I think that it is important to talk about shows you've seen as much, if not more, than talking about shows coming up. To put my typing where my mind is, I'll be contributing these "quick reviews" for shows that I've just seen...hopefully you'll either chime in or contribute your own.
So, Friday night, first show...I'm off to Kirkland where Dave & Angela have had quite a streak of excellent comedy options that have dragged me across the 520 bridge to come see. Marc Maron two weeks ago, Myq Kaplan last week and this week it is Greg Behrendt.
The middle act is Mike Drucker--a very funny man who has moved here from having lived in New York, where he's written for The Onion and Saturday Night Live. Mike was in last year's Seattle International Comedy Competition and it was fun watching him do a longer set for a change.
The highlight of Mike's set for many was when, in the pursuit of some crowd work, he learned that the name of a particular woman in the front row was Ariel...and he proceeded to sing her a song from "The Little Mermaid"--and not one of the Sebastian-sung "hits" either...not "Under the Sea" or "Kiss The Girl"...he went right for "Part of Your World."
A lot of Mike's material is brutally self-deprecating, which he often tries to play off with a little giggle...it's an odd combination of generated emotions, and in short sets it works just fine. In the longer set, I felt the audience start to feel more empathy and sympathy towards Mike...but the writing is so good, they laughed in spite of themselves.
Mike was also dirtier, in the long set, than I'd expected...but the audience didn't seem too taken a back by that...and he certainly wasn't dirtier than the headliner (which is typically a feature act's guide as to how far they should push things.)
The headliner was, of course, Greg Behrendt...and unappreciated factor in the development of American alternative comedy--overlooked, perhaps, because of his success in more mainstream pursuits--his writing for "Sex & The City", his co-authoring of the "He's Just Not That Into You" best selling book and involvement in the flawed movie made from that book, and the daytime talk show that once bore his name.
Make no mistake, Greg's got chops and a unique style that is best described as a constantly self-editing story teller. Important points get repeated, adjusted, refined and repeated so his performance builds a mosaic of exaggerated reality.
I've worked with Greg before, years ago, and have followed his career ever since...and this show combined elements of a "best of Greg" (he did versions of "Ripped Like Jesus" and "Glorious Cake") and a "state of the Greg address" (he talked about how his success with the book made him quit stand-up for a few years and his recent weight loss).
He surprised many by taking the stage, at first, not to do comedy...but to jam on guitar with a drummer...a gambit that might have paid more dividends had the crowd not been guided (lulled, even) to a very mellow haze by the MC, throughout the show. (Often times, comedians don't want the overly excited "Michael Buffer" type of MCs as that's a hard level of intensity to match at the start of a headliner's set...but this was a case where what Greg wanted to do could have used a bit more whipping up of the crowd in anticipation of his taking the stage.)
No matter...the guitar came off, the drummer left the stage and a good sized audience in Kirkland was treated to a solid effort from a charismatic and funny veteran performer.
Always good to see Greg work...and getting to see a longer set from Mike Drucker was definitely a bonus!
pg--Did YOU see Greg & Mike this weekend? What did YOU think?--seattle
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Originally Posted by pg13
