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December 14, 2009
Review: Don Rickles at the Paramount
As I approached the Don Rickles show at the Paramount Theatre on Thursday night, I wondered what the old guy would still have left in the tank. He performs up to 50 times a year, so he’s obviously still serviceable. But I was skeptical: Would he still have his fastball? Would it feel like an old-timers game?
It turns out, the answer is somewhere in between. At 83 years old, Mr. Warmth has become a bit of a knuckle ball pitcher - The action is simple, it doesn’t look too intimidating as it approaches the plate, but damn if it doesn’t get you every time.
The Paramount was transformed into a Vegas showroom, with Rickles’ band-for-hire, The Bakers Dozen, led by Rickles’ longtime band leader Joe Mele, performing a few Chet Baker-cool-meets-Vegas-glitz tunes before the horns and timpani drums heralded the entrance of the man himself. Befitting his legendary status, the crowd rose to its feet before Rickles could even crack his first joke.
After his sarcastic salutation in which he described Austin as the heart of the world, Rickles wasted no time getting into the insensitive shtick for which he is famous. He made fun of a couple guys up front that he suspected were gay, before wondering how “the black guy” got into the show, and then broke into his first song of the night, “I’m Nice Guy.” After his song-and-dance, he lamented that he was busting his rear for a lousy 100 grand, an ambiguous quip that had everyone rolling.
Rickles show pretty much relies on 10-minute jags stuffed with racially and culturally insensitive observations and interactions with the crowd that fall in between a few musical numbers and set pieces. Even if the jokes all seem familiar - I can remember the Nazi goose step joke from my earliest years of listening to Rickles - he still always seems to kill. The knuckle ball gets you every time.
At 83, you would expect the legendary comedian to have a hitch in his delivery or trouble remembering jokes, but there is something to be said for muscle memory. While he did repeat a few jokes, he realized it each time and charmingly dismissed the errors as an excuse to hear himself talk more. After all, he’s not here to make fun of himself. That’s what the audience is for. And while it is a little troubling that so many people can sit and laugh at decidedly rude and bigoted jokes that feel like an anachronism (kind of like watching Clint Eastwood’s ‘Grand Torino”) it seems OK in that environment. There is never a time that you get the feeling that the man known as the original insult comic is being mean spirited or believes any of the simplistic things he is saying. It is more that he is making it OK for all of us to laugh at ourselves and the way we view the world. As he earnestly said near the end of his set, the people at his show will live longer, happier lives due to their ability to laugh a little.
The brief stop-downs in which he discussed his great friend and hero Frank Sinatra or asked the audience whether they had tried the food or not gave the feel that Rickles was on auto-pilot, simply transporting his Vegas line-for-line down to Texas. But at 83, who can blame him? And maybe more than transporting his show down to Austin, what he was really doing was transporting all of us to old Las Vegas, if only for an hour.
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July 20, 2009
Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli give props to Buzz Aldrin
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, musicians Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli, Soulja Boy and Quincy Jones come together to give props to astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who joins them in the studio to lay down tracks for the song “Rocket Experience.”
Who knew that the hip-hop luminaries were such big fans of Aldrin, the second man to step foot on the moon?
It’s ineffable.
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February 11, 2009
What's the deal with ... Seinfeld?
For those of you who were bummed that you missed a chance to buy some tickets for Jerry Seinfeld’s show at the Bass Concert Hall on April 3, you can rest easy. The master of observational comedy has added a second show that Friday night, due to popular demand. Tickets for the 9:30 p.m. show at the newly renovated Bass Concert Hall go on sale Monday morning (Feb. 16) at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at utpac.org, the Bass Concert Hall ticket office, 800-982-2386, and all Texas Box Office outlets, including most H-E-B stores.
