Another Friday, another double dose of new Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials. Tonight, it’s Eugene Mirman and Jordan Rubin (10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Eastern).
Present for both tapings, I somehow managed to barely take any notes during Rubin’s set. Except for this line: "Audience loved Jordan’s ‘energy.’" That’s good, right? Here’s an interview with Rubin:
As for Mirman, he taped for the same crowd as Leo Allen. Though Allen’s backdrop was sparse, Mirman went all out with set direction, installing a fake art museum with velvet rope and cartoonish paintings (done by him?). Not long after his opening, he stepped away from the mic to reveal…a second mic on his person. I wondered at the time how they’d edit out one of his ads for shapes, but saw on a teaser that they merely bleeped and blurred. Mirman flubbed an Amtrak joke but had a good TV timing joke about Karl Rove. Twenty minutes in, he dropped his fake can of goodies onto the stage — whether accidental or planned, he proceeded to kick the can and proclaim, "Now I know what it’s like to be The Who!" A bit he did a lot last year involving his suggestions for billboards finally could be read by more than the front row through the magic of TV and giant sets. And he closed with his bit about a MySpace message from a "fan" with a band. Which jokes will make the 22-minute cut? Tune in tonight and find out. In the meantime, here’s Mirman explaining the "downtown" comedy scene in NYC and some brief clips!
After the jump, more clips of Rubin and Mirman…
In Jordan Rubin’s opening routine, he talks about coming home to his native New York, then goes into airplane jokes. Er, really? Really. Airplane jokes.
Another brief interview with Mirman, in which he recounts a tour from years ago and drops names: