Comedy Review: Demetri Martin - Standup Comedian

This article was first published at Blogcritics

With Standup Comedian, Demetri Martin, a comedian accustomed to coming on stage with a lot of "baggage," hopefully aims to demonstrate that one man up on a stage with good material can be still be funny. He doesn't need the costumes and the screens and the drawings and all of the other stuff. If the one liners are good enough, that will do the job.

And for most of the set he delivers on his new CD proves his point. He does get out his guitar and harmonica at the very end, but as he told The Guardian in an interview about the Comedy Central TV special on which the CD is based, "This time I didn't do any of that. It was just me, and I did some drawings. No piano, no keyboard, no screen with slides. I thought it would be cool to simplify it." This is Demetri Martin unadorned. This is standup pure and simple.

Whether he is calling attention to linguistic quirks and anomalies or unnecessary modern conveniences, he has that finely tuned dry delivery that gets audiences laughing, and he's on to the next joke before they really have time to think more carefully about what he has said. The less time to think about it, the better it sits.  After all, if what you're doing is tossing out one liners, you don't want your audience thinking, you want them laughing. Context is everything. He has a knack for turning the ordinary into the absurd by changing the context. A simple word like "yep," a phrase like "okey dokey"—they can become ridiculous in the wrong context. His bit on training bras is hilarious, that on silent letters somewhat labored.  Overall Standup Comedian is an album with one liners coming fast and furious. If you're not laughing at one, just wait, there'll be another one coming at you soon enough.

While the Comedy Central show was filmed at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the CD was recorded separately in April of 2012 at the Acme Comedy Co, in Minneapolis and includes additional material. The CD includes a little poster of the album cover. Comedy Central is also releasing an extended and uncensored version of the TV special on DVD.

Comedy CD Review: Jim Gaffigan - Mr. Universe

This article was first published at Blogcritics

August 28^th marks Comedy Central's scheduled CD release of comic Jim Gaffigan's standup special Mr. Universe recorded in a live performance at the Warner Theatre in Washington.  The comedian had previously made the special available as a DRM-free download back in April for five dollars, one dollar of which was to be donated to the Bob Woodruff Foundation which aids wounded servicemen and their families. 

The 75 minute set is vintage Gaffigan—precisely honed observational comedy delivered with spot on timing.  Gaffigan finds his humor in highlighting the absurdities of daily living.  He talks about kids and Disney vacations, the multiplication of athletic shoes for any possible occasion and then some, and the creepiness of hotel pools.  He talks about body building and the love of McDonalds French fries.  He mentions the dangers of indulging in Indian food.  He never has to stray all that far from the beaten path to find something funny. 

He speaks to us all. There are those comedians who seem to dwell in the obtuse. Cult figures, they talk to an audience of insiders. This is not Gaffigan. If you've eaten at Subway or bought one of Domino's concoctions, he'll have you laughing out loud.  And if not, you'll just have to agree with one of those little self-deprecating critical asides he habitually tosses into his act over the course of the evening.  "Can you believe it? A diarrhea joke."  Diarrhea and a closing riff on ExtenZe, by the way, are just about the closest he comes to working with anything offensive, and in this day and age you'd have to be living on some other planet to find that offensive. 

Mr. Universe is the comic's fourth album for Comedy Central. His first three--Doing My Time, Beyond the Pale and King Baby--have combined to sell over 500,000 copies. His TV appearances include shows like Flight of the Conchords, Bored to Death, Conan and The Late Show with David Letterman.

Comedy Central has been releasing a stellar collection of stand up albums from some pretty funny comics in recent months: Reggie Watts, Doug Benson, John Mulaney, Hannibal Buress.  Jim Gaffigan's latest is an impressive addition to the catalogue.  Check out a sample and see for yourself.

Todd Barry's TV Special Available on CD and DVD

This article was first published at Technorati

In recent months Comedy Central has released a tide of top flight comedy CDs and DVDs: Hannibal Buress' Animal Furnace, Reggie Watts', A Live At Central Park, John Mulaney's New in Town, and Doug Benson's Smug Life to name a few. Well they've got another one coming later this month with Todd Barry's Super Crazy, an extended uncensored version of his world premiere one hour TV special scheduled for July 21 at 11:00. 

Recorded live at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, Barry's set includes observational bits about tourists and travel directions, the real value of eating Italian food in a restaurant, and fraternity sales pitches delivered with his patented  laconic deadpan.  From the very beginning with his rant on bartending in the wilds of Montana to his finale about the fan who confuses him with another comic, Barry has the audience in the proverbial palm of his—well, you know where the palm is, and you don't sit on it, and neither does the audience.  This is funny stuff.  It has the audience roaring; it had me in stitches, and more than likely it will have you laughing too. 

