Funny Mondays Comes Out for Haiti

Lisa Geduldig, Natasha Muse, Tony Koester, Yayne Abeda, Casy Ley and Marga Gomez

MC Tony Koester greeted a sold-out crowd that filled every seat in the club, with guests lined up against the back wall, at the Stand Up for Haiti: A Comedy Series for Haiti Earthquake Relief  held on Jan. 18, 2010, at the Deco Lounge in San Francisco. Monday is the usual night for Funny Mondays at the high sexual tension Tenderloin hang out, and Koester creatively advertised the evening comedy show for an earthquake relief event and packed in the donors.

Besides Koester’s brand of sharp humor, there were short sets by Marga Gomez, Yayne Abeda, Casey Ley, Natasha Muse, and Lisa Geduldig. Gomez drew astonished laughter when she said Barack Obama’s name and then assumed a prayerful position, as if he is a godlike deity.

Koester did a rant about straight guys who come into the gay community and take bartender jobs, and then are offended when a gay guy sees their sexy outfits and gets close. A prime example of a straight faux pas was when a non-gay performer at the benefit brought three non-paying “groupies” who made so much noise in the bar that they drowned out the beautifully miked sound by DJ Lambchop.

Over $100 was raised when waiter Eric took off his shirt, and some guys wanted to see sultry comic Casey Ley shirtless also.

It was announced at the finale that over $1,200 had been raised for the suffering Haitians. Jeff Cotter from the Rainbow World Fund was there to accept the much needed money. The fund works with CARE, which is on the ground in Haiti to provide help immediately. Rainbow World Fund is all about LGBT people responding to world need.

The next highly anticipated Stand Up for Haiti will be on Jan. 25, and will feature comics Mary Van Note, Chris Burns, Ronn Vigh, Veronica Porras, Sam Wilcke, Conrad Roth, Justin Simpson and Tony Koester.

Deco Lounge
510 Larkin St (@ Turk)
San Francisco

Donations to Rainbow World Fund can be made at rainbowfund.org.

[Photo caption: 1/18/2010 — Stand Up for Haiti: A Comedy Series for Haiti Earthquake Relief at the Deco Lounge in San Francisco. Comics Lisa Geduldig, Natasha Muse, MC Tony Koester, Yayne Abeda, Casy Ley, and Marga Gomez presented a fantastic show with outrageous humor for a packed room in the Tenderloin.