John and I got to see Louis CK’s stand-up show at one of Vancouver’s oldest theatres, the Vogue, on Friday night. The show was fantastic; he was as funny, edgy & off-color as ever, the crowd was great and he even came back out to do an encore that reinforced what I love about his style of comedy – it feels like he’s really just talking to you. It never feels like he’s doing a schtick or putting on a performance. His delivery might get animated at times, but it always feels as though he’s talking to you naturally. He even addressed how UNnatural it was for him to come out, stand on a stage & start talking to complete strangers. Acknowledging that plane only further emphasized the honesty of his stage presence.
I’ve been lucky to see a bunch of great comedy shows since moving out to Vancouver: Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman plus Bill Maher with my sister when she took me to Vegas last year. Clearly I enjoy comedians who push the envelope and I realize this material isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. However I managed to find a great clip of Louis CK on Conan that’s PG-rated and so so true:
Next on my list of comedians I want to see:
- Jim Gaffigan
- Denis Leary
- Mike Birbiglia
- Dave Chapelle (not holding my breath on this one)
It’d be nice to see big names like Seinfeld or Bill Cosby, but not so much for the laugh factor as much as witnessing a comedy legend. I really wish I’d been able to see George Carlin before he passed. I keep a couple of his CDs in the car for long road trips & always hoped I’d get the chance to see him one day. He was scheduled to appear in Vancouver too which was partly why I was so shocked by his death; also, of course, because we expect cantankerous old farts like Carlin to outlive us all. 🙂