9 of the the Strangest Videos that FFF Found at the Bottom of a Dumpster

By Amy Strauser, ArtsQuest Social Media & Marketing Intern

The Found Footage Festival (FFF) is a hilarious show that is really like no other. Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher discover and comment on videos from various thrift shops, garage sales, warehouses, and even DUMPSTERS!

Who would’ve thought dumpster diving finds could be so funny? The duo are such masters at finding these treasures that Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Wisconsin Tonight hosted them on their show.

Their live guided tour on their greatest finds will have you cracking up at Found Footage Festival: Vol. 9 at the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks on Saturday, May 15!

To get a taste of their insanely crazy 9th volume of videos, watch 9 of their most cringe worthy videos below…

1. Skiercise: a specific exercise video to get you in shape for skiing!

2. Dark Lord Blood is not only a Satanic Worshiper but he also feels the need to hiss at other people on his TV talk show interview

3. You never know if you’ll have to give an opossum a massage. Thankfully, this woman will show you how

4. Suave Fabio brings you into what he thinks is a world of romance…and it’s not quite what you think

5. As if this exercise video isn’t weird enough, it doesn’t fail to throw in an unexpected twist

6. Who would’ve thought there could be so many strange cat videos all compiled into one

7. This bizarre video might just be the most confusing thing you’ll ever see, but that’s what makes it funny!

8. But wait! You might actually learn a thing or two that might come in handy. Take this thorough Total Self Defense guide, for example:

9. Need ideas on what to be for Halloween? This video will show you how to create some cool makeup ideas…orrrr maybe it won’t

Find yourself at SteelStacks on May 15th!

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Found Footage Festival
Saturday, May 15
Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks

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SteelStacks Comedy: Lucky March Shows

By Amy Strauser, ArtsQuest Social Media & Marketing Intern / Original photo: Dani Nightlinger

Top of the comedy list to ya! With live comedy every Thursday, Friday and Saturday (and other days, too, sometimes), March is more packed with comedy than a leprechaun’s pot is full of gold. Speaking of which, after you finish this list of March comedy shows, there’s a prize waiting for you at the end of the article…

You’ve Died of Dysentery: An Improvised Oregon Trail Experience – 3/5 – buy tickets

Ford the river and make your way to SteelStacks for this completely unauthorized parody of everyone’s favorite educational video game. Old-timey prospector Jebadiah Ulysses Lunger leads a cast of comedians on an improvised journey along the Oregon Trail. Anything can happen, but more than likely everyone will die!

Four Finger Discount – 3/5 & 3/19 – More Info

Four Finger Discount is a FREE hour long improv comedy show every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month featuring improv teams from the Lehigh Valley and beyond!

We’re Good, You’re Great – 3/6 & 3/20 – buy tickets

Every 1st & 3rd Friday of the month, Matt Candio & Evan Stutts (formerly of ManDudeBro) and a fresh cast of improvisers from all over the map to deliver a fully improvised show, that’s so GOOD, it’s GREAT!

Improvised Television – 3/7 – buy tickets

Lehigh Valley Comedy-troupe Staycation improvises an entire, original episode of television that has never been seen before and will never be seen again! Featuring a different story and genre every month in the vein of shows like ER, Law & Order, This is Us, The Twilight Zone, Dallas, CSI, Degrassi, Friends, Gilmore Girls and more!

Mind Meld: A Live Game Show – 3/12 – buy tickets

Mind Meld is a game show in the style of the popular TV show Match Game! Watch contestants try to match answers to ridiculous fill in the blank questions with a panel of comedians while enduring their silly antics all to win some crazy, great prizes.

Nightmare Fuel – 3/13 – buy tickets

An improvised parody of science fiction/horror stories, Nightmare Fuel is the show that takes the story of an audience member’s real-life nightmare and turns it into side-splitting comedy! You’ll watch in awe as a completely improvised, other-worldly, hilarious story is performed by The Great Old Ones (Jon Lunger & Justin Passino).

The Improv Comedy Power Hour – 3/14 & 3/28 – buy tickets

The Improv Comedy Power Hour is 60 minutes of completely unscripted, high-energy improv comedy performed by two of our resident teams: Big Check & Experiment Daddy.

Book People – 3/19 – buy tickets

Book People is a comedy game show for all! Hosts Ian Webster and Roya Hamadani will guide audience members and local comedians through a series of games based on such books as a 19th century home remedies manual unusually focused on witchcraft and the crotch-kicking fun of a Krav Maga instructional handbook.

