Not a good place, not funny. Not well run. Management seems like not so good people. Boom Chicago was a huge disappointment. Despite its reputation for comedy, the show felt forced and unoriginal, relying too heavily on outdated jokes and awkward audience participation. The performers seemed more interested in amusing themselves than delivering sharp, engaging humor. The pacing dragged, with skits that overstayed their welcome and improv that lacked real wit. The venue itself was cramped and overpriced, with expensive drinks that didn't justify the cost. The staff was indifferent at best, adding to the feeling that the whole experience was more about making money than entertaining guests. If you're expecting high-quality comedy, look elsewhere--there are far better ways to spend an evening in Amsterdam. read more

Shute, you don't know how to spend your night in Amsterdam that's not smoking weed or walking along the Red Light District? er.... why not improvise a bit? Got €25 to spend? Sold! Well, that's not what we did, because I had planned to come see Boom Chicago for months since finding out about its presence. My best friend does improv here in Second City in Chicago so I knew it would be a great surprise to take him to an improv show while we traveled through this amazing city. The venue is close to the Anne Frank House so you're definitely a bit further from the city center. It's a small place (you ARE in Amsterdam after all) but I absolutely loved the intimacy of the stage. It fits around 50 people max and you are up and close and personal with the performers on stage which was fantastic. This level is improv is much more audience based. While there are a few sketches here and there, it's almost all audience feedback which makes for a creative time. I had a blast and was LOLing at all the different jokes they pulled up using my random suggestions. Many of the performers are Americans themselves so they'll definitely share that sense of humor. Staffing was great, the show was on point, and I had a blast at Boom Chicago. I'd definitely come back to see another show sometime, and knowing that some of my favorite comedians came through these walls makes it all the more special. read more

Boom Chicago - Comedy Clubs Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

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Excellent improv/musical/standup comedy by 2 Chicago guys relating America's crazy government & election! Totally recommend this show!!! read more

Boom Chicago - It's a Karen! From Chicago! - Comedy Clubs Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

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Improv in Amsterdam. It's Amprov! I went to a show in 2001, back when Jordan Peele was part of the cast. An intimate club with Chicago-style sketch comedy and improv, which just means it's deep crust, it's a great way to spend one of your nights here, so reserve early. Highly recommended for tourists- a very fun thing. Much more laughs than the Anne Frank House, that's for sure. read more

Location, fabuloso! Hip and happening, the decor? Dark and moody, nothing to laugh about. I like that it is small, small stage good amount of space to host a nice size audience, I sat in the balcony just because I really don't like comedy that much, but a show was recommended, therefore; I was curious. The staff friendly, however, no one checked my ticket, I could have walked for free, more supervision at the door is needed. This is a small theater, there shouldn't be a line to seat, an attendant should be there. The bar is small, but the staff is fast, I had my usual vodka with sparkling water, I really wish they had black olives. Eye candies for sure, but no eye candies for the guys ***Ok toilettes. The water pressure is way too low, disgusting looking at someone else pee, the floor is wet with what? an attendant is needed. At least it wasn't smelly. Ok decor: the small chairs are really uncomfortable, cushions are needed or new chairs. Would I go back: for sure, it is cute, it is almost romantic in a weird way. Would I recommend: absolutely read more

Boom Chicago - Comedy Clubs Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

It has been ages since i last visited boom chicago. Tonight i went again. If you are from usa and look for a great improv show that feels like back home...this is the one to go to. Also, great opportunity to make some fun of the dutch. What i liked: - professional team - high pace of improvs - good use of visuals/music. Definitely something also for a great night out if you dont speak any dutch. However if your english is not good or uf you prefer english over american humour, you may be better off to opt for something else. read more

Boom Chicago - A roast ...part of facetime your fears - Comedy Clubs Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

Went to Boom Chicago while in town for a conference, so I attended with a group of conference folks - and it was a tech conference, so a lot of geeks =) We laughed our heads off, and coming from 22 different countries, we all enjoyed the jokes, and everyone enjoyed watching us Americans be the butt of those jokes. (And the Dutch enjoyed being the butt of jokes too!). The comedy is really funny, we saw an entire improve show, and audience participation was a key. Good beer and decent service. After the show, we mixed and mingled with the comedians, and then proceeded to party with them at the upstairs bar. A lot of fun! They had a pretty good DJ upstairs and we took over the entire bar, dancing and partying. A good time was had by all. read more