Not only has Barry made the rounds of the late night shows—Letterman, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel—with his stand-up routine, but he has also appeared on TV shows from Sex in the City to Sesame Street.  His movie credits include Wanderlust, Road Trip, and Pootie Tang.  He was Mickey Rourke's boss in the deli in the 2009 Academy Award winner, The Wrestler. 

The DVD will contain more than 15 minutes of material omitted from the TV broadcast. 

Bonus features include his performance at the Friars Club roast of Chevy Chase and the video of Todd Barry on Giggles, Wiggles and Giggles with Gordy.  You can check out this video of what is supposed to be Barry interviewed by a student working on a dissertation on comedy from his dorm room on the Comedy Central website.  

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. 

Comedy Review: Reggie Watts: A Live at Central Park,

This article was first published at Blogcritics

Watching a comedian like Reggie Watt makes me feel like people of my age must have felt when they first heard the likes of Lenny Bruce or Andy Kauffman.  I mean if your idea of a comedian is Bob Hope or Jack Benny, what on earth are you going to make of these new voices, lauded and praised thought they be.  So along comes Comedy Central's CD/DVD set, Reggie Watts: A Live at Central Park, and I have to ask myself, am I the right person to review it?   I know that a lot of very bright people think of him as a major cutting edge talent.  I know that he as much praised for his musical talent as he is for his comic sensibility.  And I know that I am never quite sure that I get him.  I may find myself laughing at some of his bits, but when it comes right down to it, I'm not sure what's so funny about beat boxing nonsense syllables.

So having confessed my fears of inadequacy for the task at hand let me rush in where I ought fear to tread.   First, here are some of the basic facts about the new release. The set was recorded at Summerstage in Manhattan's Central Park on June 22, 2011.  The CD has 13 tracks.  The DVD has a selection of most of the same tracks plus added sketch sequences in which Watts' tries to determine if the Central Park performance is really a dream, or perhaps even a dream within a dream.  There will be a world premiere showing of I presume a censored version of the evening on Comedy Central on May 11, at 1:00am.  The CD/DVD combo will be released on May 15^th.

The set featuring the typical elements that Watts' fans have more than likely come to expect from him will not disappoint them.  There are the vocal gyrations, the beat boxing, the looping, even a little fancy footwork—all both comically absurd and musically inventive.  It's the kind of thing that wouldn't be funny in the hands of a musically inept performer, but that the musically talented Watts can turn into a tour de force.  It's the kind of thing his fans love; it is obvious in the audience reaction to the piece he calls "Reggiohead."  They know where he's going the minute he opens his mouth.  To show my age again: it makes me think of a performer like Victor Borge, whose ridicule of classical music and its performers worked because his own virtuosity was well recognized.

"Tweet Yourself Right" is an impromptu romp that begins with Zippos at concerts and moves to tissues near your computer screen and ends with social media. Going on for almost 12   presumably improvised minutes and showing off some sweet vocal gymnastics, this has to be one of the highlights of the evening. "Having Sex" is another nice piece. "So Good Yeah," a kind of Stevie Wonder take off which is only on the CD is a musical gem. The thing about Watts is that you never know where he's likely to go or how he's going to get there, you just have to sit back and enjoy the trip.

It's the same for the absurdist monologues like his dissertation on time which seems to mean something but that ends in utter nonsense and the little games he likes to play with the audience.  Sometimes, as in "Boroughs" it seems to go on too long before he decides where to take it, but once he gets going, he works it.  He does one of his patented British dialect rants starting with the craziness of performers, gives a nod to Adele and ends in absolute absurdity.  There is silliness, there is profanity, but there is also truth. 

A quarter of a century from now, some old codger will be listening to some new cutting edge comic, and he'll likely be thinking "watching this guy, I feel like someone my age must have felt watching Reggie Watts back in the day." 

Comedy Review: John Mulaney - New in Town

This article was first published at Blogcritics



Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney is out with an extended and uncensored CD of his Comedy Central stand-up special, New in Town, which premiered last month.  It's a comedy set that has Mulaney at the top of his game. 