It’s Christi, B*tch! – 3/21 – buy tickets

Christi Chiello’s gut-busting debut solo show “It’s Christi, B*tch!” will take you on a fervent journey into the holy and horny life of the girl behind the cartoonish voice. On an endless quest for “human connection,” she explores the breakUPs, breakDOWNS and breakTHROUGHs that have made her… Christi, B*tch!

Improvised Standup – 3/21 – buy tickets

The Lehigh Valley’s best standups and improvisers face a new challenge when they’re given topics to talk about… while they’re onstage! And… YOU might even be the one providing the topic!

Laughs at The Lyric – 3/25 – buy tickets

Join us for an evening of comedy held in the intimate environment of The Lyric Room at Miller Symphony Hall. There will be a cash bar and snacks will be available for purchase.

Sketchlehem – 3/27 – buy tickets

Witness the birth of a city/dawn of a movement/totally legit tax write-off named…Sketchlehem! Also, it’s a brand-new sketch comedy show in Bethlehem! Featuring live performances and videos written by J.J. Ellis, Roya Hamadani and Janear Hankerson. Directed by Jiah Peck.

Friend, Family, Follower: A Comedy Game Show – 3/27 – buy tickets

Friend, family, follower is a game show where the guest of honor finds out who has really been paying attention. Join your host, Janear Hankerson as she quizzes panelists on personalized questions about the guest of honor. Friends, family members, social media followers- we all have them, but which one knows you best?

Thanks for reaching the end of the article! Lucky for you, we have a year-long list of comedy shows going on SteelStacks! That’s your real prize. We’re a nonprofit, so no gold here, sorry.

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5 Can’t-Miss Indie Rock Shows in Bethlehem

By Ben Youngerman, ArtsQuest Marketing Manager

Indie rock is sort of like artisan food: finely crafted for those with extra refined taste. If you have a palate for great tunes, we’ve handcrafted an exquisite lineup of concerts for you. With these five shows coming soon, it’s a great time to be an indie rock fan in Bethlehem…

Carbon Leaf – 3/5 – buy tickets

Carbon Leaf’s music is independently written, recorded and produced from the band’s studio in Richmond, VA. Pulling from folk, Americana, roots and rock traditions, Carbon Leaf has been putting out music for 25 years.

WXPN Welcomes Guided By Voices – 4/24 – buy tickets

Robert Pollard founded Dayton, Ohio-based indie rock band Guided By Voices in 1983. With an incredible 29 studio albums and 19 EPs, they are uninhibited explorers of the four Ps: pop, punk, psych, and prog.

The Mountain Goats (solo) – 6/4 – buy tickets

The Mountain Goats’ founding member John Darnielle plays solo versions of the band’s nearly 30-year catalog!

Bright Eyes: SteelStacks Summer Concert Series – 6/16 – buy tickets

Bright Eyes’ expansive catalog has traversed genre, sound, and countless players; unpolished demos or fuzzy folk, electrified rock or country twang. After nearly a decade on unofficial hiatus, the boys are back once more under their new label, Dead Oceans.

The National at Musikfest – 7/31 – buy tickets

During their sixteen year career The National have sold over 1.7 million albums worldwide, they have established themselves as mainstays of arenas and festivals with sold-out performances and headlining slots around the world. Their most recent album and accompanying film ‘I Am Easy To Find’ was met with critical acclaim, and 2017’s ‘Sleep Well Beast’ won Best Alternative Music Album at the Grammy Awards and achieved #1’s in the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Canada.

For a full list of upcoming shows, visit SteelStacks.org & Musikfest.org!

We Love the ’80s & ’90s!

By Ben Youngerman, ArtsQuest Marketing Manager

The 1980s and 1990s were the best. Vibrant color palettes, insanely fun (yet regrettable) fashion, an explosion of pop culture. Heck, MTV still played music videos back then!

Well, for those who are nostalgic for the totally awesome music of the era, SteelStacks has some throwbacks for ya. It’s time to take a time machine (whether it’s an old DeLorean, a phone booth, or cryogenics) back to party with some of your favorite artists and songs of those two decades!

