Where, oh Where Will Craig Go Next?
As Craig Ferguson‘s 2011 tour winds down this fall, it occurred to us that our fearless leader has been all over the place in the past two years… truly all over the place, traveling thousands of miles and performing within (mostly) reasonable driving distance of most of his fans. With the help of “flogger” extraordinaie @bgrhubarb, we’ve looked back at all of the places Craig has done shows in just the past two years. As you might expect, he focuses attention on large cities with a high potentital for ticket-buying audiences:
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CANADA
In Canada, Craig has made regular appearances in Montreal, Toronto and in 2011 he performed in Windsor, near Detroit. Earlier this year, he was in the Vancouver area for three shows as well.
NORTHEAST
He has done several shows in and around New York, including Carnegie Hall and venues in nearby New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Deleware and Rhode Island. He has appeared in Boston in each of the past five years, once in New Hampshire, and has done shows in Virginia, North Carolina and Washington, DC which attracted audience members from Maryland, West Virginia and South Carolina.
SOUTHEAST
In the Southeast, we has done shows Mississippi, Atlanta, Orlando, the Miami and Clearwater areas and will be in three Florida cities in November. He also had his memorable shows in Nashville, Tennessee that also brought in fans from Kentucky and Alabama.
MIDWEST
In the Midwest, he has appeared in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri, brining in fans from as far away as Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas.
SOUTHERN PLAINS
In the South Central region, he did two shows in Oklahoma this year and several in Texas, drawing fans from Arkansas and Louisiana.
MOUNTAIN WEST
The Mountain West gets a treat from time to time when Craig is working up new material and spends some time in Denver, which brings in fans from Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah. And in 2010, he did a couple of weekends in Las Vegas that brought in fans from northern Arizona and New Mexico.
WEST COAST
And in the West, Craig has appeared in Pismo Beach, Carmel, Saratoga, Riverside, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle in the past couple of years, with fans traveling from Oregon to see him.
Craig has performed in the states in red at least once in the past two years.
Where Could He Go Next?
If we could be forgiven for being presumptuous, we might suggest where Craig and his people could consider booking future shows. We understand that it is unlikely that Craig would appear in the lower population states. His management has to count on the regional centers we’ve mentioned above to bring in scattered fans from afar. But we think there are a handful of ideas that would make sense:
1. Los Angeles
If Craig does a show anywhere in Southern California (where he used to appear somewhat regularly at comedy clubs in 2006 and 2007), we think tickets would sell out quickly. It’s been a while since he’s done a big show close to home and his fans have been clamoring for his return.
2. Louisville/Chattanooga/Atlanta
Given his affection for the South and Southern fans’ demonstrated affection for him, Craig would probably sell tickets like crazy in any of these cities. He would draw fans from all over the South including Alabama and South Carolina; maybe even Arkansas and Louisiana. Plus, think of the fun he could have saying “Louisville”!
3. Omaha
Omaha has become a center for the arts on the high plains and Craig fans from Iowa, western Missouri, Kansas and the Dakotas would probably make the trip.
4. Phoenix/Tucson/Albuquerque
Hitting the big college towns of the Southwest could be a lucrative proposition and give fans there a chance to see him.
5. Salt Lake City
Craig had to cancel a planned stop in SLC this year due to a scheduling conflict with the premiere of Winnie The Pooh in LA. It would be great to see that date back on the calendar and bring in fans not only from Utah but from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
6. Anchorage/Honolulu
Okay, okay. We know we’re stretching it a bit. But crowds in Alaska and Hawaii would be thrilled to have a big name like Craig appearing at a theater near them. And if Craig brought along a camera crew, they could have fun recording segements for future Late Late Show episodes!
Have we missed an obvious choice for a future live stand up show? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Tweeting The Night Away
Craig has been giving the Tweety a workout lately, tweeting more than usual. On Monday he noticed that author Salman Rushdie joined Twitter recently:
Hmmm. @SalmanRushdie is on twitter. Should be interesting. Like Dickens taking a card writing job at Hallmark.
Rushdie spotted Craig’s tweeted and offered a Dickensian suggestion:
@CraigyFerg Thanks Craig. So perhaps I should begin with “d Pckwck Paprs”?
And Craig responded:
Maybe @SalmanRushdie. Or what about “Xmas Crl” – Grumpy old prick cheers up after meeting ghosts & kid with bad leg. #dickensontwitter
Craig also noticed a change on the Discovery Channel with a new season of Mythbusters:
New @MythBusters theme tune. Ok. I guess. Change is the law of God’s mind and resistance to it is the source of great pain. #stillawesome.
Techno, Darling
For those who are fans of British Comedy, BBC America reminds us that three specials are coming up, reuniting the cast of Absolutely Fabulous:
First Look: ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ returns with Patsy & Edina — EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS — http://bbca.me/AbFabPhotos via @EW #AbFab
Tonight’s Guests
Monday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes actress Lily Tomlin and Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd. CBS Studios tweeted:
Don’t forget to catch #RINGER‘s dashing Ioan Gruffudd on @CraigyFerg tonight at 12:35AM ET/PT!
On Tuesday, Craig’s guests are actress Jessica Lange and author Jacques Steinberg.
Thanks to the many robokellies who have been checking their ticket stubs and sending us notes about past stand up comedy performances by Craig Ferguson. In the past 24 hours we’ve been able to confirm and add dozens of dates to the list from 2006-2008. We’re still very short on specific shows in 2009 and we welcome your contributions. Please help us by including a web link whenever possible, which will give us more source material to confirm the date… newspaper articles, venue websites, ticket brokers, etc. all help to find specific dates and locations. Thanks to the RSA’s Linda, Monica, @Gypsy_Magician, @martitabobita, @jenpruess and @bgrhubarb for helping to make the list longer. 154 performances listed so far!
The RSA’s @fergybot4000 was on hand Saturday for a fundraiser for a West Virginia animal rescue shelter. His creator, @tzankoff says they had lots of fun with the people on hand and even got another gig. Looks like the Fergybot’s fame is growing!
