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July 25, 2008
Richard Belzer @ Comix - 7.19.8
By: Abbi Crutchfield
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To many of today's younger comics, Richard Belzer is like Bigfoot -- we've heard of him, but our knowledge ends there. Fortunately, Richard Belzer has little interest in appealing to today's younger comics -- he doesn't have to. He's been in the business for 37 years, and as I learned at Comix last Saturday, he's less concerned with coming across as cool or being appreciated as a legend, and more concerned with having a good time.
Case in point, Belzer strutted onto the Comix stage to "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones, and then instantly went into spastic marionette movements, kind of like what a 10-year-old might do to crack up his parents' dinner-party guests. But before you can say trying too hard, Belzer regained his composure and launched into crowd work, transforming a room of 200 people into an intimate gathering.
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What does a show with "comedy, music and the unexpected" deliver? Just that. Precise impersonations accompanied by a four-piece band (The Belzonics), dishing on life in France, and a surprise appearance by Paul Shaffer; these were just a few of the tricks up Belzer's sleeve. The rest was a medley of improvisations to behold. For example, when the mic stand broke unexpectedly, Belzer fired back with his best Nat King Cole: "Unprofessional ... that's what I am." When an audience member fibbed answers to the comic's questions, Belzer instantly called it out. And when that audience member turned out to be the brother of a famous producer, Belzer let the producer have it, too, just for being related.
He is a comedian in complete control of his performance, and his polish impressed the crowd, including fellow comedy heavyweight Robert Klein, Oz creator Tom Fontana and performance artist Laurie Anderson.
There were moments I could have done without, such as his denouncing racism before launching into a racist joke, personifying a Jewish DJ in Brooklyn during an unintelligible song, and re-hashing the decades-old Hulk Hogan drama. But the show flowed so smoothly, we were all surprised to hear he had gone 10 minutes over. He was enjoying the moment so much he had lost track of time. Then again, mythical creatures do not typically wear watches.
--Abbi Crutchfield is a standup comic and co-host of The Living Room.
Posted by keithhuang at July 25, 2008 12:00 PM
Comments
Great review!!! I am of the "I've heard of him, but my knowledge ends there" variety, so it's nice to learn what he's about.
Posted by: soce at July 25, 2008 12:49 PM
Great review -- very fair. I wish I could have been there to see him, since he's been one of my fav comics since the late 70s. I wish he'd let the Hogan drama drop, but since they have a pattern of harming first and paying later, I can see why it's still in his act.
Posted by: Cardinal Robbins at July 26, 2008 2:57 PM
Thanks for the review... specially for those of us stuck out in the midwest where nothing much is happening worth mentioning...
Mostly.
=^..^=
Posted by: Kid Sister at August 25, 2008 12:43 AM