Trained chimpanzees, designer plates, John Maynard Keynes, PCP and horror movie sex scenes were only a handful of the topics discussed during The Comedians of Comedy tour, which stopped by the Center for the Arts Mainstage Theater this past Saturday.
Patton Oswalt, who has risen to fame through his work on The King of Queens and as the voice of Remy in Ratatouille, envisioned the tour to showcase lesser-known, but longer-running, comedic talents. By playing in rock clubs and theaters as opposed to stock comedy clubs, Oswalt's goal is to reach a larger, more diverse audience.
In his introduction, Oswalt laid down the "tag team" format of the evening, complained about boring college majors and compared himself to a hobbit.
"Oswalt worked the crowd the best, he actively interacted with people and asked questions," said Devin Wilson, a freshman media study major.
The first act was Doug Benson, known from Last Comic Standing and VH1's Best Week Ever. Benson's greatest strength was his gleefully smug delivery on offensive, yet stupid, subjects, elevating the material to a higher level.
"I had never heard of him before, but Doug Benson was definitely the best," said Jason Manijak, a junior mathematics major.
Benson introduced Maria Bamford, the only female comedian in the show. Her act touched on a wide range of topics with a shotgun approach, jumping from favorite religions, to politics and to reenacted conversations with her mother.
For the most part, Bamford's set was an unfortunate slow down following Benson's energy, producing light chuckles rather than big laughs. The comedian's style seemed more suited for a low-key nightclub than a theater of energetic college students. Awkward silence penetrated the auditorium, as the act seemed to drag. A heckler or two was heard at the end, to which Bamford happily responded.
"(Bamford) was just too weird - I don't think anyone could follow her material," said Chris Bryant, a junior business management major.
Eugene Mirman won back the crowd's applause with his absurdist style, touching on being a Russian immigrant, among other things.
Mirman has worked with a range of talented individuals, even branching out from the comedy world. His ludicrousness mixed nicely with Stella, who he opened for, and he has also toured with such bands as Cake, Modest Mouse and The Shins.
Mirman was able to adhere to the golden rule of leaving the audience wanting more. Mirman's set felt like the quickest of the bunch. After plugging his new designer plate, he was off into the night.
Comedian Brian Posehn used both his a 6'6" tall hulking figure and dry delivery as integral tools to his delivery and a main source of the material. The funnyman's self-deprecation never felt too forced, and he came off likable enough that jokes revolving around his own image were taken with a big enough grain of salt to be funny.
Most of Posehn's work has been as a writer. He has a long filmography and has worked as an actor. He currently plays a prominent character on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.
Oswalt returned to the stage with a cup of scotch in hand (which he would later chug) to finish off the night. The difference between Posehn and Oswalt was not hard to notice. The short and stout Oswalt finished the evening with routines about college, George W. Bush and the KFC Famous Bowl, which received some of the biggest laughs of the night.
The Comedians of Comedy, which has earned its reputation as a tour, a movie and a television show, turning the spotlight to those who have been in the business a long time but have never had their deserved breakout. The tour formerly included Zach Galifianakis (Into the Wild), who has found a major increase in popularity.
So if the likes of Mirman or Posehn were once vacant to the mind, it is more than likely that the tour stop produced more of a fan base. In that sense, Oswalt seems to be achieving his goal.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
