Jim Norton is a very graphic and explicit fellow. This may be one reason he is not a household name. He's also tremendously funny,intelligent and articulate. My first view of him was on a Netflix special a few years ago. I've purchased all of his CDs,and I finally got to see him in October of 2015.
He played 4 sold out shows over 2 days at The Comedy Works in Albany,NY. Jim is one hard-working comedian. I managed to see his 2nd show on the 24th,and my goodness he was funny.
After the show he made time to do photos and autographs with anyone who was interested. I got to meet and greet him and get a photo. He also politely autographed my copy of his book "Happy Endings". A cool guy.
My pal Harold attended this one with me. On the 12th we made the 7.5 hour drive to Webster,NY. By the time we arrived I was pretty worn out. Our hotel reservation was not honored as the Super 8 had overbooked,so we had to make other plans. Thankfully we found a vacant motel just down the road. I rested in the room while Harold visited the motel bar.
Arriving at the Comedy Club,I realized I had forgotten my camera in our room. Damn. I really wanted a photo with the Diceman. So how was his show? It was funny as hell but short. He was onstage about 45 minutes. Generally speaking,comedy shows are at least an hour long. So I was a bit let down by that plus the fact that I had forgotten my camera. Dice was indeed doing photos after the show,but I couldn't do it.
Could it have been a better experience? Yes,but I'm glad I finally got to see one of my favorite comics.
Another fun night with Doug. This is actually the 3rd time I've seen him in Montreal,but I've misplaced my ticket for the 2nd show. This time Mr. Stanhope appeared at Club Soda on St. Laurent Blvd. It's a fairly intimate place to see a show. And it was general admission,so I got in line early to secure a good seat.
He mentioned it was his first show in about 6 months so he might be rusty. Not at all. Doug has a way of squeezing humor and insightfulness out of life even if he's a little out of practice. It's always a pleasure,and I will be glad to see him again in 2016 if he returns.
Doug was nice enough to meet with anybody in the lobby after the show. As I stepped up to get my photo taken with him,he grabbed me and put his arm around my head while pressing his face to mine. He caught me WAY off guard,but it produced a good photo. (Presented below with 2 other photos from that night.)
Another fine evening with one of my favorite comedians. This time the show was hosted by the beautiful Boston Symphony Hall. My seat was in the front row of the left balcony section. The young guy sitting next to me appeared to be a) on drugs or b) very ADHD-ish. He would rock his body back and forth for a while then suddenly stop. Then he would begin again. This is the 2nd time I've been seated next to an oddball at a Louis CK show. Let's hope this trend doesn't continue at the next one. Aside from that minor distraction,Louis was funny as hell on this night.
Louis CK on Conan:
Below is a photo I took from my seat in Boston Symphony Hall:
Bill Burr is another comedian I discovered via Netflix. I believe it was the special named "Why Do I Do This?". Bill is full of attitude,sarcasm,and intelligence.
I had a ticket for a 2010 show,but I couldn't make it for some reason. So I was very pleased to drive 4 hours down to Boston to see him this time around. At this show he covered Arnold Schwarzenegger,gold-digging wh*res and much more. It was a great one.
After the show I took the opportunity to buy Bill's signed DVD "Let It Go" and get a quick photo with him. Below is my photo with Bill. If I look alcohol-abused in the photo,it's because I was.
There are very few comedians I would drive 4 hours (one way) to see in concert,and Louis is one of them. My first exposure to him was on one of his specials on Netflix. His self-deprecating,extreme humor appealed to me immediately.
So I made it down to the legendary Hampton Beach Casino on Saturday the 31st. The woman sitting next to me claimed she had attended high school with Louis. She nicely bought me an energy drink before the show. But she also started talking on her phone about 10 minutes into the show. Not cool. Usually this behavior makes my blood boil,but she did buy me a drink after all. Thankfully,after a couple minutes on her phone she shut up.
Anyhow,the show was extremely funny,and the drive down to New Hampshire was well worth it.
I never knew Doug Stanhope existed until maybe 2008. On a whim I decided to watch his comedy special "No Refunds" on Netflix. Wow! What an amazingly intelligent,articulate and funny man. His views are extreme and *in-your-face*,so perhaps that keeps him from being mainstream popular.
Anyhow,when I heard he was playing in Montreal,I jumped at the chance. It was at a tiny dive bar on the 3rd floor. Walls and ceilings were painted black,and there was a little stage. And there was no backstage. Doug had to walk through the crowd to get onstage. The show was every bit as funny and extreme as I had hoped.
At the end,Doug offered to meet with fans outside in the alley if we wanted photos or autographs. I approached him,and he nicely asked my name. I shook his hand,and someone took our photo together. What a cool guy. Below is the photo of us in that Montreal alley.
My second and final time seeing Mr. Carlin. I was slightly under the influence at this show,so I don't recall much from it. What I do recall is George's timing seemed slightly off. Years later,someone told me that his wife had recently died,so perhaps he had that weighing on his mind. At one point,he said "This joke has no ending,so I will simply bow".
Penn & Teller is a duo of comedic magicians. They pull off wild illusions while being humorous at the same time. I first saw them on Saturday Night Live back in the 1980s. Penn is very talkative while Teller remains silent.
It was very exciting to see them at The Flynn Theatre. I have almost no memories of their performance,but I DO recall that they had a set break. Penn (the one who talks) jumped off the stage and walked to the back of the theatre and chatted with fans for the entire intermission. For some reason he was telling a fan that he could eat a meal off the top of his head. (?!?) I could think of nothing to say to him,so I just watched. Without missing a beat,the intermission ended,and Penn walked right back onstage and proceeded with the 2nd half of the show. A fun night.
Looking at my ticket stub,I see that my spot for this show was only 2 seats away from my spot for the George Carlin show the previous year. Thanks Mom and Dad for the ticket!
I have few memories of this show. There is one illusion that blew me away. David stood onstage and pulled a curtain over himself. The curtain was dropped,and immediately he appeared in the middle of the audience. To this day I have no idea how he achieved this.
After the show he took time to sign autographs out in the lobby of The Flynn Theatre. I have since lost my autographed photo,but he was a class act.
I began listening to Carlin around 1983. "Carlin at Carnegie" was a regular feature on HBO around that time. Soon after, I started buying his tapes (yes...tapes) at local places like Ben Franklin's and Woolworth's.
When I heard he would be in Burlington I got very excited. I would have been around 12 years old,but my parents nicely bought me a ticket and brought me to the show. This probably was my first time in The Flynn Theatre. My memories are few. I do recall that George walked out onstage with no introduction of any kind. Being in the 5th row, I made eye contact with Mr. Carlin at least once. Some of his material was familiar to me from my tape collection. And aside from a lot of laughing,I don't recall much else.
I did get one souvenir from the show. It was a pink George Carlin shirt which stated "Sometimes a little brain damage can help" on the back.
A newspaper clipping from Plattsburgh,NY's Press Republican advertising this show:
