After a long 14 month wait between QBs III and IV, I think it’s not gonna be so long until Quizzo Bowl V. I’d like to get back to doing it in late January, if possible. Here a few thoughts on venues:
World Cafe Live: Obviously better acoustics, closer location for most people, and to be honest, less work for me (They do ticketing, insurance, security, etc.) And as a man of leisure, the less work the better. But after three straight sellouts from a local act, they seemed extremely indifferent about hosting QB IV, which was kind of a turnoff.
Blue Horizon:Lots of character, the employees were a pleasure to do business with, plenty of room, and the opportunity for free beer. Downsides: a little bit out of the way, a little bit chilly (though that could probably be corrected if we did it again), and the acoustics were so-so (not the sound guys fault, just the way it’s gonna be in a large old building not built with acoustics in mind).
Somewhere New: Would be fun to do it like the Super Bowl, where we got to check out a new venue each year. The question is, where? After doing lots of research on this, I have discovered that there are plenty of places in Philly that sit 200 people, but almost none that sit 300. I’d love to do it at a place like the Troc, but it’s simply not big enough. Houston Hall on Penn’s campus or The Armory are big enough, but I’d need to rent tables and chairs and find a way to get them to those places, which sounds like a nightmare. If anyone has any ideas, please post them below.

And they’re pretty awesome. My man DJ was official photographer, and he got some really good ones, including shots of plenty of teams. Check ’em out.

Those of you who saw me on Wednesday night saw a nearly broken man. I had sold only about 150 tickets (these things are usually sold out by the Wednesday before), and, having expected to sell numerous tickets at the Black Sheep that night, I sold one. There was no hope of getting help from the TV or the papers. There was no money in the budget for advertising. The Inquirer, after making overtures of doing a story on it, backed off. The Weekly and the City Paper decided not to cover it for the first time ever. After three straight classics, it looked like Quizzo Bowl IV was gonna be a dud. And it would be a failure in front of the Burnin’ Loves, a band made up of guys I had grown up with. But, in a show of what an incredible community we have, things started to turn around, Blues Brothers style. Trivia Art posted a contest on Foobooz, D-Mac did the same on PhiladelphiaWillDo. Dark Horse John sent a message to his listserve. Jam Master Sean told the RPS crowd. Chip posted bulletins on Myspace, as did Steve O., Smackdown, and the Lovely Ginger. Gabe and Andy at the Temple Law School posted flyers all over the facility, while I posted them on bulletin boards, walls and bathroom doors at Temple and Penn. Despite being ignored by the press, the buzz started to spread, and by the time doors opened at the Blue Horizon at 7 p.m., a sea of people poured through. In the end, it worked out incredibly. I had set up 38 tables of 8 eight each, and in the end every seat was filled, for a total of 304 people, our 4th consecutive Quizzo Bowl sellout.

As for the event itself, it was legendary. The Burning Loves opened sans Black Elvis, and got the crowd warmed up with a few classics, such as “Hard to Handle” and “Me and Bobby McGee”. JGT broke his promise of not rapping, and opened with “Mama Said Knock You Out”. Then we began a rather difficult easy round. Of the 38 teams, only one, Dork Sided, got all 12 questions correct. The much maligned defending champs, the Sofa Kingdom, aced Round Two, and took the lead after the first two rounds. It was then time for the halftime show, featuring Chip Chantry and the Legendary WID. Chip’s set went pretty well, despite the fact that the audio was a little off in the old building. Then came the WID. I wish he had performed on stage instead of in front, because I think some people in the back couldn’t really see what was going on.

Long story short, he got sha-na-nad off the stage, despite pulling out two stuffed lions, and saying “Hey, I’ve got my pride,” then dry humping one of the lions and saying, “What do you think I’m F****** Lion?” (How is that not hilarious? I just don’t get you people.) There are already talks of a “WID’s Revenge” show, so stay tuned.

On to Round Three, the wild card round. After starting off slowly, two time champions the Champs (aka Rob’s Zombies) were one of only two teams to pull off a perfect round, and moved within a question of the lead heading into the final round. The other team to have a perfect round three, Lambda Lambda Lambda had a narrow lead, with 71 points. MAGMA was close behind with 69, and Blowback Chicken Army (featuring Triva Art, D-Mac, Smackdown, and a few Western Omelette’s) were in 3rd with 68. The Kingdom and the Zombies both had 67. Dork Sided, looking for the upset, was still within a question of the lead, with 66.