Boom Chicago is completely aimed towards tourists, specifically from the US. Every other joke was about guns (which really aren't thaaaat funny to an American.. slow down!). Other than that, it was a fun experience. I think the highlight was coming out at 2am and discovering it was still light out! Whoa.. Amsterdam. :) read more

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I saw a show on Saturday night at Boom Chicago. Some of the skits fell flat but the skits that worked were very funny. I had a great time. Tickets weren't expensive and it wasn't crowded so it was easy to get a drink at the bar during intermission. I wouldn't say it's a must but if you have free time, it's a good time. read more

This is the third or fourth location for Boom Chicago. I don't know if that's pertinent to the review but this seems to be a nice centralized location on Rozengracht not far from the center. It's easy to find. It's an old theater. I'm not sure what the capacity of it is though I know it's 200+. There is an upper and lower area. In the front part of the lower area there are tables with chairs as opposed to a simple line of chairs across the room with or without an aisle in between. The last comedy show I went to see was at another theater. It was jam packed. There was literally no room between rows which I found extremely annoying and uncomfortable. But that is another story. Here there was enough room to traverse which is a relief to the people you have to get by in case you had to get up and go get something or go somewhere for whatever reason. It's a typical theater type entrance with multiple doors but just one being used as an entrance that funneled you past the ticket booth. Tickets to the show were available online. Some had issues with the service working. Advance tickets online were 12 euro and at the door they were 15 euro. If you bought the ticket online inclusive of the ticket price there is a service fee and I think a tax of some kind bringing your 12 euro to 14,20 saving you a whopping 0.80 euro but insuring you an entry ticket. I bought my ticket at the box office earlier in the day so I could find out why there were issues online. I was informed that there were no issues. Also, despite I was buying a ticket 8 hours or so before the show because I was buying at the door I paid full price of 15 euro. At least I had a ticket? As you enter and proceed up the stairs towards the bar, you get engulfed by the mass of people trying to buy a drink or to get their tickets. Now, why you had to get your tickets at the bar didn't make any sense to me being they have a ticket booth at the door. Also, being there appeared to be only two bartenders swamped by the mass of people waiting to buy drinks, it was also their duty to sell or dole out tickets to the show. I didn't see that as very efficient. It appeared to be a frenzy for both the customer and the staff. I would suggest they set up better logistics in dealing with masses of people. The same person who manned the ticket booth earlier and sold me my ticket 8 hours or so ago was now collecting tickets at the admission door. Once the show started things calmed down until during one of the host's monologues, the fire alarm went off. It wailed for quite awhile apparently to the utter disregard of the audience. I assume no one knew that it was a fire alarm going off, though the host mentioned it several times. No one seemed worried that there might actually be a fire or something dangerous occurring. That was interesting. The show poked fun at Americans and the Dutch, guys and women, standard stuff. It had more than a few moments of laughter. There were some really funny things being said. I mean it's a comedy show so... It was a good show, not a great show. Some of the material was ho hum. I laughed enough to make it a worthwhile thing to do. I'll probably go again. Afterwards, you could hang out in the bar area and drink with the comedians. Everyone could use a good laugh now and then instead of having to look into a mirror for a laugh. Go here to laugh at and with the the guys on stage making fun of themselves, the audience, life as we know or don't know it and the musings of someone who spends 23 hours and 40 minutes waiting to work for 20 minutes onstage. It's worth it. read more

Was in Amsterdam for a work trip and we came to BOOM Chicago as a big group. As someone who lived in Chicago I take my improv seriously. This place didn't disappoint. It's an intimate club - not too small not too big. The comedians were great and it was a good mix of audience participation/suggestions and pre-done comic routines. There is a bar and some food options as well...though I didn't partake in any. There is nothing as wonderful as laughing so I would recommend coming here in your next trip to Amsterdam! read more