RUBIX KUBE: THE EIGHTIES STRIKE BACK SHOW! – 2/28 – buy tickets

RUBIX KUBE transforms in the-blink-of-an-eye into any of your favorite ‘80s icons, personifying in sight and sound. It’s like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cher, Prince, Devo, Bon Jovi, Boy George, Paula Abdul, Guns N’ Roses and more teleport right before your eyes on the same stage, in one concert!

WXPN Welcomes Everlast – 3/15 – buy tickets

From his first solo album, Forever Everlasting, under the auspices of Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate, to the “Jump Around” success with House of Pain, the multi-platinum Whitey Ford Sings the Blues and his Grammy-winning contribution to Carlos Santana’s Supernatural, Everlast has defied the naysayers.

BBMAK – 3/27 – buy tickets

Best known for their self-penned infectious guitar driven hits “Back Here” (released in late 1999, so they just make this list), “Out of My Heart”, and “The Ghost of You and Me”, BBMAK was one of the few bands during the pop explosion around the new millenium to play their own instruments and write their own songs.

WXPN Welcomes Guided By Voices – 4/24 – buy tickets

Robert Pollard founded Dayton, Ohio-based indie rock band Guided By Voices in 1983. With an incredible 29 studio albums and 19 EPs, they are uninhibited explorers of the four Ps: pop, punk, psych, and prog.

WXPN Welcomes Jonny Lang – 4/26 – buy tickets

It is hard to believe that at 39 years old Jonny Lang has already had a successful career for two decades. Since releasing his first album in 1995, the blues, rock and gospel artist has charted on the Billboard 200 five times and earned a Grammy Award.

Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel – 5/5 – buy tickets

Jake E. Lee’s unmistakable trademark guitar shredding dominates Ozzy Osbourne’s Bark At The Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986). You’ve also heard him play on releases with Rough Cutt, Badlands, Mickey Ratt and Enuff Z’Nuff. Now he returns with a fresh new band, Red Dragon Cartel!

Billy Bauer Band – A Tribute to Dave Matthews Band – 6/5 – buy tickets

Dave Matthews Band had some of the biggest hits of the 1990s! Billy Bauer Band, from right here in Bethlehem, pays tribute to the Virginia rockers. The band has opened for Grammy winners and top billboard artists: Third Eye Blind, OAR, Blues Traveler, Tim Reynolds (of Dave Matthews Band), Pete Francis (of Dispatch), the Gin Blossoms, and more.

Poison at Musikfest – 8/7 – buy tickets

Poison was the epitome of ’80s glam rock! Their biggest hits include “Nothin’ But a Good Time,” “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” “Talk Dirty to Me,” “Fallen Angel,” “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” and many more staples of classic rock radio. With the entire original lineup (that sold millions of records) back together, this promises to be one of the hottest live shows this summer.

Darius Rucker at Musikfest – 8/8 – buy tickets

Rucker first attained multi-Platinum status in the ’90s as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish. While his solo material has taken a turn toward country, he regularly plays the biggest Hootie & The Blowfish hits as part of his concert setlist.

So call up your friends, it’s time for some retro parties in Bethlehem! Full list of upcoming concerts.

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Will You Be Fooled at SteelStacks?

By Amy Strauser, ArtsQuest Social Media & Marketing Intern

Denny Corby, Eric Jones, and Lucy Darling are not your typical birthday party magicians. Their mind boggling tricks are endless and even impress comedic royalty, Penn and Teller on their CW show Penn & Teller: Fool Us.

They will leave you stunned and wondering “how do they do it”… Don’t believe us? Check them out when they come live to the Musikfest Cafe presented by Yuengling on February 22nd!

Before coming to perform in Bethlehem, let’s take a look at their appearances on Penn and Teller: Fool Us

Denny Corby has been entertaining since he was a child and has since appeared on major cable networks like Fox and NBC! Get a taste of Denny’s magic by watching this clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YfCFv5dqN0

Perhaps you’ve also seen Eric Jones performing his crazy magic, like walking through glass walls, on America’s Got Talent. But have you seen his coin tricks? Check out this video to see how he fooled the crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fab7LDXwH-c

Carisa Kendrix is a magician of many characters. She held a Guinness World Record for longest fire torch in teeth time in 2012, and in 2019 her alter-ego, Lucy Darling, takes over as she wows the crowd with her book trick.

See them live at SteelStacks and you’ll be laughing and cheering like Penn & Teller did.