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February 6, 2009
Ron White makes surprise appearance at the Velveeta Room
We have come to yet another first on this here semi-regularly updated blog. Actually, maybe it’s the first “first.” OK, enough caveating. (That’s a word now.) The Statesman’s Brian Gaar was out last night and happened to see Blue Collar comedian Ron White, who is in town for a weekend of shows at the Paramount, make a surprise appearance at the Velveeta Room. So, I am allowing him this space to write up his thoughts on said experience. As a side note to this side note, think what you want of Mr. White’s brand of comedy, but I have heard from an Austin-based comedian who has performed with and written jokes for White, and by all accounts he is an incredibly generous and stand-up dude, so do with that information what you will. OK, on to the guest blogger, assistant state editor Brian Gaar:
Comedy open mic nights are hit-and-miss affairs. Anyone can sign up and get on stage and anyone usually does.
Last night at the Velveeta Room on Sixth Street was shaping up to be a miss. Lots of music acts (even an accordion). Veteran comics weren’t having much luck, either. Jokes were offered and lethargic crowd members responded with their best impressions of library patrons.
Then Ron White showed up. The Texas native and national headliner is appearing at the Paramount this weekend, but his arrival at the much-smaller club was unexpected, to say the least. White performs before thousands; Velveeta sits maybe 50.
He sat in the back, taking it in.
Everyone noticed. People gave him space, but crowded tight in anticipation. A friend of White’s whispered to Lynette LaMonica, the MC. She nodded.
“We have a very, very special guest tonight… Ron White!”
The crowd suddenly popped like they’d all gotten Wiis for Christmas.
White took the stage. He started with a joke about his newfound love of bidets. Unprintable punchline.
With a drink in hand, he discussed his third marriage — pointing out that he’s been faithful to his current wife.
“I haven’t always had that policy.” Grin. Drink.
Another joke about about his favorite couch stain-protecting product: Scotchgard.
“Do you have vodka guard, too?” Laughs.
In all, he performed for about 15-20 minutes for a few dozen people, who knew they were getting a treat.
White finished up and returned to his seat at the back of the club.
The veterans followed with their A-games. Local headliner Seth Cockfield was next. He was a hit. So was Chuck Watkins.
Open mic nights are hit and miss affairs. Not last night.
As Cockfield put it: You’ll never go to a music club to see a local band, and then hear: “And now up next, Metallica!”
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August 19, 2008
The sly genius of Norm MacDonald
Norm MacDonald, one of the funniest men in comedy, took the stage a couple of weeks ago for the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, formerly of “Full House” and currently of ironic iconic status as an actor playing himself and overcussing comic. As you may be aware, these roasts usually feature ‘friends’ of the roastee and various comics generally doing very blue humor. Leave it to MacDonald to break the roast mold.
After a scathing first few acts, which, while hilarious, featured mostly homophobic jokes and blue humor that unfortunately can’t be repeated or linked here, MacDonald came out with an intentional ironic juxtaposition of styles and a nod to the meshugeneh comics of the legendary Friars Club in New York, where these style of celebrity roasts became legendary.
MacDonald, who sat reading a sports page through most of the acts, refused to play to expectations of the night, but did play exactly to type. While his dry humor and intentionally flat jokes from 50 years ago may have made many in the audience roll their eyes or wonder what the hell was going on, he absolutely killed with the comics on the stage. Much like his time on the anchor desk at “SNL,” which ended way too soon, it seems MacDonald continues to leave many in the general public scratching their head while his peers roll with laughter.
(If you wanna see some people really get loose, including octogenarian Cloris Leachman, and Gerg Giraldo and Jim Norton, who seem to only kill at the roasts, just search for the roast on YouTube. But it is very blue, as you can imagine; so you’ve been warned.)
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July 28, 2008
Review: Kathy Griffin at The Long Center
Kathy Griffin has had a long, if not illustrious, career in entertainment dating back almost 20 years, as evidenced by the mildly humorous and somewhat self-serving montage of clips that ran prior to her introduction at The Long Center Friday night. But her true rise to stardom, and the reason she is now able to sell out shows for over 2,000 people, can be attributed to her hit reality television show, “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.”
Apparently, after considerably minor television success left her wanting, Griffin figured out the best way to get more fame was to be shameless and extremely self-effacing in promoting herself as a fringe star who could get no respect from an industry that she in turn decided to deride on any and every occasion. Call it a variation of the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome. If she was going to get little respect, she was going to call attention to that fact and then dice up those who were getting the star treatment despite marginal talent and gigantic egos.