How fun is this! A saucy little performance in a cozy little most-of-the-time nightclub. The first half of the show was hysterical. My poor vodka orange juice didn't stand a chance of survival with so much hilarity surrounding me. The second half of the show was a little less funny, content wise, but the actors are enough of a show that I still kept up the laughter (and down the vodka oj's). Fact: if you want a good laugh in a neat environment, check out Boom Chicago. read more

10% a hit, 90% a miss. The format is much like the TV shows where the have a number of comedians ad libitum. A lot of what they tried just fell flat on its face. If this had been a comedy club, they would have been bringing the next act on early. read more

Please note, the venue and cheap drinks are better than the comedy. I am only reviewing this event and I truly hope the Dutch comedy there is better than this was! The venue its self is a lovely converted cinema with stain glass windows. The beer was cheap as was the wine and the bar staff very good and pleasant although very busy. Boom Chicago English Comedy Night Sept 18th This was on a 2 for 1 offer for €12 but I wish I could get my time back. Instead of 3 comedians there were also 5. Although the show was due to start at 22:35, we were not allowed to our seats until 23:00 and it was very crowded in the foyer. This was the second "English (language)" comedy show I've seen in Amsterdam. The first one was Greg Shapiro who is from Chicago and spent most of the show insulting the Dutch and the Netherlands. This one was very racist and small minded except for two comedians and a lot of people including us eventually walked out. The female Greek compare was quite funny at first. She didn't do much comparing after that. The first act was a Swedish girl who pretty much died on stage after no laughs. She was followed by a Canadian (Joe Eagan) who seemed more generic American basic humour than Canadian comedians I've seen before. He was trying to improvise from picking on people in the audience which seemed very lazy and like he hadn't bothered to prep any material. He really wasn't funny at all and someone swore at him. The third act was an Argentinan who was was pretty funny and at least witty not just depressingly offensive. This seemed to be the first time anyone really laughed and he got applause. This gave me hope for the second half so we stuck around. There were a lot of offensive comments about Irish people so I was quite surprised to see a comedian from Cork in the second half. He was quite funny and witty but didn't seem to be on for very long. The finale was David Dreery who was also American and had apparently been at the Edinburgh Festival. That's an overhype for again for very basic humour. This guy was dressed nerdy and after being again racist and offensive, he proceeded to fake hump and grunt for a good four minutes or so and after feeling quite depressed and violated by the whole experience, this is the point at which we left. Dreery by name, dreary by nature! I wish we just stayed at de Foodhallen or went to a bar as our group was much funny than these people. read more

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After seeing them perform a small skit at an Expat fair, I've been wanting to see The 7 Deadly Dutch Sins. I purchased last minute discounted tickets online for a Friday show. It was hilarious and is especially funny if you've been living in the Netherlands for a bit. I spent a lot of time nodding and laughing along with the observations about strange Dutch behavior and also learned a few things. The show was a mixture of stand up comedy, skits and improv; it was 2 hours in total with a 15 minute intermission. Since it is free seating, I do recommend that you arrive 15-30 minutes before so that you can get a good seat (though don't sit too close to the front, otherwise they might pull you on stage). Overall, a great show that will have you laughing all night long. read more

Okay, okay - I know it's a tourist trap, but my husband and I got done with the museums early one night in Amsterdam and were looking for something to do before hitting the bars. We stumbled across this place and decided to give it a shot. We were really glad we did - we really liked the show. I'm usually not a huge improv fan at all, but the show was hilarious. A lot of the jokes poked fun at Americans (and to a lesser extent the Brits), but being from DC (which as Sarah Palin has helpfully pointed out is not "real America"), I thought it was hilarious and spot on. They do cram you in there pretty good, so get there early! read more

Trust me, go see a show at Boom Chicago. You never know what you're gonna get, but if you go with an open mind (and visit the bar before the show) you'll have a great time in a beautiful theater being entertained by an always evolving cast of funny, young comedians. The bar, and it's many levels of seating areas, is worth a visit in itself. Boom Chicago has been performing in Amsterdam since 1993, for good reason. They consistently put up funny shows and the place just has a great, gezellig vibe. read more

