Comedians of Comedy @ The Black Cat (Last Night)

You know what I love about the Comedians of Comedy? There is no smoke and mirrors. There is no in-your-face personas, basking in the glow of their own huge head caked with 2 pounds of hair gel. There are no “catch phrases”. There is no intro music by “Blur”. There are just 4 incredibly funny comics who don’t know how to put on an act. They are incapable of acting too cool for school. They are humble to be in front of you. That is why I can’t help but feel instantly connected to them.

Patton Oswalt is a fantastic jolly little man. I love the way he can instantly make a fool of himself. He made an awkward entrance and immediately called attention to it. “Oh, the little goblin had a problem finding the staircase.” Great!! If the audience can see, then don’t ignore it. It is always more funny to accept the reality of the moment and make it work. That is basically what Patton does all night. He makes it work with what he's got. The guy is super smart. I was in awe of his crowd work, because he is so sharp he can cut anyone up but is still silly enough to never truly offend an audience member. He is just so lovable! I was this close to SQUEEEEZZING him!

I had never really warmed up to Maria Bamford before I went to see the show. I watched the Comedians of Comedy television series and the movie and something never stuck with me. But, I knew there had to be a reason for her to be a part of the tour for so long. I found out as soon as she got on stage. The woman is incredible. She does characters so well that I found myself lost in them. Literally, I was surprised it was the same woman. She has such a quiet & awkward “normal” voice on stage that when she shifts to a character it is quite the surprise. I am sure she does that on purpose, which only adds to how wonderful she is. For a comedian who enjoys playing a lot different characters in a show myself, I really identified with her style and enjoyed it very much.

Someone I didn’t think I was going to enjoy but did was Eugene Mirman. I saw him in Brooklyn about 2 years ago and didn’t really like his stuff. He had a lot of notes and even went as far as to bring a laptop to show off some sort of power point presentation. Needless to say, I don’t remember it being too funny. But last night, I knew Mirman would be bringing his “A-Game”. Well, he is great. So smart and quick. He printed out the survey form from www.classmates.com and read his answers to each question to a great response. His attention to detail, it reminded me of George Carlin. Maybe, I was too drunk and uncomfortable to like him in NYC. But, now I am a fan.

I wasn’t that big on Brian Posehn. He has the highest creepiness/nerd/”rapey face” rating of all of them. It was just too awkward for my tastes.

Even still, I was incredibly happy with the whole show. I have liked Patton for a while now and it was great to see him live. I was so won over by the other comics of the night that I can’t wait to start exploring more of their material. For anyone who missed the show do yourself a favor, check these guys out please. Buy tickets when they come back into town. Buy their CD’s. Buy Ratatouille on DVD and Blue-Ray disc. Buy everything. They all deserve it.