Brian Posehn - 10/12 @ The Earl
Brian Posehn. I'm sure there are a group of you who know exactly who I'm talking about just by his name. But for most people, he falls into the crack of "know him if you saw him" kind of guys. He's been on just about ever sitcom at one point or another, along with a bunch of movie appearances. He's currently a regular on the Sarah Silverman Program. He's the really tall, nerdy, bearded guy with glasses who talks a lot about pot and comic books. And of course, he's very funny. So when I found out he was coming to the Earl for a night of stand up, I was there.
Also clued in the Cobra Twins of Cliff and Li'l Fella to the show, as they're usually my comedy show contingent (as long as it's a comedian I like, because I can be picky in what I find funny - i.e. my disregard of Zach Galifianakis). And because she has a wicked sense of humor, I brought Rikki along with me. And Cliff brought along his gal, Jennifer. Li'l Fella wasn't completely sure he was going to make it into the show or he would've brought his lady friend too. Either way, this ended up being the biggest group date I've ever been a part of.
We got there right before the show was scheduled to start and got a quick bite to eat as Jeremy, then Cliff and Jennifer eventually joined us. Then we headed back to the back to catch the funny. Well what was supposed to be funny. The problem I have with most comedy tours/shows is the amount of bad comedians they have opening up. And a bad comedian is 10 times worse than a bad opening band. And maybe I'm being too harsh, as the opening comedians weren't all that bad...just not all that funny. The first guy had a couple of amusing bits, but overall fairly forgettable. The next guy was a bit funnier, but not by much. He at least seemed to have a decent stage demeanor, so he was entertaining for the most part.
Now the two things I failed to mention about the prior warm up acts is that they were both fat bearded guys. And of course, Brian Posehn falls into the pudgy category too, so it seemed to be an overwhelming trend that everyone on stage had to fit that basic mold. I was concerned that I was going to get dragged onstage for a 10 - 15 minute set at some point too, just because I fit the profile. But then the last opening act was this short little dorky guy called Brent Weinbach. He was definitely the "which of these things is not like the other" of the group. Besides his overall look, he had a very odd sensibility. His persona and the way he talked reminded me a lot of French Stewart's character on Third Rock From The Sun. That kind of socially awkward uber-nerd thing. He was easily the funniest of the three openers, but I still didn't find him all that humorous. His bits went on way too long and after awhile, his quirkiness became tiresome. But watch him become a huge comedy star regardless, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. Somehow people still find Dane Cook funny, so go figure.
So after what seemed like forever, it was time for Brian Posehn. Henry from Chunklet, who put the show together, came out to announce Brian and tell us the show was going to be recorded for his next album. So that'll be three comedy albums that I'll have been part of, including David Cross and Patton Oswalt...go me! Brian went through his hour long set and was hilarious. It totally made up for all the lesser comedians I had to sit through. He had a lot of new material that will obviously be on the new CD, so I won't ruin it for you. But needless to say that you should pick up a copy when it comes out. And after his set, he came back out for a quick encore and mentioned doing one of his more "classic" bits. That's when I decided to yell out "Dick Neck," which is phrase from one of my favorite bits of his. Then he called me an idiot for spoiling the punchline. Ouch. But seriously, knowing the word won't matter because it's even funnier when you hear it all in context. Oh well. At least there's a good chance that I'll make it onto the CD now, that might not be too shabby. Even if it does mean being called an idiot. Hey, I've been called worse.
Also clued in the Cobra Twins of Cliff and Li'l Fella to the show, as they're usually my comedy show contingent (as long as it's a comedian I like, because I can be picky in what I find funny - i.e. my disregard of Zach Galifianakis). And because she has a wicked sense of humor, I brought Rikki along with me. And Cliff brought along his gal, Jennifer. Li'l Fella wasn't completely sure he was going to make it into the show or he would've brought his lady friend too. Either way, this ended up being the biggest group date I've ever been a part of.
We got there right before the show was scheduled to start and got a quick bite to eat as Jeremy, then Cliff and Jennifer eventually joined us. Then we headed back to the back to catch the funny. Well what was supposed to be funny. The problem I have with most comedy tours/shows is the amount of bad comedians they have opening up. And a bad comedian is 10 times worse than a bad opening band. And maybe I'm being too harsh, as the opening comedians weren't all that bad...just not all that funny. The first guy had a couple of amusing bits, but overall fairly forgettable. The next guy was a bit funnier, but not by much. He at least seemed to have a decent stage demeanor, so he was entertaining for the most part.
Now the two things I failed to mention about the prior warm up acts is that they were both fat bearded guys. And of course, Brian Posehn falls into the pudgy category too, so it seemed to be an overwhelming trend that everyone on stage had to fit that basic mold. I was concerned that I was going to get dragged onstage for a 10 - 15 minute set at some point too, just because I fit the profile. But then the last opening act was this short little dorky guy called Brent Weinbach. He was definitely the "which of these things is not like the other" of the group. Besides his overall look, he had a very odd sensibility. His persona and the way he talked reminded me a lot of French Stewart's character on Third Rock From The Sun. That kind of socially awkward uber-nerd thing. He was easily the funniest of the three openers, but I still didn't find him all that humorous. His bits went on way too long and after awhile, his quirkiness became tiresome. But watch him become a huge comedy star regardless, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. Somehow people still find Dane Cook funny, so go figure.
So after what seemed like forever, it was time for Brian Posehn. Henry from Chunklet, who put the show together, came out to announce Brian and tell us the show was going to be recorded for his next album. So that'll be three comedy albums that I'll have been part of, including David Cross and Patton Oswalt...go me! Brian went through his hour long set and was hilarious. It totally made up for all the lesser comedians I had to sit through. He had a lot of new material that will obviously be on the new CD, so I won't ruin it for you. But needless to say that you should pick up a copy when it comes out. And after his set, he came back out for a quick encore and mentioned doing one of his more "classic" bits. That's when I decided to yell out "Dick Neck," which is phrase from one of my favorite bits of his. Then he called me an idiot for spoiling the punchline. Ouch. But seriously, knowing the word won't matter because it's even funnier when you hear it all in context. Oh well. At least there's a good chance that I'll make it onto the CD now, that might not be too shabby. Even if it does mean being called an idiot. Hey, I've been called worse.