Eddie Izzard, Stripped, Seattle's Paramount Theater, July 11, 2008

The title of Izzard's current U.S. tour certainly puts one in the mood for a sexy evening. Which of course leaves the average concertgoer wondering -- can he still put out? I can't speak for everyone in the audience, but I certainly left satisfied.

But, then, it's always especially gratifying to see a natural at work and Izzard has that sparkling gift, given to so few comedians or lovers, of making even the spectacular look spontaneous, energizing, fun and -- God forbid -- easy. He hops and skips - literally sometimes -- from topic to topic and readily ponders the escape strategy of a giraffe (where *does* something that big go to hide from a speedy carnivore?) alongside the challenges of speaking Latin to convey time-sensitive information (or to describe an elephant to someone who has never seen one before [a backwards squirrel atop an oversized pig, of course]).

He has continued to perfect his lighthearted spontaneous style and it quickly seems to put the audience at ease. I think that emphasizing this "play along with me" approach more in the first hour (before working up to an impressive rabbit-paced delivery in the second) also makes him seem vulnerable and open in a way that gains our trust. And that trust frees him up to tackle any subject -- including the suggestion that God is either non-existent or blatantly stupid -- without raising hackles.

My favorite part of watching Izzard work, though, is observing how skillfully he uses his amazingly intricate and unique face -- especially his penetrating azure eyes -- to reinforce his favored stage emotions of joy, wonder, thoughtfulness and befuddlement. As a result, I've always thought it somewhat criminal to hide any of his blessed features behind makeup; but I'll freely admit that this evening's bright blue eye liner was, like everything else, spot on.

Proops Chat Show. Just Go Already.

An old friend of mine -- a comedy devotee and successful comedy writer -- told me yesterday that he lived two blocks from LA's Largo for years(the old location on Fairfax) and didn't know that Greg Proops regularly hosted a brilliant chat show there. Really? That seems unbelievable to me; but if he doesn't know, then perhaps you don't know. So here we go.

The charming and very smart Greg Proops chat show hosts guests in the cool and cozy Largo space for discussion and performance and whatever else comes to mind. It has now migrated over to the new Largo location on La Cienega, but this great tradition continues and you should catch it while you can. Past guests have included Jack Black, Sarah Silverman, Joe Walsh, Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Maragaret Cho, Dave Eggers, Joan Rivers, Aidan Quinn, Jeff Goldblum, Kathy Griffin, Lewis Black, Patton Oswalt and John C. Reilly. And guests are really just the icing on the cupcake. I'd go just to check out Greg's suits. A sampling of the beautiful thing here:



Although I haven't had the pleasure of seeing Proops perform live in years, I can highly recommend the show because I have seen some of his most recent video and it is obvious that he has really been kicking ass again lately. Of course, I am somewhat biased because I'm a long-time fan and I especially love it when he is speaking to folks of our generation, as he does with this awesome recent bit about Evil Knievel:



But the Big Chat Show is friendly to all generations -- example: upcoming guests include the Flight of the Conchords, who will be joining him at New Largo on July 26. (Although the challenge of mixing Proops with the New Zealanders is that it is almost too much adorable for one stage to bear -- so one has to hope that the new Largo has undergone stringent seismic reinforcement). But hosting the younger set seems appropriate because the Proopsdog is nothing if not constantly hip and relevant. In my eyes, ageless and timeless.

You may be wondering at this point: why should we believe that a stand up comedian and improv master would necessarily make a solid chat show host? Easy. Proops is one of the most stunningly intelligent comedians alive and he is fastidiously well-informed. His opinions are better formed than his hair, and that is saying something.

Edited to add in a tasty video sampler of the show -- here is a holiday special (probably not typical, but none of these shows are):


I know I've said this before, but if you are stuck in LA anyway for a time, go see him. Just do it. Oh -- and before you go -- call me so I can pop down to join you.

Do You Believe in Gosh?

