Editor’s Note: The fact that we’ve already arrived at November is both mind boggling and frustrating, for a myriad of different reasons, but while you try to find where all the time has gone this past year, here’s to hoping we can help you find something to laugh at along the way. To help soothe all the seasonal panic that comes with preparing for two weeks of pretty landscapes and then months of snowfall that seems to linger until “Smarch,” the one constant throughout all the seasons is comedy, and that is one thing that keeps on flowing like the finest PSL on tap. With homegrown talent, national headliners, and open mics galore highlighting the calendar, the plethora of powerful comedy throughout the commonwealth continues to show up, night after night. To help you make sense of all of the wonderful options, enter Mic’d Up, our ongoing weekly series that details the best live comedy shows to consider as you head out and about. Below, find our rundown for this week, through Sunday (November 17).
Kathleen Madigan at The Wilbur
If you’re wondering why there’s a gloriously mad midwestern voice in your head guiding you through the absurdities of everyday life, that’s most likely the result of Kathleen Madigan. One of the most consistent and dedicated comics in the game to this day, the Missouri native returns with another hour, and that means a brand new stock pile of observations and frustrations to wade through, which may just be what the doctor ordered at this point in the year.
KATHLEEN MADIGAN :: Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 6 p.m., $36.75 to $61.75 :: Advance tickets
Michael Ian Black at Off Cabot
Taking time away from his political game show co-hosting gig, it’s almost a given that Michael Ian Black is coming to town with a whole lot to say. Never one to mince words either, you won’t want to be flashed by a neuralyzer when the M.I.B. takes the stage for the weekend and dishes out on everything within reach. He knows no chill, so if you haven’t gotten to know him yet, it’s about damn time you change that.
MICHAEL IAN BLACK :: Saturday, November 16 and Sunday, November 17 at Off Cabot, 9 Wallis St. in Beverly, MA :: 6:30 & 9 p.m. both nights, $30 :: Advance tickets
Steve Hofstetter at City Winery
Always thoughtful, dangerously sharp, and able to go toe to toe with anyone who dares heckle him from the crowd, Steve Hofstetter returns to the city with a new hour that is sure to be a potent and unapologetic dose of personally and socially-charged hilarity. Never one to pull punches on things that deserve it, the former Allston resident offers up one of the most well-rounded live comedy experiences in the game, and he’s only getting better at it.
STEVE HOFSTETTER :: Sunday, November 17 at City Winery, 80 Beverly St. in Boston, MA :: 5:30 p.m., $25 to $100 :: Advance Tickets