene. Eugene-based comedian Nathan Hart hosts what’s billed as “Eugene’s favorite late-night talk show, or at least CLOSE ENOUGH!” Typically, the half dozen or so guests are comedians Hart has met touring up and down the I-5 corridor. Those include many Eugene comedy regulars, like two-time Best of Eugene Best Comedian winner Jen Jay, and past Best Comedian winners Angie Bloomfield and Seth Milstein (Best of Eugene’s nomination round is open now at Vote.eugeneweekly.com). Portland comedian Kyle Adams and Eugene band Sex Pizza will appear at the August 31 installment, with more guests to be announced. Playing Paul Shaffer to Hart’s David Letterman is a bandleader who only goes by The Crab Man (according to Hart, the other nickname option was “The Mullet Guy”). There’s also an open mic component to the show. Experienced audience members and those new to comedy sign up in advance. Midway through, Hart draws names from the “Crab Bucket,” and if your name gets picked, you do a short set, as Crab Man’s band accompanies you. “It was never intended to be as big a project as it is,” Hart tells Eugene Weekly. “It kept building and building. I’ll just sort of sit down at a desk wearing a suit and talk to them about whatever’s going on.” Usually, I’ve got questions that I ask them. We usually have at least one running joke that’ll go through the entire show. It’s supposed to have this feeling of it being bigger than it is. There’s a lot of production that goes into it.” — Will Kennedy

Streamed live on the Eugene-based Hysterical Light Entertainment YouTube channel, Hand Shoes & Horse Grenades is 8 pm every Sunday at Luckey’s Club, 933 Olive Street. Sign up for the “Crab Bucket” pull at 7:30 pm. Free. The show is 21-plus.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!