Good Medicine… truly
By Terria Smith
Things have been heavy for a lot of us for a lot of different reasons. So when my friend Sara Calvosa Olson (yes, the Karuk food writer of Chimi Nu’am fame) asked me if I was interested in going to the Good Medicine Comedy Show in San Francisco during a working weekend, my answer was immediately yes.
Sara had never been to a live stand-up comedy show before. So everything would be a surprise for her. I, on the other hand, knew how funny Good Medicine was going to be because I had been to one of the Jackie Keliiaa (Yerington Paiute/Washoe/Native Hawaiian) hosted shows a couple of years ago when it was in Southern California. Good Medicine closed out Native Arts Festival Week at Idyllwild Arts Academy that year.
But there was another reason I felt I needed to go.
And that big reason was the day of the show was my late dad’s birthday (whom I lost years ago to colon cancer). Things were feeling especially heavy for me emotionally and I needed to laugh. Just as I expected, Good Medicine did not disappoint.
I immediately brightened as soon as Jackie took the stage of the Strand Theater with her signature boisterous energy. Her super funny monologue during the opening set was so relatable. She talked about the experiences of being single, having a crush, and she even jumped into the macro societal stuff such as politics as well as racism.
Following Jackie was Siena East’s (Choctaw) youthfully exuberant set where she talked about being politically actively outdone by her dad as well as some of the complications of hooking up. I also learned that Sienna is in the series “The Lowdown” starring Killer Mike and Ethan Hawke which is now streaming on Hulu.
Brian Bahe (Tohono O’odham/Hopi/Navajo) was a little more familiar. Though I had never seen his standup performance before, I did recognize him from the “Sage-Based Wisdom” podcast that he co-hosts with comedian Jana Schmieding (Cheyenne River Lakota). So I got his style of humor.
The headliner, Frankie Quiñones (Tigua Pueblo), was someone who Sara recognized and was super excited to see. I quickly realized why, this guy is absolutely hilarious! His set was filled with jokes about family, relationships, and Latino as well as Native social cultures that had us laughing the entire way through. Turns out Quiñones is also starring in a Hulu streaming series called “This Fool.”
After the show, Sara and I got to support one of our favorite jewelry vendors Jessica Mendez (Yurok) with each of us picking up a pair of earrings. She was tabling alongside another one of our favorites, the talented artist Damien Scott (Yurok/Tolowa/Karuk).
Artist table for Damien Scott (Yurok/Tolowa/Karuk) and Jessica Mendez (Yurok). (Photo by Jim McCambridge)
I left the theater feeling a lot lighter in my spirit. After all, Dad loved comedy. He and Mom used to let me watch Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Eddie Murphy on VHS, and Redd Foxx on LP when I was a kid. They were also long time fans of Oneida comedian Charlie Hill too. Mom used to take me to see him at the UC Riverside Medicine Ways Conference when he would perform there. So I am making new memories around Native comedy with new friends.
And now I have a couple of Hulu shows to catch up on while I wait for the next Good Medicine Comedy Show!