Word from Punchline this morning that "Do You Believe in Gosh?" will be the title for the posthumous Mitch Hedberg CD that Comedy Central plans to release on Sept. 9. According the magazine's earlier reporting on the subject, it will contain almost entirely unheard materials.

I always feel odd listening to or looking at any art that isn't released until after the artist is gone. It feels exploitative, even when it is intended to be respectful. I tend to ponder whether the artist was ready to put this stuff out there yet -- but, in this case, since we are talking about a past live performance, it doesn't bother me as much. Presumably, Hedberg was happy with the material at the time he took it on stage, right?

Besides: I can't pretend that I'm not happy at the prospect of adding more Hedberg material to my collection. I adored his relaxed style, puppy-dog looks and innocent musings. I never grew tired of his approach and we lost him way too young. I miss him.

Here's the first bit I ever remember seeing him perform live -- simple enough, but I never forget it and still quote it regularly today -- typical of his sweet style:

What Happened to U.S. Comedy Festivals?

Sharing this old post from Dead Frog today because I've been thinking a great deal about the state of comedy festivals in the U.S. and I really thought this analysis was solid. I'll have more to say on this subject myself in coming days (especially on the growing trend of mixing comedy in with music festivals as we saw this year at Bonaroo and Sasquatch, among others), but for now, I'd be curious to know whether you think that the Frog has this one right.

Lifted in its entirety, but with full credit, from this page of Dead Frog:

TBS and Just For Laughs Team for a Chicago “Very Funny Festival”

In the Summer of 2009, Just For Laughs and TBS will pair up for the “Just For Laughs: A Very Funny Festival” which will be held in Chicago. The only top line talent mentioned right now isEllen Degeneres, but there’s also the obvious tie of working together with Second City. No exact dates have been set for the five-day fest as of yet.

A while back I talked about if we need a new festival after the loss of Aspen’s US Comedy Arts Festival. Although I’ve seen some suggest that this is the replacement for that, but from my read the Very Funny Festival seems far more consumer oriented. Also, considering the likely closeness to the industry heavy 2009 Montreal Festival also produced by Just For Laughs, I don’t see this as an Aspen replacement.

TBS will also be taking “The Comedy Festival” off HBO’s hands. With that fest and this new Chicago festival, TBS is making a big play to be Comedy Central’s main competitor. The “very funny” theme has been a part of TBS for a while and with its concentration on sitcoms, to me it marked itself as the less-edgy competitor for Comedy Central. With both fests under TBS, this could be a big play to become a major player in stand-up on TV, something which Comedy Central has had mostly to itself for quite a while.

Comedy Central, of course, wouldn’t let their territory go easily. They have their own fest now, the South Beach Comedy Festival. It’ll be interesting to see if Comedy Central takes on a second fest as well.

When I questioned the need for an Aspen Comedy Festival, I wondered about the point of holding a fest when the web seems to bring comedy talent out of the woodwork. These latest developments have answered my question: comedy festivals are branding opportunities for networks. They’re to say to the public, particularly in TBS case, “Hey, we’re where you can find the funny!” Hence almost all the big USA fests having a more consumer appeal. They’re not deal making events, they’re a synergistic diversification of a business model.

You might wonder if any city besides Chicago was in the running for this new fest. Well, I have a completely circumstantial hunch that New Orleans was considered. Again, totally circumstantial.

But don’t be disappointed for the Big Easy, one of those old-fashioned homegrown fests is currently in the works. The New Orleans Comedy Arts Festival will be taking place on April 3rd to the 5th at the La Nuit Theater. How quaint!

Infatuated? Like, Totally -- So What's Next for Dylan Moran?

If you are tall, Irish and extremely funny, then chances are good that I've already fallen in love with you three or four times over and, at this point, you're just wishing I would lose your phone number so that you could avoid all the hassle and paperwork involved with getting a restraining order (that can take weeks -- who has the time?) And that pattern probably best explains the reason for my ongoing infatuation with comedy's most delicious mophead, Dylan Moran.



