Stand up comedians have been around so long that there were probably cave make making jokes in front of the tribe after a big mastodon hunt. In the fifties and sixties when I was a kid there was such a thing as the party album. They were typically live recordings of a popular or up coming comedian. It was also not unusual for the language to be more adult than was possible on television so kids loved to listen when their parents were not around. Stand up has traditionally been a great way for a comedian to become famous and most of the highest paid comedians got their starts in one crummy club after another. With today’s modern technology we have DVDs so we can not only hear the latest stand up acts but see them as well. As a long time fan of the format this is an incredible boon since a large part of many stand up comedians is visual with their facial expressions and body language selling the jokes. One of the latest comedians to break out and get an increasing amount of media attention is Jim Gaffigan. By his own description he is the whitest man in the universe with a skin pigmentation that is a few specks of melanin shy by being transparent. There is a very good possibility that you will recognize his pale face from any of a number of Comedy Central specials, a few silly films and a number of more substantial ones or on one of his regular guest appearance stints on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He now is a regular cast member for the basic cable sit-com ‘My Boys’. The thing is the man is extremely funny. I have never seen him in any vehicle that did not leave me laughing out loud. His latest DVD is ‘Jim Gaffigan: King Baby’ and it is just perfect for watching when you need a laugh or when a few friends drop by. Gaffigan’’s style of humor is conducive to appealing to a broad audience. He is rarely controversial and his easy going style in infectious.

Gaffigan is a mid west boy from Indiana and is from an Irish Catholic family where he was on of six children. This is part of the foundation of his humor; being a guy that the audience members can readily identify with. He is the type of comedian that relies on self deprecation to drive his humor. He is quick to point out his own foibles and that translates to letting the audience laugh at itself. One of the main themes of his act is the notoriously bad eating habits of our society. This is a man who loves his junk food and is not ashamed of the fact. For most stand-up comedians there is always someone in the audience that will heckle him. Gaffigan frequently takes on this role himself using a high pitched voice to mock his own jokes. This is the kind of comedian that comes across as an old friend who is always cracking jokes. He is just fun to be around and livens up any gathering. His trademark deadpan delivery is mostly centered on observational humor. The topics he covers in his act are those that we all encounter every day with just the right humorous twist to liven them up.

This performance was recorded at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas. I have no idea how this became standard for a comedy act DVD but the opening shot is Gaffigan traveling to the venue. It seems that this is now the preferred way of opening a concert disc like this. Gaffigan takes the stage to a standing ovation. He starts off making fun of the ticket prices and then in typical Gaffigan fashion targets his own pale skin and large head. Gaffigan talks about going bowling. He describes it as the activity that is only done when all other things have been tried. No one is ever jealous when they find out you went bowling. He presents himself as lazy and overly fond of eating so bowling is perfect for him. There is no other sport that you can have a plate of nachos while playing. No other sport has an ashtray built into the equipment. He revels in being lazy and the way he speaks about it he has doing nothing down to an art form. When he has too much to do he takes a nap and hopes elves will come in and do the work for him. The audience responds well to this part of his act. They understand that he is spoofing the qualities that are collectively known aboard as the ugly American. There is no malice in his humor just his own personal observations on the pleasures of eating and sleeping. He goes on wondering why lazy people like him have not been weeded out by natural selection. He muses what he would have been like in the pioneer days. His biggest skill is being able to lose the remote control without ever leaving the couch.

Gaffigan finds joy in the simple things in life. For example he goes on about how wonderful an escalator is. He can go upstairs without moving his legs and finds it upsetting when someone walks up behind him on one. Much of his connection to the audience is through his ability to take a simple and familiar situation and exaggerate it to humorous proportions. He cannot imagine why people would want to burn through vacation days from work to go camping. To Gaffigan the point of civilization was to get away from sleeping on the ground with nature surrounding you. He feels that places that charge to sleep outside is insulting to the homeless and if outside is so great why are all the bugs constantly trying to get inside? He also feels on the best inventions was the snooze bar on alarm clocks; there is notjing like starting out your day with a little procrastination. Even if you friends and family complain that you are lazy Gaffigan will surely make you feel better.

Like a lot of comedy DVDs from Comedy Central this was had a televised run just before the release date. The show runs about thirty minutes longer than on cable so you should be sure to get the DVD and enjoy the entire act. The extras provided here are much better than usual for a stand up performance disc. There are episodes of Gaffigans’ recurring animated bit ‘Pale Force’ where he fights crime with Conan O'Brien using the blinding powers of their ultra white skin and lasers shooting from their nipples to catch the bad guys. These are incredibly funny. Also included are a couple of interviews with Gaffigan and a behind the scenes look at hi promotions for the tour. This is a funny man who does not have to go blue to make people laugh and this is a great act that will make you and your friends laugh.