The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Patton Oswalt has reached that level of success where he’s compelled to say up top, “Nothing I’m going to say will live up to that!” to lessen the audience’s expectations. Which doesn’t matter because the opening applause is but one of many breaks during his latest hourlong set, “Finest Hour,” out …
Can you separate the Jim Norton you hear on Opie & Anthony’s radio show from the Jim Norton you see on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show from the Jim Norton you may have read about in either of his best-selling books of essays? Of course. In “Despicable,” Norton’s first CD in …
Jen Kirkman is the funniest person in Chelsea Handler’s Chelsea Lately circle of comedian friends. By a mile. And then some. Kirkman proves that once again (or if you’re not familiar with her or the E! programming, for the first time) on her sophomore album, “Hail to the Freaks,” (A Special …
At the outset of Tommy Johnagin‘s second stand-up comedy CD — titled, well, “Stand Up Comedy 2” — the comedian implores upon the audience: “Don’t suck. I’m going to hold up my end. I’m going to need you guys to bring it also.” And bring it he does. Over the course …
At this point in his career, Daniel Tosh has two different personas in the public’s eye. To strangers, he’s a clever stand-up comedian with observations on modern life and current events. To Comedy Central viewers — particularly boys-to-men in their teens and 20s, he’s the guy they look to to …
Christina Pazsitzky makes it easy to laugh at and with her. Pazsitsky opens her debut comedy disc, “It’s Hard Being A Person,” (Rooftop Comedy) from Go Bananas by telling the audience how happy she is to be in Cincinnati, because it means she has escaped from her home in fake Los …
I’ve called Baron Vaughn a quintuple threat before, praising his ability to weave back and forth from joke-telling, acting, dancing, singing and rapping, plus an intangible quality he brings to the stage. Of course, not all of his talents can be seen on a CD — perhaps he should have put …
In stark contrast to many of this year’s comedy CD, Andres du Bouchet’s “Naked Trampoline Hamlet” has only six tracks covering the full hour. But each is its own unique set piece. Du Bouchet is quite the character. Or characters. Perhaps you’ve seen what he’s capable of as a writer for …
Listening to “Impregnated With Wonder,” the new stand-up comedy disc from Pete Holmes, provided one of the more truly enjoyable experiences I’ve had listening to new comedy CDs this year. How could it not be enjoyable when Holmes himself clearly is having so much fun onstage. Throughout the 55-minute performance, …
“I’m not going for laughs. I’m going for sympathy,” Johnny Beehner tells us. After all, Beehner reveals upfront how his last name prompted taunts and insults toward him over the years, as its homonym is a racial and ethnic slur, and its closest rhyme for simpletons is, well, just remember …