Say this for Griffin, her strategy has been a huge success thanks in large part to her ability to swallow enormous amounts of pride that most celebrities would find unthinkable. As a result, Griffin has positioned herself as the dissed everywoman. Unfairly overlooked for bigger talents, she’s used her animus to fuel her hysterical cries that the emperor has no clothes, the role of emperor in this case played by much of the Hollywood establishment.
After a few local references to get a crowd that needed no cajoling even more smitten with her, Griffin began her show by discussing rumors about Lindsey Lohan’s sexuality. “Let’s get her, shall we?” Griffin asked the audience. This line of interrogation more or less set the mood for 90-plus minutes of celebrity gossip and bashing. From Lohan to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, from “The View” (from which she has been banned) to “The Hills” Griffin’s entire act played out like an audio version of US Weekly or a gossipy blog. Truth be told, one who does not kneel at the altar of celebrity chat might have a difficult time navigating the name-infested waters of a Griffin show.
Some comedians mine comedy gold using irony, wit, high-brow satire or prescient observations about the human condition. Griffin? Not so much. She plays to the audience’s most simple natures, taking a four-letter-word knife to the heart of their dual fascination and disdain for the culture of celebrities.
Not a joke teller, Griffin simply shares stories about her brushes with celebrities and the personal opinions she has about them. And she’s got a lot of both. To her credit, Griffin knows her audience and she has them eating from her hand from the first riff to the last as she impressively meanders in a stream-of-consciousness manner. In her acerbic style, Griffin demystifies celebrities, and calls them out for their flaws, and here is where she really finds her connection with the audience. These celebrities are overpaid, over-privileged cartoons who need to be taken down a notch, and revealed as flawed human beings — just like the rest of us. In the old days, she’d be called a sassy broad who doesn’t take any guff. She’s the girl at the dinner party who calls it like she sees it and says what others are too scared to utter for fear of being considered callous or politically incorrect. Unfortunately, all of her targets are so obvious and generally such caricatures of themselves already that their mere existences are the joke. Oprah Winfrey is an omnipotent narcissist? Tom Cruise is delusional? Kim Kardashian is famous simply for having a sex tape? Well, knock me over with a feather.
Griffin has become one of the head contractors in the cottage industry of celebrity gossiping. That combined with her unabashed self-promotion and ability to make jokes at her own expense have led her to a level of fame she probably only once imagined possible. And, if anyone’s got a problem with that recipe, in the words of her recent DVD (and much of her merchandise on sale Friday night), “Everybody can suck it!”
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May 6, 2008
Hey, hey, hey ... Bill Cosby cancels Austin shows
This post is simply to serve as an announcement that Bill Cosby has canceled his shows in Austin that were scheduled for June 3 6 at the Austin Music Hall. I was somewhat personally disappointed to hear the news, as I was hoping to interview the legend about his comedy, his upcoming ‘unflinching’ hip-hop album, and his personal opinions on the state of American culture and all that implies.
Publicists tell us that the cancellation was due to a scheduling issue. No word on whether The Coz plans on rescheduling for our fair burg.
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February 11, 2008
Total Beating of the Week: George Lopez
Thanks to the Cobra for the tip and the River Front Times for the quote on its blog.
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January 23, 2008
The Michael (Showalter) and Michael (Ian Black) show
I thought the cold might keep people away last weekend, but boy was I wrong. By the announced show time, the line of fans stretched down the block and up the street despite the near-freezing temperatures. With hundreds of fans still waiting to get in, and hundreds more huddled beneath a tent and elbowing their way toward the few portable heaters near the outdoor stage, Showalter, after — as we were to find out later — a brief argument with Black, decided to take the stage to warm up the crowd. (Pun intended). Showalter began his impromptu set with some crowd banter and good-natured ribbing of the (allegedly) Christiany cock rock band Creed, winning the crowd over with his combination of high-brow humor that keeps one foot deeply and ironically entrenched in pop culture. The New York comic held court while fans jeered and cheered, playing tunes from his laptop that he used as a soundtrack for made-up cinematic scenes.
