February 17, 2012

The Dream of the 90's is Alive in Portland

Back in December of last year, I saw online that Fred Armisen would be doing a signing at the NBC Store in New York.  As big fans of Fred Armisen on Saturday Night Live, we were very excited to go and meet him. But it turns out that Fred wasn't there to promote SNL, but rather to sign DVDs of his new IFC sketch comedy show Portlandia.  We had heard of the show, but never really watched it, so we decided we'd buy the DVD so we could meet him and get his autograph.


When we got to the NBC Store, turns out it was much more than just a DVD signing.  Fred had a bunch of instruments set up in the staircase, and he was giving everyone in the store a free concert!  He used a loop machine to record his own accompaniment.  He sang some covers as well as two songs from Saturday Night Live.  Here is some exclusive We Like TV footage of the live performances of "I Sent A Bottle of Sparkling Apple Juice to Your House, Did You Get It?" and "Massachusetts Afternoon" from SNL.


 


But enough SNL.  We've talked about that show enough on this blog (for now).  The point is that we now had an autographed copy of the first season of Portlandia in our hands, so we decided to give it a watch.

The show basically features Fred Armisen (SNL) and Carrie Brownstein (from the bands Sleater-Kinney and Wild Flag) playing a variety of characters who live in Portland, Oregon.  Each episode features a group of random sketches, as well as one sketch that continues in 3 parts throughout the episode.  The show pokes fun at the hipster culture of Portland, and the many types of people who live there.  Many of our favorite TV actors have also guest starred on the show, such as Fred's SNL co-stars Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg, and Kristen Wiig, as well as Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Aubrey Plaza (Parks & Rec), and Sean Hayes (Will & Grace).

While the show can get a little strange at times, it really is a very funny show, and we look forward to watching it each week.  Catch a new episode tonight and every Friday night at 10:00pm on IFC!

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