The Conical Glass: The last laugh

Friday, November 07, 2008

The last laugh

You can't tell a person in a restaurant not to eat, or ask someone in a library not to read. And you definitely can't order someone in a comedy club not to laugh.

So there was nothing we could do last night at Cobb's Comedy Club about the guy sitting in back of us -- the guy with THE MOST ANNOYING LAUGH IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

It was as high-pitched as a whistling tea kettle; as relentless as a car alarm. Listening to it was like being poked in the ear with a knitting needle for 90 minutes.

And it never stopped. Nothing was not hilarious, from the first word to the last. It was so annoying that the comedian actually commented on it. Of course, that just made him laugh more.

The Laugh from Hell ruined our evening. But what could we do? The place was packed; there was no place to run or hide.

I've been to many shows at Cobb's, which is usually set up with small tables and chairs. Last night, they had removed all of the tables and squeezed in about a zillion chairs. It was supremely uncomfortable. The only good thing about it was that there was no way to enforce their usual two-drink minimum, but I would rather spring for a couple overpriced beverages than be pinned into a chair all night. The long standby line of people waiting to get into the sold-out club made me wonder why Brand hadn't been booked into a larger venue, like the Warfield.

The performer last night was English comic Russell Brand, who, as he admitted, is hugely famous in the U.K. (a large portion of the audience cheered when he asked if there were any Brits in the house) but not particularly well known in the U.S. He is probably most famous for his stint hosting MTV's Video Music Awards a few months ago, when he got into hot water with the channel's tween audience for making a crack about the Jonas Brothers' virginity pledge. This, however, was nothing compared to the firestorm that ensued last month in Britain when some crank calls he made to an elderly actor were aired on his BBC Radio 2 program. This was such a big deal that he was actually denounced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Brand didn't really address the crank call controversy last night, though many in the audience were obviously aware of it. Maybe he'll work it into material for his next show. There was a ton of stuff about the MTV Awards, though, including the promo he cut with Britney Spears and an elephant, and he did a dramatic reading from some of the hate mail he'd received after the show. Most of his material, which he is working on for a forthcoming Comedy Central special, is about himself and his adventures in fame and infamy -- it could all come across as tiresomely self-absorbed, but he does it all with a nod and a wink and manages to come across as a likable chap, someone you'd like to sit down and have a beer with (were it not for the fact that he is clean & sober after years of addiction). With his tight trousers and long hair, he looks just like the rock star he played so memorably in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." I enjoyed his highly verbal comedy stylings (the man has a real way with words), but I suspect I'll enjoy them even more on the TV special without the painful intrusion of Laughing Guy.

In "Dancing With the Stars" news, Susan was, as I predicted, the one to go. I was momentarily excited by the announcement of a new "DWtS" tour, featuring many of the pros and a handful of stars from the show, until Joe went online and found out that tickets cost $50 (for the nosebleed seats -- not even worth considering) to $225, not counting the Ticketmaster charges. I'm sorry, but for $225, I'd expect a personal lap dance from Cristian de la Fuente. I have a few contacts in the TV biz so maybe I'll try to get into a taping of the show someday.

posted by 125records @ 3:19 PM

1 Comments:

At 6:11 AM, yellojkt said…

Brand is funny but annoying audience members can ruin anything. So sorry for you.