Big Spokane show announcements: Doug Benson and Lucinda Williams

Doug Benson loves movies and visiting Spokane

So we don’t know for sure that Doug Benson loves visiting Spokane but he is hitting up the Knitting Factory January 9 to do standup comedy — unfortunately not a Doug Loves Movies podcast taping.

Benson is the sort of dude whose Twitter account explains: “If you can't stand the tweet, unfollow the kitchen.” That should give you an insight into his type of humor. The comedian was seen on Last Comic Standing and starred in the all-important documentary Super High Me. But he’s most well known in hipster circles for his podcast Doug Loves Movies, which tapes often at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. The podcast invites artists and comedians of all walks to the stage and features the best game ever, the Leonard Maltin Game, where players are asked to guess a film by the number of stars and brief explanation given by movie critic Leonard Maltin. (Pro tip: Buy a Leonard Maltin Movie Guide book and play this game with friends … so fun).

His other weekly, yet more ridiculous, podcast is Getting Doug with High. Which, like his standup, talks a lot about smoking marijuana. 

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at sp.knittingfactory.com.


Lucinda Williams rocks hard country

Lucinda Williams, 61, sounds kind of drunk when she sings, but in a super cool way. She brings her brand of rockin’ country to the Bing Crosby Theater Valentine’s Day (which is also the day Portland Cello Project comes to town. Good luck deciding which show to attend).

Williams’ first album Ramblin’ was released in 1979, but it took until the late-1990s for her to find mainstream success. Since then she’s been named America’s Best Songwriter by Time magazine and has won multiple Grammys. 

Tickets start at $39 and go on sale Friday at TicketsWest outlets.