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Denny Corby Presents: You’ve Been Fooled
Saturday, February 22
Musikfest Cafe pres. by Yuengling

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Staff Picks: 92nd Academy Awards Predictions

The staff and committee members behind the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas are here to help you win your office pool or make at least a little sense of what might happen on Sunday night!

You can watch the 92nd Academy Awards with these experts and your fellow cinephiles on our movie screen during The Red Carpet Party in the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas on Sunday, February 9!

Our picks this year are based on ballots submitted by: Ryan Hill, Programming Director/Lead Programmer of the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas; Anthony DeSanctis, Cinema and Comedy Specialist/Director of the Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival (GLVFF); Addyson Young, Cinema and Comedy Coordinator; Lauren Tocci, Cinema Committee/First Saturday Horror Co-Curator; Bob Kilker, Cinema Committee/Host of our Tuesday Talkbacks; Catherine Ford, Cinema Committee; John Wrigley, Cinema Committee/Assistant to the Director of the GLVFF (and past GLVFF award winner); and Jennifer Suwak & Steve Abruzzese (who made their choices together), Cinema Committee/GLVFF-award winning filmmakers.

Best Picture

Will win: 1917 (63% of the group votes)
Should win: Parasite (50%)

Lauren is the only one in the group thinking that Parasite will actually take the night’s biggest prize on Sunday (she also joins Catherine in thinking that Little Women should win it), while John and Addyson think it will go to The Irishman, which has been trending down lately as it hasn’t picked up any similar wins. 1917 has been picking up those wins, though it didn’t really help Roma last year. No one in the group thinks 1917 ‘should’ win Best Picture.

John: The Academy goes nuts over grandiose, star-studded epics like The Irishman, and that it’s helmed by Scorsese makes it a very strong contender. But Once Upon a Time… feeds Hollywood exactly the kind of self-aggrandizing stew they want to eat, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see that win either.

Lauren: My love for Little Women knows no bounds, but Parasite does deserve this. It is tensely beautiful and unrelenting in its surprises. It automatically deserved to be watched again the moment the credits roll. It’s the most visually stunning film of the year. But hey, I thought Roma would win too.

Bob: The visual experimentation and familiar storytelling of 1917 will win over more Academy voters.

Best Director

Will win: Sam Mendes, 1917 (64%)
Should win: Bong Joon Ho, Parasite (50%)

Protest votes in ‘should’ win for Greta Gerwig were filed by Addyson and Ryan, and more likely would have come through if the Cinema Committee knew that protest votes could have been filed (sorry Cinema Committee! – Ryan). John and Addyson went against the grain for ‘will’ win here, also, with John taking Quentin Tarantino and Addyson Martin Scorsese. All the trends have Mendes pulling this off with Joon Ho being the only likely candidate for an upset.

Anthony: 1917 is a major technical achievement and would fail in the hands of a less capable director. In many ways, the direction is the star of the film.

Bob: Parasite works as a technical and narrative feat, and a showcase for strong performances, but Mendes’s work will be rewarded for its showier style.

Addyson: Greta directed the sh*t out of Little Women. Every scene that contained all of the sisters was so beautifully and realistically directed. They interrupted each other, yelled over each other, and loved each other. Also Greta made Amy March likeable, which is the first time this has ever happened.

Best Lead Actress

Will win: Renee Zellweger, Judy (75%)
Should win: Saoirse Ronan, Little Women (50%)

This group whiffed hard last year in not picking Olivia Colman as a ‘will’ win (to be fair, Glenn Close had been running away with almost every other award). Renee Zellweger has been doing the same thing, sweeping at the major pre-Oscars award shows so far. In what is now not shocking news, John and Addyson were the only ones to pick someone other than Zellweger as ‘will’ wins, both going for Charlize Theron.

Lauren: I am rooting for Saoirse because she’s the finest actress of our time and she constantly surprises me with the depth at which she pulls me into her various roles.

Ryan: Does anyone realize the absolute chutzpah it takes to play Judy f***ing Garland? Like truly realize what it takes to take on one of Hollywood’s most enduring and complicated legends and then do it really damn well? That said, Lupita Nyong’o was stone cold robbed.

Best Lead Actor

Will win: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker (88%)
Should win: Tie between Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory, and Adam Driver, Marriage Story (38% each)

It’s hard to know which is the most secure lock in a year where all four acting awards seem to be absolute secure locks, but this may be the one. Only Jen & Steve think Antonio Banderas will actually pull off the upset; they, quite ironically, are alone with John in thinking that Phoenix should win the award anyway. Driver seems to be the only potential for what would be one of the biggest upsets in Oscars history.

