Neil Hamburger at Emo's Jr.
When a joke is so unfunny that it triggers nervous laughter, it almost becomes funny. But when the point of the joke is to not be funny, and it ends up being hilarious, is that funny? Or is it just confusing?
Friday night at Emo's Jr. saw three comics who boldly explore that blurry line between humor and performance art. Looking like Zach Galifianakis in glitter paint, The New Movement co-founder Chris Trew was the first to take the stage, performing as Poseidon, Greek god of the high seas. Trew's Poseidon was equal parts WCW shit-talking and groan-inducing popsicle-stick punch lines. ("If you like weed let me hear you say, ‘Yeah!’ Well, when Poseidon wants to get high, he smokes seaweed.") Though nothing from Trew's routine was the kind of funny you'd repeat to your friends later, his trident-wielding egotism, freestyle rapping, and Little Stolen Moments-backed dance interludes were enough of a freak show to keep the audience interested.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Fred Bothwell's set. The crowd started to peter out after only a few minutes of Bothwell's motivational speaking and call-and-response-style comedy. Speaking (or more accurately, shouting) in an excited Special Ed-like voice, Bothwell asked the audience to yell, "Errr!" whenever he pointed the mic at them, urging them to complete words like “grammar.” It wasn't very funny, and most of the crowd decided it was a good time to get some food, have a smoke, or otherwise leave the room—which was weird, because this was a crowd that ostensibly came to see an unfunny comedian. The fact that Bothwell's jokes were so awkwardly awful that they hardly rated a groan should have made him the funniest comic there, right?
Not really, because despite his "hard-luck, cancer-ridden, shitty comedian" routine, Neil Hamburger is actually pretty fucking hysterical. On his albums, Hamburger has been known to delve deep into the conceptual side of his “bad comedian” shtick, complete with a booing, unfriendly laugh track. Live though, it's a different story: Hamburger goes for the jugular with nonstop non-sequiturs, filthy punch lines, and only the briefest of rambling setups. All the gleeful boos and cries of "too soon!" belonged to fans eager to get in on the act; rather than facing a hostile audience—where he would probably delight in the confrontation—Hamburger now has to deal with an overzealous one.
"What does the American Medical Association call an unfortunate soul afflicted with both Down syndrome and Tourette's? Robin Williams."
Between his nasal, screeching cry of "Whyyyyy..." at the start of every joke, and his chronic phlegmatic coughing, it seemed like Hamburger might be suffering from Tourette syndrome as well. But both are strategically designed to block out the excited, obnoxious fans in the front row who continually yell punch lines and joke requests. The days of getting booed off the stage are over, and Hamburger has had to readjust to performing before a crowd that not only gets it, but knows it and loves it.
"Why did Julia Roberts rub shit on her vagina? To show respect for Heath ‘I Died’ Ledger."
Comedy is based in unpredictability, and anyone who came expecting Hamburger to trash the recently deceased King of Pop was likely to wind up a little disappointed. There was a fairly respectful monologue about MJ that tied in his album titles (“I guess it turns out he wasn't Invincible"), and then Neil got serious for a moment to talk about all the great entertainers who've died recently. He imagined Michael in heaven, being interviewed by Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, dancing with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, and, of course, molesting Jett Travolta. Okay, so maybe he's not that unpredictable. Even though his trademark catchphrase, "But that's my life!" was never completely uttered (only hinted and teased at), and several of his classic jokes were reworked with new punch lines, his other mainstay targets were all there: Red Hot Chili Peppers and heroin addiction, Smash Mouth, fast food, Paris Hilton, and oddly enough, Ritchie Valens.
Despite the sourpuss expression, Hamburger is actually an affable guy. He posed for pictures and talked with fans after his set, and he seemed willing, if a bit reluctant, to accept his own celebrity. But while Hamburger toyed with his fans’ expectations and coughed to drown out his own punch lines, it looked like he might have been yearning for the old days, before his irony was fully embraced. The hack comedian who ends up being successful, only to miss being heckled off the stage—that's classic irony. It’s the sort of misfortune that could only befall one man: Neil Hamburger.
