Podcast Reviews: <i>The @Midnight Podcast</i> & <i>The Basement Yard</i>

Podcast Reviews:&
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2016-06-17-1466188533-9580661-midnight.jpegBack near the start of this year, Chris Hardwick, the main host of the Nerdist podcast, cut back the schedule from three to just one episode a week. Apparently it caused a great disturbance in the force -- or maybe Podcast Nature just abhors a vacuum -- because this week kicks off Comedy Central (and Hardwick's) The @Midnight Podcast. The inaurgural episode is entitled, "Fozzie Bear Celebrates Beyoncé Day."

To be sure, the new offering requires very little extra effort on Hardwick's part, as it's mostly a re-purposing, "a hand-picked weekly digest of the best @Midnight moments," according to Hardwick. He does provide some opening words, a sprinkling of connective patter between segments, and the briefest of signoffs.

But he's also heard throughout as the show's host, and joined by a barrage of comic contestants in some of their finest @Midnight moments. Included in this opening salvo, besides the titular Fozzie Bear, there's The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman, Jessica Lowe, Ginger Gonzaga, Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal, John Hodgman, Jonah Ray, Wil Wheaton, Jim Norton, Bonnie McFarlane, and Jim Florentine.

The show comes in at less that a half hour and, considering that's the running time (with commercials) of each night's TV presentation, it's easy to see that Hardwick and company have a stockpile of material to keep this new podcast running strong.

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2016-06-17-1466188624-8093573-basement_yard.jpegPodcastland is not just a place where comedians go to stay active and relevant in today's media-glutted landscape. There's a liberal coating of YouTube "sensations" populating the podwaves as well. Joe Santagato, host of The Basement Yard podcast is one such fellow.

A YouTube sensation for those not in the know are those folks who relentlessly post content on the world's foremost video site and can actually make money as the views pile up. (One of his videos, Idiots of The Internet Part 9, shot in his bedroom and posted just two weeks ago, is nearing 2 million views.)

The latest installment of The Basement Yard, What the Hell Happened in Vegas?, is all about a recent trip that the host and his buddies Ahmed Ghazal and Anthony Davino took to Las Vegas. Basically, it was the recounting of too much drinking, too much, partying, and too much gambling.

By the time the three musketeers managed to escape from "Sin City", we're kind of surprised the entire trio made it out alive. Santagato is from Queens, New York, and the entire adventure sounds like the Sopranos' versions of Huey, Dewey, and Louie meets Leaving Las Vegas.

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Podcasts I'm also listening to this week: The ParentNormal: #38 - Jeannie Gaffigan; and Any Time with Vin Forte: #23 - Gaby Dunn

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The @Midnight, Basement Yard reviews and other podcasts mentioned originally posted as part of This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com.

Marc Hershon is the host and executive producer of Succotash, The Comedy Podcast Podcast, featuring clips from comedy podcasts from across the Internet as well as interviews with podcasters, comedians, and assorted show biz folk.

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