Meanwhile, between rounds, Black Elvis had completely caught fire. His booming voice and the bands rollicking play had the place rocking. Suspicious Minds was amazing, Hound Dog was downright nasty, and they ended the night by getting away from the Elvis with a little Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Good”. By the end of the night, the nerd elite were dancing in the aisles. Unreal.

But back to the action. Round Four, which kicked off with Eye of the Tiger playing in the background, was a doozy. When the dust settled, the Resevous Dogs aka The Jams, with an impressive final round, had moved to 5th place. MAGMA finished in 4th. Rob’s Zombies, despite losing their effervescent leader during the previous year (I missed him eating other peoples food while taking his table at this year’s Quizzo Bowl. And great team name. I am quite certain that would approve.), finished an impressive third. So it came down to two teams. The defending champs the Sofa Kingdom and Steve O.’s team, Lambda Lambda Lambda. The crowd began banging on the tables as I prepared to read off the winners, followed by an actual drum roll. Ladies and gentlemen, “Your 2008 Quizzo Bowl Champions…Lambda Lambda Lambda!”

The crowd went wild, the Kingdom hung their heads, and the Lambdas began jumping up and down as if they had just made the Final Four. The Kingdom hung their heads as if their three pointer at the buzzer had grazed the iron. Unlike the Final Four, there were no TV news crews there to record the moment, no write-ups about it in the Sunday paper. But there is no denying that the Kingdom was overthrown. The Revolution was not televised, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t a hell of a lot of fun.

Hey gang, click here to see how your team did in Quizzo Bowl. (Scores have been fixed.)

Congratulations to your 2008 championship team, Lamda Lamda Lamda, at the 4th consecutive sold out Quizzo Bowl! I had fun. I hope you guys did too. Be back with a full wrap up, lots of photos, and a full scoreboard so you can see how your team did on Monday. I am now gonna kick back on the couch for the next 10 hours and watch basketball and baseball while eating unhealthy food and passing in and out of consciousness. If you got any good shots of last nights show, please send em to me. I’m gonna do a photo gallery manana.

OK, gang, here is a final rundown of everything you need to know about the most prestigious Quizzo event in the history of the world.

• HOW TO GET TICKETS: Click here. There will be also be tickets at the door. However, I only have a certain amount of tables set up for teams. Once they are filled, doors close. I have about 220 sold and room for about 60 more people. To ensure yourself a seat, get your tickets now. If you are going to get your tickets there, I would suggest being there when doors open at 7 p.m. Online sales end tonight.
• WHERE: Legendary Blue Horizon (1314 North Broad Street) Cross street is Thompson, two blocks north of Girard. I will have cab numbers in the program so you can call for a cab after the event.
• WHEN: Tomorrow night! Doors open at 7 p.m., band comes on at 7:30 p.m., quizzo start at about 8:15 p.m.
• WHAT DO I GET FOR MY MONEY: For a mere $25, you get all you can drink Sly Fox (at least until we kick 6 kegs), Black Elvis, Chip Chantry, and the Legendary WID, probably my favorite comedian in Philly. Oh yeah, and a shot at the $1,000 purse. Also, I will have lots of gift certificates to give away in random drawings. In addition, the first 100 people through the door get a free copy of Mental Floss magazine. You will not find a better deal than this in Philadelphia this weekend. Or ever, for that matter.
• FOOD AND DRINK: Like I said, plenty of beer. Will also have several bottles of wine, for the sissies more sophisticated palates. As far as food, I would suggest eating before you arrive. I will have soft pretzels, courtesy of the Philly Pretzel Factory, and some chips, but nothing too hearty. There will be also be food for sale at the afterparty.
• AFTERPARTY: Going down at the Urban Saloon. Great bar, if you haven’t already been. They are totally styling us out with $2.50 drafts and $3.50 imports and crafts. They will also have food for sale (they have good, inexpensive food).
• HOW DO I GET SO MUCH BANG FOR MY BUCK? Thanks to the sponsors on the right side of the page, we were able to keep prices extremely reasonable. I cannot thank them enough for their contributions to this event. I do ask that you please check them out when you get a chance.

Oh, and one more thing: I have known several member so the Burnin’ Loves since I was about 5 years old. So tomorrow night is your chance to find out what a loser popular guy I was in high school. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. This is gonna be a blast. Hope to see you there!

OK, gang, here is a final rundown of everything you need to know about the most prestigious Quizzo event in the history of the world.

