Like Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman and a handful of other sad, indisputably titanic comedians, we seem incapable of doing anything but poring over the whats and hows of their lives at the risk of ignoring the whys.
If Orvedahl is a smart guy living in a stupid person’s world, Cayton-Holland is the sensitive, learned dude surrounded by malfunctioning automatons and resigned to our eventual oblivion.
Even as Gass roots his act in celebrity impressions, he asserts himself as a pro with a specific point of view.
Gabriel Iglesias doesn’t so much tell jokes as act them out like classic radio plays, inhabiting various characters with a snappy, head-spinning precision that would make most vocal actors jealous.
The storytelling/verbal-memoir show’s breathless mix of family stories, loopy characters, and impassioned armchair psychology is equal parts Bill Cosby, Lily Tomlin, and Adam Carolla.
Fulton is clearly in that fabled spot that all young comics dream about—a seasoned pro who sounds like he’s effortlessly himself in all contexts.
Unlike the premise-heavy Super High Me, the roughly chronological events here unfold without urgency or purpose, splitting the difference between travel diary and performance collage.
Just as lo-fi indie rock dared listeners to reconsider what was worth listening to when normal sonic trappings were absent, these releases implicitly ask whether Shillue can sustain interest simply by being prolific.
Much of the humor lies not just in the calloused delivery, but the speed with which she attacks her targets. She’ll climb over any mountain to get to a punchline, and her focus is so intense it’s both scary and awesome.
Baby shows a comedian with a gift for spinning playground-style crudity into sharp commentary and higher-minded subjects into opportunities for dick jokes.
While it shows off many of Miller’s best traits, Mash Up Audiofile also feels like another sampler of his occasional brilliance padded with pleasant but inessential gimmicks.
(Paradisiac Publishing)
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Editorial Director: Julie Seabaugh
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