The flow from his improvisation to his show was imperceptible as he began a routine that included a running theme of sniffles, jokes using a male sex organ as a metaphor, and musing on the unfortunate name of Aspergers syndrome as a disease for the socially awkward. The crowd was packed full of New York-philes, and even more specifically Brooklyn-philes who cheered at references to the Big Apple and even offered lessons in pronunciation of New York colloquialisms. It seems NY-philia is rampant, because you know, like, ‘I totally spent two weeks at my friend’s loft in Williamsburg once.’ On this cold night, Showalter was deserving of not a small amount of gratitude from the crowd for coming on early, being self-effacing and a general good sort, a ringmaster in an otherwise difficult environment, replete with a heckler drunk on vodka who did his slurring best to rush the comic off the stage and a slew of simple-minded, obnoxious and selfish fans who tried to steer the comedian’s on-stage material to his old tv and movie material. Why on earth people would attend a show only to demand that a performer rehash all the things they have heard before is beyond me, but so it goes. Just ask ‘Wild and Crazy Guy’-era Steve Martin, or Jeff Tweedy. Regardless, Showalter absolutely killed.
Following Showalter’s extended set, Black joined him on stage for some brief banter, and the duo went in to a bit of a good cop/bad cop routine. Having proved himself a worthy comic, emcee and empathetic soul, Showalter slunk back as Black fire-balled his way on to the stage, burning with misanthropy, each word dripping with sarcasm. Black’s curt and acerbic delivery, for which he is well known and generally loved, eventually gave way to an extended riff on how everything, including UFOs are so big in Texas. I am not sure whether he was going for some ironic juxtaposition of tone versus material, but to me it was more than a little odd to see a combative comic come on stage challenging the audience only to deliver his first bomb of a joke about the size of Texas. Black seemed to be fueled by the contentious back-and-forth with the audience up until the point where he pulled an audience member on stage in order to publicly humiliate her. I will not mention her name; she received enough attention on the night in question, but I will admit that she gave Black a frustrating run for his money. The comedian tried to cool the resentment of the audience by assuring them that he would be the one to shame her. Unfortunately for him and the audience, this young lady was not willing to go quietly into that cold night and constantly returned Black’s sarcastic comments with barbs of her own, entering a status-play with the comic in which he could never seem to get the upper hand. Resigned to the fact that she would not be his whipping girl, Black tried some more subtle sarcasm and mock admiration for the drunken patron before ushering her from the stage. (Maybe he had finally let go of what has now become known as ‘The Peanut M&M incident.’)
The annoying and lengthy aside behind him, Black rebounded and found himself in better form. Although his subject matter was pedestrian and vulgar at times, Black’s narrative comedy about real-life situations and ironic manifestos about the wussification of America struck a chord with the crowd, the resonance of which eventually drowned out the awkward prelude to the meat of the show.
By night’s end, the crowd had received a healthy dose of clever, high-brow humor that enjoyed residence in low-brow topics from two comics with (on this night) vastly different styles, and, despite the arctic conditions, left full of good spirit. (Pun intended).
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September 24, 2007
GigglePants meets the Upright Citizens Brigade
Saturday night, the troupe hosted — and opened — for one of the best touring improv outfits in the country, the Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Co., a boon not only to GigglePants but for the UT population at large.
GigglePants’ 20-minute set Saturday night at the Texas Union consisted of three short-form games. The first game, moderated by team captain Michael Bird, replete in official’s gear with stop clock and referee jersey, was called “Forward-Reverse.” In it, the players had to improvise a scene based off of a suggestion, and each time Bird yelled out “switch,” the players would have to physically reverse their course and play the scenes backward. The game, which inspired lots of slapstick physicality, highlighted the young players’ ability to work with space and objects, as well as demonstrate their memorization skills.
The games “Dime Store Novel” and “Beasty Rap,” in which players act out scenes based on an improvised narration and come up with spontaneous rhyming beats, further exhibited that this student troupe has found a home on the stage. The fun they have was evident as the players approached each game with unbridled enthusiasm and hardly an iota of self-consciousness. It was exciting to see that the improv virus being spread through the city had reached UT, and that the future of improv in Austin looked bright with the enthusiastic kids at UT ready to help lead the charge.