I haven't been to Boom Chicago in years. In fact I hadn't been to their new location. Last night i went with a friend and had a great time. The new location is nice and fairly spacious. The chairs could use an upgrade as well as the wine selection but we were there for the comedy and enjoyed the political themed show. We were impressed by the the tech and photoshopping that was incorporated....maybe not so much by the wearable microphone that sputtered occasionally. I plan to go back. read more

You get a warning message on your ticket sboru showing up right at showtime vs getting there early. The sunday night live was OK. I fell alsleep at the begining no fault of comedians. It got funny during last 10 min when comedian who was performing for last night took control. Happy i went. Just thought Show was very short, one hour for 20 euros. read more

An excellent evening, enjoying the show named social media circus, where for once you're not told to switch of your phone...:) A few questions to the public, ideas, location, etc. and they start to play around, having loads of fun and making you laugh constantly... you'll just be reminded about a few facts concerning social media ;) So best advice: go enjoy a night at boom Chicago! Second advice: VIP pass gets you so called premium seating, meaning you're at the end of a table, and not squeezed in the middle, and you get a prosecco and some coffee afterwards... not sure you really need to pay the extra fee as the theatre is quite small and you're always close to the scene :) But anyway just go enjoy and have fun:) read more

Such a fun time. Good drinks and food if you like. The comedy is top notch. Would suggest to anyone that wants a good laugh. read more

A really great venue for a comedy show, they have a reasonable selection of drinks but could be slightly better options for wine. The prices are fairly cheap so combined with a comedy show it's a great night out. They also have the ability for you to do table service via the PayPal mobile app which is great! Disclosure: I work for same company that owns Paypal read more

I went on a Wednesday night, so if they have different performers on the weekends (which from the advertisement photos, it looked like mostly the same people) then take this review with a grain of salt. The tech and improvised music of the show were great, and I was really impressed! The improvisors were really hit and miss. As a person who performs and watches improv weekly, I was surprised at the lack of their ability to play off each other. They really struggled to listen to each other, and to use the "gifts" each other gave, or really use the audiences suggestions intelligently. Also, WAY too much question asking. Questions are fine, but make then pointed, give your characters a viewpoint, don't just be confused or ignorant. The crowd was pretty quiet, even though the room was fairly full. I think the performers tend to try to play down to the audience, and hit them over the head with cheesy jokes about Americans and the Dutch, and it just comes off lazy. But the Dutch people seem to enjoy those jokes and paying WAY too much money to see it. Second city prices for second rate comedy in my opinion. I think there was definite talent in the group, and improvisors can always have an off night, but if you're going to charge a ridiculous amount of money, they better at least be good enough to battle through an off night. Seriously, put a time limit on your short-form guessing games. People were practically shouting out the answers in anger because the games took so long. That was definitely the worst part of the show. There was just a lot of dead time on stage, waiting for components of the games to get set up. Also, one of the performers keep laughing when nobody else was, which makes people in the audience think, "Well at least somebody other than us is having a good time..." As with every comedy club ever, drinks are marked up to the extreme. The performers made fun of the beer Americans drink in bars in the US, and then only served Heineken. Such an outdated joke... Have any of you had a beer in the states recently? Go to Beer Temple here in Amsterdam, which is 80% American beers, and then compare it to the ones on tap from NL. You, my Dutch friends, are no Belgium or the US when it comes to beer. To end on a positive note though, whoever came up with the tech ideas, and rigged it all up, that was great. Well done on tech and music! read more