If you're an American and already know Moran, that's probably because you were lucky enough to catch one or more seasons of Black Books on BBC America. Created, written and developed for Channel 4 by Moran, it chronicles the struggles of crumedgeonly drunken bookstore owner Bernard Black.

Bernard is a throughly unlikeable inebriate, but Moran relates him to the overwhelmed-by-the-modern-world bookworm inside many of us who just wants to be left alone. With his two long-suffering friends -- equally unmotivated shop owner Fran and painfully underconfident Manny, (played with equal strength by Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig) -- they seek refuge in the bookstore and hope that the rest of London will just let them be; but it never does. Customers continue to drop in with the unreasonable expectation that they may browse or purchase volumes without being heckled. If that wasn't annoyance enough, soon a bright and cheery chain bookstore (with crass corporate customer service provided by a steely Simon Pegg) moves in next door -- and then the customers *stop* coming. As with all of comedy's greatest characters, it seems that there is no way for poor Bernard to win. The only hope for all three characters is to tolerate each others eccentricities long enough to form a family-style bond and barrier against the outside world.



"Black Books" was well-loved by fans in the UK and abroad -- and even the critics chimed in approvingly -- it won a BAFTA in 2002 for best sitcom. All of the episodes are gems, but I'm especially fond of "Elephants and Hens" (in which Bernard and Manny write a children's book); and the final episode, "Party", in which Bernard tries to explain why he has been so grumpy and misanthropic all these years. Frankly, though, I recommend that you buy all of them.



To date, Dylan has been fairly cautious about maintaining creative control over his work and that has definitely been to his benefit. Much of what he appeared in has been of his own design (although in 1998, prior "Black Books", he did star in another charming but less popular series called "How Do You Want Me?" which was written by Simon Nye, who also wrote "Men Behaving Badly.") The rare movies he has done have been ones written and led by friends with equal talent. For example, he has worked with Simon Pegg (including his key role in "Shaun of the Dead" and his heroic effort as Pegg's friend and trainer Gordon in the most recent [but not quite as funny] "Run, Fat Boy Run"). He also held a great double role in "Tristam Shandy -- a Cock and Bull Story" as Dr. Slop -- the "modern physician" who delivers the lead character. (A key premise of the original novel being that the narrator continually tries to tell the story of his own birth but is constantly distracted by other story threads). He pairs that role, as do all of the actors, with interspersed scenes where he appears as himself -- an actor in the film. (For fuller background on the post-modern nature of the film, see The Resilient Rabbit: Knowing Me, Knowing You) This is best near the end when all of the actors view a screening of the final product and Moran is chatting with Gillian Anderson about why all of her best scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. (Have I mentioned before you that you really must see this film? Seriously. It's an overlooked gem. But once again I digress).

Dylan rarely grants interviews -- he doesn't seem comfortable around reporters (a point that was played up for humorous effect during a short that precedes the opening of his "Monster" stand up DVD). And even when he does talk, he is reticent on the subjects of himself, his family, his history and the creative process. So much of all that remains a bit of mystery, which probably adds to the charm.

Moran is only 37, but the bounce back question still comes to mind for me. "Black Books" wrapped back in 2001 and I've been ever-so-curious to see what he comes up with next. He is apparently still doing stand up in the UK -- check out dates for his "What It Is" tour here -- and if his two performance DVDs, Monster and Like, Totally, are representative, then he is definitely worth checking out on stage. Moran started out in stand up and even won with Perrier award at Edinburgh before he began work in television, so he definitely knows how to work an audience. And though the "Monster" DVD still shows him performing his signature glass of red wine in hand, he says that he has grown bored of the prop -- and of performing while plastered generally -- so I would be even more intrigued to see what his stand up looks like now.