• HOW TO GET TICKETS: Click here. There will be also be tickets at the door. However, I only have a certain amount of tables set up for teams. Once they are filled, doors close. I have about 220 sold and room for about 60 more people. To ensure yourself a seat, get your tickets now. If you are going to get your tickets there, I would suggest being there when doors open at 7 p.m. Online sales end tonight.
• WHERE: Legendary Blue Horizon (1314 North Broad Street) Cross street is Thompson, two blocks north of Girard. I will have cab numbers in the program so you can call for a cab after the event.
• WHEN: Tomorrow night! Doors open at 7 p.m., band comes on at 7:30 p.m., quizzo start at about 8:15 p.m.
• WHAT DO I GET FOR MY MONEY: For a mere $25, you get all you can drink Sly Fox (at least until we kick 6 kegs), Black Elvis, Chip Chantry, and the Legendary WID, probably my favorite comedian in Philly. Oh yeah, and a shot at the $1,000 purse. Also, I will have lots of gift certificates to give away in random drawings. In addition, the first 100 people through the door get a free copy of Mental Floss magazine. You will not find a better deal than this in Philadelphia this weekend. Or ever, for that matter.
• FOOD AND DRINK: Like I said, plenty of beer. Will also have several bottles of wine, for the sissies more sophisticated palates. As far as food, I would suggest eating before you arrive. I will have soft pretzels, courtesy of the Philly Pretzel Factory, and some chips, but nothing too hearty. There will be also be food for sale at the afterparty.
• AFTERPARTY: Going down at the Urban Saloon. Great bar, if you haven’t already been. They are totally styling us out with $2.50 drafts and $3.50 imports and crafts. They will also have food for sale (they have good, inexpensive food).
• HOW DO I GET SO MUCH BANG FOR MY BUCK? Thanks to the sponsors on the right side of the page, we were able to keep prices extremely reasonable. I cannot thank them enough for their contributions to this event. I do ask that you please check them out when you get a chance.

Oh, and one more thing: I have known several member so the Burnin’ Loves since I was about 5 years old. So tomorrow night is your chance to find out what a loser popular guy I was in high school. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. This is gonna be a blast. Hope to see you there!

Ah yes, the first Quizzo Bowl. Ran a little long, but Nate Wiley and the Crowd Pleasers kept there from being a meltdown with their sweet soulful sounds. Johnny Cash impersonator The Man in Black did a great job kicking off the show, the bellydancer at halftime was a near disaster, and Where’s Johnny (aka The Champs) edged the Sofa Kingdom, then making their first JGT quizzo appearance. Anyways, here’s a few questions from the first big event.

1. What did Vincenzo Peruggia steal in 1911, making him a national hero of sorts in his native Italy?
2. Who are the only two players to win back to back Super Bowl MVPs?
3. In what state did the Wounded Knee Massacre, take place in 1890?
4. What fundamental discovery in the field of nuclear science did Sir James Chadwick make in 1932?
5. What country do the Galapagos Islands belong to?
6. Much of our knowledge about the Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD comes from this Roman’s letter to the historian Tacitus?
7. What sea is located on Turkey’s northern coast?
8. How many laps are in the Daytona 500?
9. How many golden tickets did willy wonka hide in chocolate wonka bars?
10. What’s the name of Beethoven’s only opera?

Answers after the jump.

Continue reading “Questions from Quizzo Bowl I” →

One thing that will separate this Quizzo Bowl from those that have come before is the venue. After three years at the modern confines of the World Cafe Live, this year we’ll be taking a trip back in time, as the event goes down at the hallowed Blue Horizon.

The Horizon was built in 1865 as three different row homes for the nouveau riche. In 1914, the buildings were adapted to house a Moose Lodge, whose presence is still felt. The lobby features a ticket booth built in 1914 with the Lodge’s name and number still imprinted on the glass, and on one side of the stage you’ll find a plaque honoring members of the local Moose Lodge that died in World War I. On the other side you’ll find a bust of former “dictator” of the Lodge, John Ford.

The venue was converted to a church in the 1960s, and fights began being staged there in 1961. It quickly made a name for itself as a premiere boxing venue, with 33 World Champions boxing there, including Bernard Hopkins, Meldrick Taylor, and Tim Weatherspoon. In 1999 it was voted the Number One Boxing Venue in the World by the readers of Ring magazine. The Horizon is also used for a variety of parties and cabarets, but in its 143 year history, it has never played host to a major trivia event. Until Saturday, March 29th, 2008, when history will be made in a building already rich on it. BUY TICKETS NOW or see me tonight at quizzo.

Just crossed the 100 tickets sold plateau. If you are interested in buying tix, either click here or come out to one of my quizzos this week. I will also be at the Dark Horse tonight at 9 p.m. with tickets on me. For more info on QB IV, click here.