First the good. Theater was clean, impressive and comfortable with what appeared to be good sight lines and clear sound for every seat. Drinks were reasonably priced with some very good "bucket of beer" specials. Great idea to let you text your order from your table and have the waitresses bring it to you. Not sure how common this is in Amsterdam, but I hadn't seen it before. We saw a "Best of Boom Chicago" show which had both Improv and a few sketches honed over previous years. The sketches were quite funny and great for tourists - especially the one about the rivalry between Amsterdam and Rotterdam's football clubs. Now the bad. The performers were hindered quite a bit in the show we saw by audience members who continuously suggested sexual, places, things and situations when suggestions were requested by the actors. The worst offenders were a stag party right in front of us. I don't know if they were trying to be funny or trying to sabotage the performers, but either way the show suffered because these lewd suggestions lowered the level of the humor the performers had to work with. Finally, a brief word about the cast - I assume it rotates regularly so it is impossible to predict who you will see. Audio/Sound guy was great. There were two standout performers, Dan Osten and Jen Burton, who did an excellent job in every scene. They were clever, funny and on par with top performers I've seen at Second City or UCB. There were also two performers who were, likely, of lesser experience, though each of them did ok and got some laughs. Unfortunately there was on final performer who was weak enough to detract from most of the sketches he was in, and from the show as a whole. Perhaps he had a really bad night, but he hurt the show and, oddly, seemed to be aware of this. So, I'd like to think that this was an exception and that we just saw an "off" show. Based on the Alumni performers, it seems like this is a strong possibility and that the show you see will be better. I hope I have a chance to give them another try. read more

Went for the English comedy night and had a blast! They did a great job working with getting drinks throughout the show. Fun to attend after a nice dinner in Amsterdam. Definitely recommend if you have a free night! read more

I've been here about a half dozen times over the last 3 years, because I had a friend who loved this place. She has since moved out of town. The best times I had were when I went with her and she was friends with the waitstaff and could get us slight discounts on drinks and food. That was the only time the waitstaff was ever attentive, as well. I liked seeing the sketches that make fun of Dutch culture the first time, but their jokes wear thin after repeated viewings. The worst time I had was when my friends took me here for my bachelorette party and they paid an arm and a leg to make it a special experience, and all we got was a semi-funny show and really bad service. It was such a bad experience, my friends now refer to Boom Chicago as The Place That Shall Not Be Named. It's bad enough Boom Chicago charges so much for a show and food that is so mediocre it's almost bad. It got worse when they made no acknowledgement of the special occasion and a 'table next to the stage' they charged extra for turned out to be a long table far away from the stage, next to the exit. We also won both of their pre-show trivia contests, but instead of getting two free tickets as promised when they announced the rules, they cheaped out and only gave us one free ticket each, good for 2 months. It's telling that not a single person in my group came back, even though they had a ticket for a free show. So, if you must go here because someone else is dragging you, limit it to one viewing, eat anywhere else if you can, and come early. Paying €20+ for a crappy burger or mediocre salad with weak service is not worth it to get a space at a table. read more

It takes alot to make me laugh. Most American Sit-com's don't do it. Comedy movies usually don't do it either. But Pep, Michael and Greg of Boom Chicago are funny. Very funny. Recently, I saw their show dedicated to the upcoming elections. It was witty, creative and fast paced. Michael did a great Obama impersonation, Greg was a believable Romney and Pep, was just all around funny. Next time I go through Amsterdam, I will definitely catch another show. read more

No doubt this is a place for tourists, in fact the show is in English and actors are international. Still, a lot of local Dutchies attend it too, and the shows have a lot of local flavor for the visitor. I have been here once through a friend who used to work at the theatre, it was a quite night and we had a table right by the stage. It has been a very fun time! read more

I give this 3 out of 5 because it was above average comedy. It's definitely worth a Friday night if you live in town. The humor was definitely directed towards expats with some of the jokes falling short for new comers or tourists. It was fun enough that we might attend again, but not so funny as to keep our attention for the entire show. read more

I love this place: good stand-up comedies, very cosy bar to get drinks before and after the shows (you can also order during shows via the app MyOrder). Boom Chicago tries to introduce new interesting stuff all the time, for eg for Halloween it turned into walk-through haunted house. Very cool! Last time I saw an improvised stand-up about the hipsters and their beards with other yelpers, had a very good laugh the whole evening. Can be combined with dinner in the arabic restaurant Nomads next door. Would recommend it to take out your international friends visiting A'dam as well, it is in english and there are plenty of jokes about locals -the dutchies in the shows. I am planning to see next the "Shot Improv" there, an update follows. read more

