Running On Empty

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

Lewis Black started out the evening by telling us that listening to his show won't change anything. We'll all wake up in the morning wading through the same sh!t as the day before. I guess then the sh!t I had to wade through tonight was this show.

The show could be divided in two parts. The more successful part was when he was talking about politics. Of course the bulk of the jokes were about the myriad of hopeful Republican nominees (Perry, Bachman) which felt like such old news.

The lesser of the two parts was Black's "history of technology." He led us through the invention of the TV, cable, computers, email, facebook, twitter and cell phones. He went on a 5 minute rant about receiving spam email- were these jokes from 2002?

Here's an example of how the jokes went:
Ever since the invention of email people have been able to "work at home." Of course anyone who tells you that they're working at home is lying. They're not work, they're masturbating. And they're not masturbating because they're watching porn all day, but rather because they start to feel guilty about not doing anything and need to feel some sort of sense of accomplishment.

Didn't we learn the same things from Avenue Q almost a decade ago?

I chuckled a few times, but the audience was somewhat subdued in general. Black didn't let this pass unnoticed and chastised us whenever we didn't laugh (loudly) enough after a joke. He'd say- that was a joke you know! I wanted to start heckling and say, maybe we would start laughing if the jokes were funnier!

Maybe this is just his style, but he did an awful lot of yelling at the audience. I mean, he seemed REALLY angry. He'll give himself a heart attack if he's not careful.

If you're a big Lewis Black fan maybe you'll think I'm crazy, but as someone unfamiliar with his work I was impressed. Mike Tyson still is at the top of the list for special events this season.

[PlayItAgain]

i think you meant you weren't impressed.

[LimelightMike]

Whizzer, were you familiar with his routine over the years? This 'yelling' is his shtick. Being a huge fan, I would've probably been in Heaven either way, lol.

[PlayItAgain]

the yelling is part of his stage persona, I have met him before and he is a terribly nice guy.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

Limelight Mike- Yeah, I figured the yelling must be part of the shtick, but it was still kind of disconcerting. The humor just wasn't up my alley I guess.

[little_sally]

Running time?

[tking001]

Rush/lotto details?

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

I think we were out by 9:45/50, but it did start late. He made a joke like, I bet you guys are hoping he wraps this up in 90 minutes so we can go grab a beer before going home to relieve the sitter.

[little_sally]

Thanks, Whizzer. I expected about 90 minutes or so. I'll be there tonight.

[Yero my Hero]

Rush/lotto details?

None. They do have standing room for $27 when they are sold out, which the box office told me is pretty much every day.

[EricMontreal22]

I like Black well enough when he does his rants on The Daily Show or talk shows, but I admit I couldn't imagine spending more than 20 minutes listening to him...

(And here I was hoping this was about a stage version of hte 80s River Phoenix/Martha Plimpton/Christine Lahti film...)

[Wilmingtom]

Eric, I thought the same thing about the film. And I feel like 20 minutes would be about 15 too many for me.

[PlayItAgain]

Saw it last night (thanks TDF for the 43 dollar seats)

The audience was roaring, what a great set from Lewis, keep in mind the reason some of the material may feel a little dated is he has been touring this set for the last year or so (they may apparently be filming the October 19th & 20th shows for a special now). But definitely was worth the money.

Favorite Lines:
"7 year olds don't need speed, I need speed I got **** to do"
"My Memory is gone, it takes me 10 days to do laundry now, its a never ending cycle"

Also he couldn't be nicer at the stage door taking photos with everyone who asked and taking the time to personalize our playbills and sign them extremely clear, mines already on my wall :)

[little_sally]

Saw this last night via TDF as well. I'm a long time Black fan so overall, I was pleased. I don't recommend it if you don't like his act but I enjoyed myself. I will say that I have seen him better.

[GavestonPS]

(And here I was hoping this was about a stage version of hte 80s River Phoenix/Martha Plimpton/Christine Lahti film...)

I thought the same thing and "Finally! What a great idea!"