Stark Raving Black

There are many forms that comedy can take even within a specific branch of humor. For example there are a lot of ways a comedian can poke fun at the world around us. A man like Will Rogers did that with a gentle, down home feel reminiscent of a grandfather or favorite uncle entertain the family at some holiday gathering. Then there is Lewis Black. He accomplishes the same thing; observation and commentary, but in his case his established style is more akin to that strange man on the street corner who is off his psychotropic medication ranting in the general direction of anyone who just happens to be passing by. There is a saying that you can judge a book by its cover but in the case of Black’s latest DVD the cover art sums it up nicely. It depicts Black with his gaze focused and angry behind his trademark finger jutting out literally poking at everything that annoys him with is pretty much the whole of the universe. I have reviewed a CD release of his awhile back but his way of relating to an audience truly demands a visual component provided by this DVD of a concert in his latest tour. Even though he was born in Silver Spring Maryland Black seems to embody the collective attitude of my home town; New York City. Sure he’s brash and loud but what reminds me so much of my fellow New Yorkers is the way he digs in his heels to defend his opinion no matter how outrageous it may be. Often you find yourself laughing at what he is talking about simply he is expressing something you’ve thought but never could express with such force or conviction. His act is not for those of sensitive sensibilities or any with a great distain for explicit subject matter and language. On the other hand if you prefer your humor straight to the point and heavily barbed then this disc is definitely right for you.

On Black’s tax under profession it would be a misnomer to state comedian. A much more accurate description of Black’s chosen means of earning a living would be professional curmudgeon. This comedy concert was filmed during two evening appearances at the Fillmore Theatre in Detroit, Michigan and the crowd obviously loves Black. As the camera pans the audience it is obvious that many are collage age but the baby boomer generation, Black’s own, is well represented. Many people are fans of his regular spot on Comedy Central’s ‘Daily Show’, a satiric look at current events. The scant few minutes afforded Black there are nowhere near enough time for Black to develop into a full scale rant worthy of all the aspects of our society deserving his critical expression. So much idiocy, s little time becomes the theme of the initial stage of the coming raving commentary. He relates to the audience that many fans wondered what Black was going to do for material now that President Bush is out of office. He assures his fan base that stupidity in America is a lot like the arcade game ‘Whack-a-Mole’. Every time you hit one source three more popup so it is highly unlikely that he will ever experience a dearth of topics. He then informs his audience to lower their expectation of his act and life in general by about 20% since that is how much lower our financial worth is due to the greed of large financial concerns. At this point the long straight finger of Black’s indignation has already been thrust into the air jabbing at a world full of targets for him to poke. Although our previous President offered a lot of material for Black, he states it got to the point where he could craft an act by simply reading what President Bush said the previous day, Black is non-partisan when it comes to political humor, he tells the audience that the Democrats and Republican parties are like a bowl of excrement looking at itself in the mirror. Okay, I cleaned up the quote a tad. He then goes on to describe our current president as ‘lactating hope’.

Nobody is safe from Black’s biting wit, not even himself. He laments that having just turned sixty it is not as some suggest the new forty that’s why they are considered different numbers. With this new decade of life before him Black laments that he is now a mainstream comedian. He goes on to tell the audience how he came to realize his mainstream status; he appeared on a U.S.O. tour of military bases in the Middle East adding ""I think it’s very odd that we went in my lifetime from Bob Hope to me". He provides further support to his premise by telling the audience about the drastic change in acts he has appeared with. Most notably is the wholesome country singer Vince Gill. Black had to follow him after Gill related a very funny, very clean story about his father. Making matters worse for Black was when Gill was joined by his wife, Christian singer Amy Grant. Black note she is made ‘entirely from cream’ and after her song he felt compelled to rush the stage and become a Born Again Christian. During the eighty minutes or so presented on this DVD Black meanders through his list of topics effortlessly moving the audience along with him. I just sat there watching enthralled b the comical acumen of this man and how I never seem to tire of his ravings.

Posted 06/05/2010