Following GigglePants’ performance, the crowd was warm for the stylings of the master improvisers from the Upright Citizens Brigade. The five-person troupe, consisting of Eli Newell, Chris Gethard, Lennon Parham, Neil Casey and Chad Carter, took a few scenes to get warmed up, but once they did, it was clear that UCB’s reputation is well-founded. The troupe played two sets of long-form improv, both based on the interview format, in which they would bring a student on stage and question her about details of her life as a student at UT. After the light and breezy interrogation, the troupe would improvise a half-dozen scenes based on the answers.
From the massive size of UT dorms, to failed relationships and pop culture references, the quintet dazzled the crowd with rapid-fired edits and a cerebral but accessible flow of comedy that kept the crowd of about 125 in stitches. The group possessed an ease on stage that underscored the fact that they have been trained to trust and listen to one another in a way that has fostered an amazing sense of group mind. With no member ever outshining another or ever looking to be bailed out, it was obvious these folks could do this college tour, which only just began Saturday at UT, with their eyes closed.
Following the UCB’s set, members of GigglePants had the chance to play on stage with their guests in a quick game of “Freeze Frame,” an opportunity that undoubtedly thrilled the young performers and inspired them to keep plying their craft in hopes of one day reaching the level of their newfound friends from New York City.
Photo of UCB’s Eli Newell, left, and Lennon Parham by Kim Espinosa
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September 17, 2007
Upright Citizens Brigade coming to UT
UT’s improv comedy team Giggle Pants will be hosting, and opening for, the TourCo at a free show this Saturday night as part of UCB’s fall tour.
UCB TourCo and Giggle Pants
Saturday, September 22 at 7pm
Texas Union Theatre
Free
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February 12, 2007
Friday night with Master Pancake Theater: Not a drag
Last month the hearts of many Austinites sank when they heard that John Erler, Jerm Pollet and Owen Egerton were ending their six-and-a-half-year run of The Sinus Show.
In an interview with Austinist last week, Erler explained the amicable split. “It was just time for us to go our separate ways. But the truth is, and I haven’t told many people this, it had to do with Owen’s foot odor. Not really. I mean, we had our ups and we had our downs, but it just seemed like it was time to go in our separate directions,” he said.
Erler didn’t go far, as evidenced by the performance of his and Joe Parsons’ new show, Master Pancake Theater, Friday night at the Alamo Downtown.
As with Sinus, the evening of comedy consisted of skewering a rather unfortunate mainstream film, James Cameron’s epic “Titanic.” After a brief video and music introduction that used the abbreviation LMAO with aplomb, the gentlemen, to everyone’s relief, admitted that they had cut Cameron’s three-and-a-half hour melodramatic disaster to 90 minutes, a move Erler said Cameron should have considered in making the original. Erler and Parsons kept the audience rolling throughout with a slew of one-liners, film and literary allusions (I think I am the only one who laughed out loud to the obscure “To Kill A Mockingbird” reference), and some recurring bits, one of which included a comparison of the Titanic’s captain to George W. Bush.
As a bit of a departure from their previous troupe, the guys incorporated a bit more in the way of supplemental media (a C&C Music Factory-as-soundtrack bit played to raucous laughter), and, in true Alamo and Sinus Show fashion, drinking games were incorporated into the screening. Said drinking commands coincided with a rather disturbing bit of hand-fetishizing on the part of Mr. Cameron. Master Pancake has also decided to integrate more original theatrics into their new project. A bit of stage work that featured Erler in drag and somewhat regretfully included the over-exposed Leslie, fell a little flat, but Erler pulled the bit from the ashes by committing whole-heartedly. After thanking Austin’s favorite cross-dresser, Erler called Leslie an Austin legend, but it was apparent to me and my friends that the Austin legend on hand Friday night was Erler himself.
Master Pancake Theater continues to take aim at Cameron weekends through March 2nd and then moves on to “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” following SXSW. Purchase tickets here.
