"No skinny ties today": McHale does standup minus his signature look.
Despite being on two weekly shows—Community and The Soup—and touring as a standup with impressive regularity, Joel McHale has yet to achieve a Comedy Central or HBO special. Because I care about this community (see what I did there)—and the fact that it made for a good gift for my friend Tim’s 30th birthday (no, I am not referring to myself in the third person there)—I went to McHale’s show at the Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford Brought to You by Sonic’s and Provided by Trader Joe’s (I may not have gotten that theatre’s title quite right). (Also, damn, that is a long sentence). If you cannot see him from the comfort of your home, don’t worry, Tim Stevens is here to let you know what it would be like (yes, I am referring to myself in the third person there).
The show got rolling about 25 minutes late—which is hardly unusual for this kind of thing—with Daily Show executive producer Rory Albanese taking the stage. I have seen Albanese previously, about 2 years ago, opening for John Oliver at Hartford’s Funny Bone (which is, of course, located in Manchester, CT because…well, why not). I am happy to report his approximately 50 minute set was a good 90-95% (if not more) original material. He worked similar areas as the first time I saw him, but I do not see that as being particularly problematic. There is nothing wrong with a niche, especially when your niche is as wide open as politics and international relations, the topic that was responsible for most of Albanese’s running time.
Initially, Albanese seemed intimidated by the size of the room and what he called the “politeness” of the room. His jokes were earning laughs, but they faded quickly and the auditorium was quiet more often than not. As his set progressed, however, Albanese got looser and the audience warmed up. By the time he closed on a series of jokes about Americans as the New Jerseyians, the loud, cocky, unyielding partiers, of the world—a well-worn topic to be sure—the crowd was far more forgiving of the occasional bum joke. The laughter became more of a wave, rising and falling, but nearly ever present, and the awkward silences disappeared.
"McDonald's is American soil!": Rory Albanese extols the cultural virtues of US culture
McHale took over immediately afterwards and kept that vibe going. Wearing a classic Hartford Whalers t-shirt (panderer!), he opened with a quick set of Ryan Seacrest focused jokes about the uber-host’s height, his role of Dick Clark’s Rocking New Year’s Eve, and the rampant speculation about Seacrest’s sexuality. Given that Seacrest is a favorite target on The Soup, this was hardly surprising. Nor were the jokes that followed which teed off on the Kardashians, Bret Michaels, Tila Tequila, Flavor Flav, and, of course, Tyra Banks. Unlike McHale’s hit and run approach on The Soup, however, these bits were more about stories than quick gags and as such were longer, more in-depth, and certainly a bit bluer. Fans of The Soup would find much here to enjoy.
McHale kept the Soup-related humor going buy taking some time to defend himself from critics who feel he is too cruel to the overweight and obese and lifting the curtain a bit to tell the audience about public figures who have not handled their E!-sponsored grilling very well. By revealing that his Grandmother is amongst those who have not cared for the show over the years, McHale then pivoted to content about his family, especially his father’s eternal quest to save money and his older son’s precocious behaviors.
The material stepped fully beyond the humor of his weekly hosting gig, placing himself, for the first time, firmly in the action. If being more revealing bothered him, McHale certainly did not show it, walking the stage and tearing into the jokes with the same level easy confidence on display throughout the show. While the audience no doubt came for the celebrity related humor, the comedian did not seem to lose their attention as he transitioned to jokes about in-laws, SUVs, and the dangers inherent in making your child’s Halloween costume.
As always Tim can be reached at parallax2 [at] juno [dot] com, followed on Twitter at UnGajje, or friended on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=836564484. Please feel free to do so or comment below.