Mulaney has the kind ofpleasant on stage personality that gets the audience rooting for him.  In an on-line interview with Kimberly Potts on The Wrap, Mulaney says that his favorite parts are the parts where he makes fun of himself, and he's got that right.  He is at his best in that kind of self deprecating humor that gets the audience laughing at you laughing at yourself. Whether he's talking about his bad driving, his inability to deal with problems when his girlfriend is not around, or his childhood when he was mistaken for an Asian, he is at the top of his game.  He's not too shabby getting on others either.  He does a job on Ice T in a riff on Law and Order: SVU that is downright hilarious.  His bit on his lawyer parents' child rearing style is a gem.  At a total running time of about fifty minutes, there's a lot of funny stuff on New in Town.

The problem with reviewing  a comedy album is that you don't want to be a spoiler.  You want to explain what's funny and what's not, but you don't want to give everything away.  Anyone who buys the album ought to have something akin to a virgin experience.  Of course if you don't care some of his routine is available in the usual places.  All I can say is that I found him hysterical at times; if you want to see for yourself, check out Comedians.Jokes.com/John Mulaney.

 

Comedy Review: Lewis Black, The Prophet

Article first published as Comedy Review: Lewis Black - The Prophet on Blogcritics.

Lewis Black's The Prophet, released this week by Comedy Central, certainly has some funny material—unfortunately it would have been a hell of a lot funnier twenty years ago when it was recorded. What you have here is comedy as history. The album was recorded late in 1990 as the irate comic toured the country delivering his patented political tirade on the current state of the union, current in 1990.
I have nothing against Black's politics. Indeed, I find myself agreeing with almost everything he has to say. The problem is that he is saying it about Dan Quayle. He is saying it about George Bush. He is saying it about Ronald Reagan. And agree with his or not, it's old news. Political comedy loses something as it recedes into the past. Jokes about the Exxon Valdez disaster make more sense when everyone knows what the Exxon Valdez disaster was. I suspect that that might not always be the case with all of Black's current audience, and even those who do know are more likely to be more interested in the BP oil spill. Political humor needs to be current; I can't imagine anyone showing reruns of The Daily Show in 2030.

There are other things on the album. There is a rant about excessive Christmas celebration. There is some equal opportunity mockery of bar mitzvahs and Jewish food choices. There's a short bit about banning smoking. It's good stuff, but it doesn't make up for the dated political material.

Black is a funny man. His comedy albums have won a number of awards. There were Grammys for Stark Raving Black and The Carnegie Hall Performance. Who knows? Twenty years ago The Prophet might well have won a Grammy of its own.

Comedy Review: Patton Oswalt, Finest Hour

Article first published as Comedy Review: Patton Oswalt - Finest Hour on Blog critics.

If you were to look at Patton Oswalt's August interview with the A.V. Club you might get the idea that success and family have mellowed him a bit. If you listen to Finest Hour, his latest album from Comedy Central, you'll find you were wrong. Mellowed, no doubt, is a relative judgment—but there is no sense of the word, where it would be applicable to Oswalt's standup routine, not unless you would consider allowing that the Bible was a really great read especially if you were into torture porn a mellowing. And who knows, perhaps he has, at least by his lights. In the interview, he says, ". . . my feelings on religion are starting to morph. I'm still very much an atheist, except that I don't necessarily see religion as a bad thing." If this is mellowing, Oswalt himself recognizes it may not evident to all audiences. "So, that's a weird thing that I'm struggling with that seems to be offending both atheists and people that are religious."

The one group he won’t be offending is the Oswalt fans. They know what to expect—more than likely they would be offended if they didn’t get it. No need to worry, Finest Hour delivers patent Patton. Whether he is riffing on Jesus' super powers or gays as portrayed in romantic comedies, he happily hammers away at pretentious platitudes. Clearly much of this will not go down well with believers; one man's platitudes are another's cherished creed. Believers be warned, offense is likely.

Not everything in the set is controversial. There is a funny piece on weight loss groups and William S. Burroughs and another about an engorged Axel Rose. He makes fun of himself when he has a little problem with the word, brewery. He talks about parenting, about the span museum, about sweat pants and hygiene, but most of the best material is either controversial or raunchy. There is his politically loaded analysis of arguments good and bad against gay marriage, which gets him going on the authority of the Bible. His bit about strippers and comics is a winner, and his description of interrupting two crackheads in a somewhat indelicate act while walking his dog in New York which ends the show is hilarious.

The set, which was recorded at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington in May of 2011, has been featured as an hour special on Showtime and is scheduled to be shown on Comedy Central next year. According to Oswalt's website the album contains about ten minutes of material that isn't included on the TV show. If it's "The Horror of New York City" track, it is probably the best part of an extremely fine album. If the audience in Seattle felt Oswalt had mellowed, if it was offended by the show, you couldn't tell by their reaction.