Saturday, September 26, 2009

Crispy Chicken Needs - A Comedy Review

Last night I had the chance to see my favorite comedian. I'm just going to start this post off by saying that this show was way better than I expected... and I expected great things from this show.

Mike Birbiglia played the Pabst Theatre last night. I am going to try and recall as much as I can about the show. This might be harder than I previously thought due to the large amount of alcohol that was consumed after the show.

The opening act for this show was great. He was a gentlemen by the name of Henry Phillips. I really wish I would have picked up his album he was selling. I will have to try and find it. Henry falls into the guitar genre of comedy. I really like comedy that involves songs and guitars and pianos and that kind of stuff. I highly recommend checking him out.

Now, on to Birbiglia. He opened the show by coming out and talking about his experience at Miller Park on Monday night. He got to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the Brewers took on the Cubs. There is a very funny video of this available online and this moment was made even funnier by the fact that he was the third first pitch and that the girl that went before him, as he put it, threw like a boy which was bad because he throws like a girl. This was a perfect start to the show.

If you haven't seen Birbiglia, his comedy consists of telling stories from his life. These are all true stories which he makes sure to tell the audience right away. Even though I've heard his explanation of this, it is still funny and plays well. The title of this post comes from a story he was telling about using satellite navigation systems and how they are like a really pushy girlfriend in the car. He talked about pulling over to get food while the nav system kept telling him to turn around and get back on the highway. He then when on to say, "I've got crispy chicken needs." Or something like that, again, the booze is skewing some of the details.

He also told stories about his sleep walking. It was a hilarious story that involved a La Quinta hotel and jumping out of a window. I was crying at this point in the show because it was so funny. I believe I also have figured out that I might suffer from the same ailment that Birbiglia does. I also sleep walk and act out my dreams all the time. I need to remember what the thing is called so I can look it up.

I was crying because I was laughing so hard at several parts of the show. This comedy concert was probably the best one I've ever seen. Birbiglia brought it and was even funnier than I thought. Now, don't get me wrong, I think he is hilarious and I knew he would be funny, but he was even funnier than I thought.

I know that Birbiglia did a pilot for a network and I don't think it got picked up or they are still thinking about it or something, but I thought to myself last night that his act would translate perfectly to a sitcom. I can also see how his off-Broadway show did so well. I still wish I had the chance to get out to NYC to see it. Hopefully he'll be back and I'll have a chance.

I wish I could remember more of his stories right now, but the malted hops are still clouding my brain. Maybe Reid can fill in some of the blanks.

If you aren't already a huge fan, do yourself a favor and check out Mike Birbiglia.

5 comments:

Mr. Sparkle said...

Is it just me and Va Jay Jay over here? 9 posts in August and only 6 so far in September... Jeebus.

Sheets' Va Jay Jay said...

I think it is. This place hasn't caught on yet. Now that the brewers will be done, I hope to give more time to this site.

Master Reid said...

The best part about Henry Phillips' schtick was when he'd tell some absurd story leading into a song, and then play a song that had nothing to do with the story.

Softball's Tony Gwynn said...

hmm...sounds a lot like Pat McCurdy

Sheets' Va Jay Jay said...

F you STG!