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nanzkraft.com speedmuseum.org LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 8.17 19 THE BIT WE LOVE Photo by Terrence Humphrey About six months ago, Chris Vititoe told his friend Mandee McKelvey that he wanted to start a story- telling show in Louisville. McKelvey had just participated in one in Chicago called We Sঞll Like You, which is an opportunity for comedians to tell em- barrassing/immoral/emotional 10-minute stories about themselves, as opposed to traditional bits. (The crowd shouts "We Still Like You!" in unison after each performance, which creates a non-judg- mental atmosphere and is, well, kind of hilarious.) McKelvey reached out to the We Still Like You folks, who green-lighted the sister show here. The free event takes place on the last Thursday of every month in the basement of Decca on East Market Street. Ambient red lights set the mood, and people gather on couches and chairs to listen to 10-min- ute true stories by mostly local comedi- ans about growing up ugly, lying to your friends and family about playing college football and witnessing your grade school teacher making out with your 14-year-old boyfriend. McKelvey told that story, and an artist who live-paints during the sets depicted three people standing in front of a school, positioned in the see/speak/ hear-no-evil poses. "(Chris and I) are like anti-comedians. The reason we gravitated toward each other was because we were tired of the act, the bits," says McKelvey, who like Vititoe has been doing comedy for 10 years. (Both are in their 30s and work in healthcare.) "We both had had a lot of loss in our life and have this morbid curiosity. He and I can sit down, and, if you want to make things awkward, we'll talk to you about death in 30 seconds or less," McKelvey says. "This is where Chris and I are the most comfortable. Writing jokes is where we get uncomfortable." — Thomas Elmallakh