At any rate, we were happy to test the technology out for the first time, giving us the ability to give you almost up to the moment updates on what was going down at the show. As future events happen, we’re hoping for better conditions which will allow for even more fancy tech stuff to happen at News Askew, allowing those of you who can’t make it to these things a front row look at what’s happening.

With thanks to our pal Robb, we’ve got some photos from his camera — Unless you’re up close with a fancy camera, the dim lighting in the Count Basie doesn’t lend itself well to photos, though Robb managed to walk right up to the stage to snap some shots. We’ve chosen a few to share here, click away to take a look.

Quite different and a nice change of pace from recent events, we enjoyed the laid back nature of this one — Having a large couch on stage set the scene for what turned into a very comfortable night. This Q&A reminded us quite a bit of the sessions of old, where Kevin blazed though questions at a much speedier rate than normal. Admittedly, Kevin mentioned that he typically takes the stage with a group of tales he intends to tell, even if he needs to sidetrack a bit to get to them. This time, aside from opening remarks including that now famous “bathroom incident” and his thoughts on the Zack & Miri opening, Kevin had no agenda other than to honestly chat up the fans and answer their questions.

As summarized in our blog, the night did not bring a bunch of new revelations. Kevin did confirm that “Red State” is next on the slate, but went a bit more conservative on production start, hoping to be ramping up sometime in the Spring of 2009. The Clerks cartoon movie project remains stagnant and probably dead. From the comics world, “Batman: Cacophony” issue #1 has arrived, and Kevin was kind enough to read a choice scene for us onstage. From the projects perspective, that’s all that’s on the slate at the moment (though we know that slate has a tendency to fill up rather quickly, so stay tuned).

Crowd antics were rather good, with the most outrageous requests few and far between – With long lines, several fans took the unsavory practice of asking multiple unrelated questions when they got to the mic, a tactic we don’t really dig but that Kevin fielded quite well (though it possibly slighted a few on the bubble folks in getting their turn). Questions were generally quite good and complimentary, though Kevin made it clear that all questions are welcome, and that there’s never been one that really offended him. Unlike the story Kev shared from Canada, no fans fainted when they took to the mic, though it was obvious that there were nerves at play with so many onlookers. The night capped off with a simple request that turned into a fitting conclusion, where a girl asked simply for a photograph. Kevin probed her with questions which led to a potential hook-up between her and her male companion, who eventually took the stage with her for some photos (see above).

With three multi-hour DVDs now available, and well over 12 hours of content, Kevin’s already put forth more original material than some of today’s biggest comedians. One fan remarked that he became a fan of Kevin’s Q&A work even before he discovered the films. If Kevin’s honest, open delivery style continues, we have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot more where that came from. Before we know it, Q&A events like these will be filled with a new grouping of anecdotes and obersvations. So, for Friday, it was certainly nice to catch Kevin in one of those rare moments in time, where it was just the man, the mic, the fans, and a bunch of random conversation.

On a final note, for those of you missing these shows, we can highly recommend SModcast as an alternative until Kevin’s in your town. Many fans in the auditorium commented on the joy the show brings them, and we even noticed a few tidbits and jokes that conceptually began during SModcast. So, it’s not only a fun listen, but an excellent primer or companion piece to the live shows. At this stage, there’s sadly no plans for a “live” SModcast, so, for now anyway, these Q&As are as close as you can get. Next time he comes ’round, you know we’ll be there. So should you!