Boom Chicago is hilarious! The show is a hybrid of some stand up comedy, funny videos, and improv that lasted about 2.5 hours. We laughed our asses off at the 3 guys who were in the show. Since we are from Chicago, we really identified with a lot of their humor. The one thing I was curious about was whether or not the "Chicago" style humor has caught on in Amsterdam. In our show they made a ton of hipster jokes, but do people in the Netherlands know about the hipster phenomenon? Some people around us weren't enjoying the show too much, but that could just be them. Overall, I'd definitely see it again. read more

We saw this on New Years and it was a F****n blast! My wife participated, got a bit drunk, met a nice dutch couple, laughed at talented comedians and improv actors, also lost a bracelet (unrelated to show, related to the drinks doh) Overall very fun. Do it! See it read more

Very entertaining Improvisational comedy troupe. They sell food which we did not purchase.

If ever there was a place made for the idiom 'they don't know their arses from their elbows' it is Boom Chicago. Boom Chicago suffers from a lack of organizational clarify worthy of a soviet banana republic. Having paid extra for the VIP sofa tickets and read and understood the rules I somehow failed to anticipate that I was required to bring a psychic with me. Despite the fact that the tickets state not to queue and to order drinks directly from the hostess the actual requirement is completely the opposite. After entering and being sent back to reception to pick up our seating card,we noticed a sign saying order your interval drinks from the bar.When we got to the bar we told that ordering interval drinks was not possible.When we got to the hostess we were told that ordering drinks with her was not possible.She promptly led us to our seat which was a distinctly unsofa like two chairs either side of a table.After trying to explain that we have paid for a sofa the hostess promptly stared through us and walked away without even acknowledging our existence. The enormous proximity between my wife and I made communicating absolutely impossible and completely ruined the possibility of us experiencing anything remotely like a date night. A special mention must go to the men's urinals which were inexplicably backing up five minutes after the doors opened.They made the simple act of urination a game of space invaders as you continuously had to avoid the splash back. The wait at the bar was exceptionally long for poor quality beer in plastic glasses.The magnificent idea of leaving bar stools beside a bar on the night of a busy event was sublime,as it meant 400 people were queuing for the only 3 spaces around the bar. If you don't mind being treated like you don't exist,a venue staffed by people higher than the Empire State Building,dodging piss,queuing indefinitely and are happy not to speak to the people you are going out with,then Boom Chicago is definitely the place for you. read more

We saw a pretty good act when we went. Lots of fun, good beer, friendly people. They do also serve food but we just drank.

Whenever they make a new show, I go! Just saw Branded for Life and it was excellent. We all laughed a lot. The food is delicious as usual and their Caesar salad is the best in Amsterdam. Now that they are also a hip club, the staff seems to be at a higer level. Or maybe they are just better looking now. read more

Would give this 0 starts based on service. The show was hilarious, good job to the cast...however the service was horrendous. My friend bought a package that came with unlimited drinks and I only ordered a dinner package. I did order one drink with my meal, but I wasn't even approached to order another one. My friend had to flag down any of the waitresses to have her drink order taken, and they took about 15 minutes to bring the drink so my friend started asking for two at a time when they came by to save them the trouble of being flagged down. Not only did they take long with the drinks, they brought out my started for my meal after I had already finished my food. Anyways, cut to the last 15 minutes of the show, the waitress comes over tries to charge me for half of my friend's drinks. She had just assumed that I was taking them because she ordered two. If she were actually paying attention to her customers, this waitress would have never accused me drinking those because she could see I had no glass in front of me. Not only do the staff call us liars, the manager even comes over and starts raising her voice, which disrupted the show. Eventually the manager agreed to take the charges off once people around us stuck up for us. During this time I asked to speak to the manager after the show, and she agreed to this. However, when I asked the waitress afterwards she told me the manager was too busy to speak to me and when I insisted she asked if I was F-ing deaf. After more rude words from this waitress and eventually the manager, nothing was resolved. It is absolutely unfathomable that people like these have jobs in the service industry. I hope these people either shape up or lose their jobs. read more