Lewis Black: The Carnegie Hall Performance

Some comedians have a sense of humor that is friendly, gentle jokes that delight. Forget that form of comedy when you listen to the latest CD from Lewis Black. Black is acerbic, sarcastic and outraged by the collective stupidly of the race of man. While not a native New Yorker, he was born in Silver Spring Maryland, he represents the collective attitude of his adopted city with flair and style. Black is well known to any of the legion of fans that watch Comedy Central’s Daily Show. There he gets a scant few minutes to vent his rage, now we get over an hour of his unique style of comedy. On September 24^th 2005 he graced the illustrious stage of Carnegie Hall. While that venue has hosted the best in classical music no act that every appeared there could have prepared them for Lewis Black.

Black gets right to work with little in the way of introduction. His onslaught of four letter words comes at the audience from the first moments of his performance. He begins by noting that his mother, who was in the audience, wanted him to be a doctor or at least marry one. Now she gets to see him perform on one of the most famous stages in the world and Black assures us that next week he will be working in some dark comedy dive. It is seeming lack of concern that makes his humor. He voices the outrage all of us feel at one point or another. Too bad this is a CD. As fans know much of his stage persona is centered in his index finger, a digit that is used like a stabbing instrument digging at the ridiculous aspects of our modern society. As you listen you can almost hear that finger strike out in emphasis.

Nothing is scared to Black. He notes that it is the time of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the Judaic calendar. For him it calls up memories from his childhood when this little boy was told that this is the day God will either write your name in the Book of Life or the Book of Death. Black muses that it would be better to be Catholic. Just go into a little box with a priest, tell him what awful things you’ve done and say a predetermined number of prayers to get rid of them all. Black does not have a thought process that is like most people. For him it is simple, the world is messed up and he is able to see this while so many others can not.

Another assault is made against the Halloween classic, candy corn. He speaks about how it does not have anything to do with either candy or corn, if you would melt it down you would have enough oil to run a car. He is also sure that all the candy corn in the world was produced in 1914. No one can eat enough to diminish the ever lasting supply. He also states that he seems to have a memory problem when it comes to this confection. Each year he tries it and each year he hates the taste but next year the cycle starts all over.

Slowly he eases into to his real forte, noting how bad the authorities are running the world. He takes off on the people that work in airports talking about how no one seems to know any useful information. That a full month after the devastating hurricanes in the south east the airlines announced that air travel would be difficult. He screams out in disgust that he knew after the storms that taking an airplane would be almost impossible. Be attacks those in charge for failing no such much ion their jobs but in not having even a modicum of common sense. When he was traveling one time he inadvertently tossed an old Zippo lighter in his baggage only to be stopped by security. His dilemma is that it is okay to take matches which do server the exact same purpose. When the lighter is detected the baggage screeners shout and the commotion begins. Black is able to take a typical, normal human experience and make it into social commentary that is as dark as it is funny.

Social issues build as he goes into the reaction the country and the administration had to the disaster of hurricane Katrina. Black is upset, albeit his seemingly normal state, at how the administration appeared surprised that there are still poor people in America. "Didn’t we have a bake sale for them" Black spits out. Then he turns his attentions to FEMA starting off that he always thought that it was a bone in your butt. He wonders aloud how no one had looked at the resume of the man who would take charge of one of the most vital aspects of the federal government. Black tells the audience that being the head of the Arabian Horse Association made him as able to run FEMA as Black being a comedian prepared him to be the Secretary of State.

For Black the headlines are little more than fodder for his act. He notes that Michael Jackson is such that his name alone is a punch line. The habit of celebrities naming their children odd names, That Germaine Jackson’s son Germastesty is not a proper name for a child. Of course Black has to go into the war in Iraq. He his at his caustic best when he goes into political observations, even if you don’t agree with his politics you will have to admit that he reaches his audience in a humorous fashion.

Black’s humor is admittedly not for everyone. If you can’t take a joke about your own beliefs, if you are firm in your political standings or if you happen to be offended easily than this will not appeal to you. However, if you are able to step back from your life and try to see things through the strange mind of Lewis Black then this is one of his best works.

Posted: 4/8/06