John: I was a huge fan of Driver’s performance in Marriage Story, and most other years I would be pulling for him. But every inch of Joaquin Phoenix was committed to becoming this comic book villain. His performance was absolutely mesmerizing.

Ryan: I really don’t like that Phoenix – who I do not deny as an incredible actor – is going to take this away from Antonio Banderas. Watching Pain and Glory (which is also nominated for Best International Film but is up against Parasite) go into awards season is something like putting Rudy Ruettiger in to play football; he did everything right and deserves to be out there for his heart alone, but you know he’s gonna get dee-f***ing-stroyed by all those larger, flashier dudes no matter the fact that their guts don’t come close to his. I can only hope Banderas pulls off the sack on the final play.

Best Supporting Actor

Will win: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (75%)
Should win: Pitt (50%)

Tom Hanks got a fair amount of love from our group in this category, with 38% thinking he should win and Addyson logging him as an upset pick to win. Anthony Hopkins was the only other candidate to get a ‘should’ win, which came from Catherine, who also was the only one to pick Joe Pesci as a ‘will’ win. Pitt has swept the major pre-Oscar awards, leaving Pacino and Pesci as long-shot upset bids with no one feeling like Hanks or Hopkins has a shot.

Bob: Pitt is certainly electric in Tarantino’s latest, enough to win yet another honor, but Hanks goes beyond a mere Mr. Rogers impression to give a fully humanized performance of a beloved cultural icon.

Lauren: Maybe this is an overstatement, but I think this is the performance of Brad Pitt’s career. Something that could seem obviously tailored to him, he took and molded into something that played to his strengths of comedy, that was weathered without being downtrodden, and that celebrated industry without pretending it doesn’t come with its knocks. He’s the best part of the film, and damnit he deserves it finally as an actor.

Best Supporting Actress

Will win: Laura Dern, Marriage Story (88%)
Should win: Florence Pugh, Little Women (50%)

Dern, like Pitt, has swept the major pre-Oscar awards so far; the award is very much hers to lose. Only Addyson picked someone else – Margot Robbie – as a ‘will’ win in this category, which is intriguing as only she and Dern were nominated for all four of the major pre-Oscar acting awards. Scarlett Johansson and Pugh are the only ones thought to have any chance of pulling off the upset, however.

Addyson: Both Pugh and Robbie had stellar performances and made characters I was very ready to dislike incredibly likable and realistic. I’d be happy if either of them won Best Supporting Actress.

Lauren: Laura Dern is a treasure. Her character is likable and appropriately despicable, and when an actor’s performance exists in those contradictions it is where the true magic happens.

Anthony: 2019 was a great year for Florence Pugh. And unlike Dern in Marriage Story, I walked out of Little Women think Pugh stole the movie and deserves the Oscar. This year was to her what 2015 was to Alicia Vikander, and like her, she should take home the Oscar.

The Red Carpet Party
Sunday, February 9
Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas

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The Chris and Paul Show “Bring The Funny” to Bethlehem

By Amy Strauser, ArtsQuest Social Media & Marketing Intern

Before cracking up Chrissy Teigen, Kenan Thompson, and Jeff Foxworthy on “Bring the Funny,” Chris O’Neill and Paul Valenti were entertaining crowds in Connecticut and NYC. Since starting their comedy career in 2000, they know just how to keep you guessing by taking situations that seem predictable and putting their own comedic twist on it.

If you enjoyed The Chris and Paul Show on TV or YouTube, then you’ll love watching them live in the Musikfest Cafe presented by Yuengling on February 29!

The hilarious, award-winning, duo has garnered a great number of accolades, but their most recent accomplishment was becoming finalists on NBC’s Bring the Funny. Let’s take a look at their impressive (and hilarious) run on the show…

Bring the Funny – Open Mic

A funny prank takes a turn when there’s unexpected news to be heard.

Bring the Funny – Comedy Clash

Things aren’t always what they seem… I bet you can’t guess what happens in this Comedy Clash.

Bring the Funny – Finale

In Chris and Paul’s Finale performance they utilized a very important individual to help them put on the sketch.

Grab and cookie and come to SteelStacks to laugh the night away!

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The Chris & Paul Show
Saturday, February 29
Musikfest Cafe pres. by Yuengling

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