Here's hoping that this Rabbit -- and the rest of his infatuated American audience -- will be lucky enough to find out more soon.

"Raw" Data

Poor Eddie Murphy makes one off-the-cuff comment about possibly returning to the stand up stage and the rumor mill goes berzerker!

Not that one can blame his fans -- who wouldn't want to see *that*?

Although, I am deeply sad to report, the beautiful red leather suit of "Delirious" fame has apparently been ruined and retired.

Damn.

Eddie Izzard on Conan tonight

No idea whether he will perform for tall one or just sit at the desk (given his stature, probably the latter); but if he does some stand up (rather than just blather on about The Riches), this could be a treat since his current U.S. stand up tour, Stripped, has been getting rave reviews.

It hits Seattle on the 10th -- wahoo!!

Squatting Monkeys Pt. 2

Finally, a quick review.

First, I have to restate my respect for Dana Carvey for trying to take on a comeback at age 53. At the height of his success, the glory of his work arose largely out of combining the boyish innocence and enthusiasm of his characters with his skill for voices and impersonations. So everyone has to arrive at this show wondering whether the same jokes would play well from a face that is slightly wrinkled and/or whether the impersonations risk pushing him into Rich Little territory (obviously a terrifying possibility for any performer.)

On the first point, I have to give him props. Although he'd obviously had some minor work done to his face (smooth as a baby's bottom it was), he didn't try to pretend that he was still 30. He faced his current stage of his life with humor ("I love getting old -- you can get hurt doing nothing at all!") and addressed himself to his peers under the assumption that they would form the bulk of his audience. I think that was a logical choice and I liked his approach -- it felt honest. His delivery wasn't perfect -- there were times when you could see that he hadn't spent the last year or two of his life on the road perfecting every beat of this material; but he has enough residual skill to pull it off regardless and you can forgive a tiny bit of rustiness to someone whose last HBO special was in 1995.

As to what I call "the Rich Little Challenge" -- this one was always going to be trickier. Dana never specialized in material with a strong viewpoint or heavy insight -- and by the way that's fine with me. I love silly as much as the next person. But if you only do voice with no political or social commentary, you do risk looking more like a harmless old hack. Carvey came close at a few points in this show -- pulling out impersonations of Reagan, Bush 1, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot (Ross Perot??). Maybe he thought the crowd expected it (the same instinct that causes Rick Little to keep trotting out Dick Nixon); but it felt a little forced and dated. I guess that will always be a fine line for him.

All in all, it was comfortable and pleasant -- like an old sweater -- but I only laughed out loud a few times. Check it out on HBO reruns if you are looking to enjoy some relaxed happy memories, but probably not much more.

How to get away with racial slurs

Vince Morris raises a good point -- modern urban culture is really just making this too easy.

A final resting place for your stuff

I can't add anything meaningful to the many wonderful tributes already written about George Carlin's passing. (I especially loved this one by the ever-amazing Louis CK which reminded me of something I had forgotten -- that I used to listen to many Carlin bits on the AM radio show classic, Doctor Demento -- remember that? I actually used to hide a transistor radio under my pillow so I could listen on Sunday nights at an hour well after I should have been asleep . . .)

I can only humbly say that Carlin is responsible for many happy giggling hours in my childhood and for that I am especially grateful. I played "Class Clown" until the grooves wore thin and quoted "FM and AM" verbatim far before I had reached an age where I really understood most of it. If there is one Carlin bit that will forever define him in my mind, however, it has to be the great classic "A Place to Put Your Stuff" -- a masterpiece of social commentary wrapped in utter silliness -- I still find it very impressive. Every time I listen, I still laugh -- and it never fails to make me briefly reflect on how I'm living my life. Once, when I asked some friends to help me move out of one house and into another, I overheard my friend Eric, box in hand, walking away from me and mumbling: "Sometimes you gotta move -- why? Too much stuff!" Can't argue with this logic.

