Comedy CD Review - Hannibal Buress - Animal Furnace

This article was first published at Blogcritics

Hannibal Buress is one funny guy.

His new CD Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace, an extended and uncensored recording of his Comedy Central world premiere stand-up special is laugh out loud hilarious.  Whether he is talking about Meghan Fox scatting or jay walking in Canada, he has a real sense for life's absurdities. Sure he takes some shots at easy targets—the TSA, debit cards, but they are targets that deserve all the ridicule they get.  And even when he starts on masturbation, his take is at least something original.  Besides while his humor may be raunchy, it is really not mean spirited.  He looks at what goes on around him and asks can you believe this.  He doesn't quite say it that way, but that's what it amounts to.  His world is a nutty place, and he is a master at showing just how nutty it is.

He talks about the danger a comic might risk by of contacting one of your Facebook fan/friends on the road; he talks about men's health magazines and buying apple juice.  There is a story about late night in Edinburgh. He even manages laughs about lettuce (and there isn't any 'k' in lettuce). It is funny stuff, delivered sometimes with dry wit, sometimes with passion, but always with consummate skill.  Buress is a pro.

Given that the funniest bit in the set, for my money at any rate, is something he calls "Wack Writing," it takes some real nerve to write about Buress's comedy.  He reads some passages from an article written about one of his college shows and rips it to shreds. It's not that he is grousing about negative criticism, it is simply that he recognizes the nonsense and careless writing that too often passes for informed content, even when that content is meant positively.  It is a caution not to be taken lightly.  You have to be careful about what you say when writing about Buress, you might well find yourself taking up five minutes in his act and end up as the butt of a "comedic" joke. 

Comedy Central is also releasing a DVD of show which will also include some 20 minutes of material not in the original broadcast.  It features a behind-the-scenes documentary about how Buresss spent the week prior to filming the show.  Clips are available on the Comedy Central Stand­-up website. 

For anyone in the New York area, Buress will be headlining a Comedy Central Live Presents Hannibal Buress, a free live outdoor show which will also feature comics Kevin Barnet and Josh Rabinowitz.  The show is scheduled for June 24^th at 7: 00 pm rain or shine at Red Hook Park in Brooklyn.