Here he is, performing the bit at the 1986 Comic Relief -- years after it had already become a classic. Thanks for everything, George.

Chocolate Squirrelador

Just a quick one today; but it's fun: AND another chance to mix stand up with cute fuzzy animals! Here is young Dan Cummins telling about his ideal dream pet, the Chocolate Squirrelador. We know you want one.



As per Punchline magazine, Dan got the thumbs up during MN auditions to compete on Last Comic Standing this summer. So, if you like cross-breeding dream pets, you can see more of Dan's work there.

The Success Lottery

I'm a huge fan of meritocracy. So it's always disappointing to realize what a huge role luck plays in success. I used to see it constantly in my law practice. Brilliant, hard-working attorneys were stunted in their climb up the ladder because they weren't born into a social circle that brought big-name clients into the firm. So they had to watch silently as the well-connected but intellectually klutzy advanced ahead of them. I'm sure Al Gore feels their pain.

It always seems most glaring, however, in the world of entertainment. There is no logic or justice in a world that showers wealth and opportunity on Dane Cook while leaving honest, thoughtful comics like Marc Maron to struggle in (relative) obscurity. There isn't much we can do to fix it, I suppose, other than continue to tell each other when we see work that is impressive -- and yet somehow overlooked. When I find it, I'll share it here.

Since I mentioned Maron, he is probably an excellent example to start with. When he was younger, his material was fun, sexy and well-structured -- somewhat political with fun stories of youth and exploration thrown in for good measure. Entertaining, but not challenging. As he has gotten older, however, (and, to be completely fair, sober),his material has involved more self examination - and that's when I was most impressed. It takes insight and honesty to make aging and sobriety humorous; but he succeeds gracefully. He was at Giggles last month discussing how to move your life forward to Plan B after age 40. Insanely funny. He's at the top of his game, IMHO.

If you want to check out some of it yourself, here are some of my favorite clips -- and you can find more at www.marcmaron.com.

Edited to add fun bit from a recent interview in LA Weekly: "More so than most comedians walking a fine line of self-realization through self-deprecation, Maron has been treating his gigs as therapy, with lacerating romance requiems and fourth-wall destroyers that seem to have a lot in common with your run-of-the-mill emo bands hell-bent on sharing their catharsis.

Fortunately, Maron doesn't see it that way.

"It's not that therapeutic. I'm still not entirely well," he says. "Entertaining is subjective. I have always been entertaining to some people. The more 'therapeutic' sets have been the most entertaining to people who were/are wrestling with the same monsters as I am. These are common monsters that need to be taken out for a walk. Those who want to walk their monsters dig these sets and need the entertaining deeply."

So maybe I can understand why his work doesn't necessarily appeal to everyone. :-)


"In most cases, the only difference between depression and disappointment is your level of commitment." M. Maron.

More from the Comedy Week in Review

Mike and I went to see Robin Williams in Seattle last week at the Showbox downtown (the one near the market). First point: great club -- cozy, attractive and works well in a cabaret set up (packed house, but everyone had a good seat). Also, I was also glad to see that in a town that sports only one venue dedicated solely to comedy (and that place named "Giggles", sadly) the right name can have them lining up around the block. I sometimes think Seattle is a tad laugh-deprived; but it may be that I'm still spoiled from my years in LA where decent live comedy is available on tap 24-7.

The tour was titled "Working on Material" and, in keeping with the theme, Williams was donating all of the proceeds from the gig to charity. After reading all that, we came in with low expectations -- the chance to see a great talent, but perhaps not at the top of his game. Nothing could be further from the truth -- he was masterful. He has the energy level and memory of a man half his age with the focus, precision, timing and material of a top-level skilled professional. It's so impressive to see someone not only still working at his age, but seriously killing -- perhaps even better than he once was because of his maturity. Now, it seems, he can reflect on life with more distance and experience and it shows.

If he brings "Working" to your town, go -- you won't regret it.