Well there's not much in media for standup comedy, so this thread can be anything about standup comedians. Feel free to share. With all respect to the comedy greats, we all know who they are: Carlin, Martin, Cosby, Hicks, Newhart, Pryor, etc.... 0. Do you like standup? 1. Do you prefer clean or blue comedians? Styles such as, Brian Regan vs Dane Cook or Jim Gaffigan vs Dennis Leary 2. Do you prefer Traditional vs Alternative Comedians? Think, John Pinette vs David Cross Seinfeld vs Andy Kindler 3. What kind of comedy do you like? (Add more if you like) One Liners (Mitch Hedberg) Observational (Louis CK) Surreal (Steven Wright) Raunchy (Doug Stanhope) Prop (Carrot Top) Some dude on stage (Russel Peters) Caricature (Lee Evans) My faves: Steve Martin George Carlin Bill Hicks Mitch Hedberg Brian Regan Todd Barry Steven Wright Ron White Patton Oswalt Bill Cosby Bob Newhart Lenny Bruce Jake Johansen Louis CK ...and lots more...
Except for Bill Cosby, I haven't heard of any of those names. I'm open for recommendations, though. I like offensive stand-up comedy best. The one that can go on about how bikers are leather gaylords, if something was stolen it was probably a nigger and how Christians seem to end every argument with "because it's written". Though I doubt anybody here will recognize the references, unless they're either Dutch or from the UK; I heard Hans Teeuwen is playing there as well. Though I've also heard the crowd doesn't like him at all. Probably because he sucks when it's not in his native language.
I can't freakin' wait until Last Comic Standing comes back on! [edit]dammit . . . can't believe that show was canceled
One liners, props and caricatures don't really do it for me. Social and political commentary, a good story-teller---now THAT will get me hook, line and sinker. Clean or dirty, it doesn't really matter. Just don't be vulgar solely for sake of being vulgar; that's not funny. It's childish. The best comedians have a point of view, a real on-stage personality and presence. My favorite comedians are Lewis Black, Gabriel Iglesias, Ron White, Patton Oswalt, Jon Pinette, Tommy Tiernan, Billy Connolly, young George Carlin, Larry Miller, the late Richard Jeni, Denis Leary, Bill Maher, Kevin Pollack, Eddie Izzard.
i like Omid Djalili, both his stand up bits and his sketches. you may know him from such movies as The World is Not Enough, The Mummy, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, where he plays mid-east characters with lines like 'yallah!' and 'hallah!' as his own show introduced him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYOI5K8E7WQ
Watch the Just For Laughs stuff Veronica is broadcasting... I like both clean and blue stand-up, American and British...
I can tell that you and I share similar comedy sensibilities Triskelion, you have some great picks on your list. I love seeing stand up live, I've been lucky enough to catch Bill Maher, Louis CK, Brian Regan and Norm McDonald in the past year. Louis CK is my alltime favorite. There were a couple of times during his 90 minute set (I saw his "Hilarious" tour) that I wanted him to stop because I was out of breath from laughing. Seeing him again in a couple of weeks on a bill with Sarah Silverman, David Cross and a couple of others. Can't wait. I love the humor of dearly departed Mitch Hedberg and George Carlin.
With Carlin's passing, the only one of the (IMHO, of course) true greats of comedy still left is Bill Cosby, and he hasn't been funny for 20 years. Bill Hicks Sam Kinison Richard Pryor Rodney Dangerfield George Carlin I do think there are some very funny people out there, but their routines all feel "inspired" by one of those above in some way. If I had to pick my favorite guys still actively touring, I'd have to say Daniel Tosh, Stephen Lynch, Bill Engvall, Lewis Black, and Ron White
I don't have any particular style that I go for it depends on the comic. Being blue doesn't matter either. Pryor is the funniest comedian ever, but I never cared for Eddie Murphy's style. Kinison could have been the best ever if he had lived, but Brian Regan is as funny as anyone who has ever stepped on a stage. I am afraid I really don't know some of the newer comics like Dane Cook or Mitch Hedburg. The only comedy I really dislike is when it gets over preachy or political to the point where they are not even going for laughs anymore, but instead going for applause. That's why I didn't care for Bill Hicks that much and I didn't care for Carlin in his last years. I guess the guys I like now are the "Opie and Anthony group" the comics who appear regularly on their show: Bill Burr, Jim Norton, Louis CK, Brian Regan(not Patrice O'Neal though, Patrice is hilarious just talking, but he is a weak stand up).
I used to love stand-up comedy. But now-a-days it just seems like most stand-ups just compete to see who can be the crassest and say "fuck" the most times in a set.
I've never really been into watching standup on tv or going to comedy clubs, they just usually aren't that funny to me. But a there are a few that I really like. I think Richard Lewis is the funniest guy in the last 30 years, his passing comments and asides are funnier than most working comics' whole acts. Don Rickles, the guy's legend for a reason. Norm MacDonald's opposite-of-professional delivery always cracks me up. Sarah Silverman and David Cross and Louis CK are all great, but I don't really follow newer comedians much. I don't mind blue, obviously, but it's not a requirement. I used to love Steve Martin and Richard Pryor records when I was a kid. And Eddie Murphy in the '80s. One of my favorite comedy albums of all was Woody Allen's standup record from the '60s, I used to get it from the library. Garry Shandling used to be hilarious when he did standup, too, and was my favorite fill-in for Johnny Carson. --Justin
Hedberg is actually an old act at this point, I believe his first HBO special was in 96. I personally never found him that funny, you would watch him and in a 30 minute routine get 2 or 3 good one-liners. I think the reason he's thought of as a newer act still is that he never really had big name recognition until his death a few years ago. Dane Cook... I have never been so mystified about a comedian's success. He's not funny. to paraphrase Gene Siskel, sometimes an opinion can be so off as to become factually incorrect. Like saying that 'Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo is a better movie than The Godfather, that's just plain incorrect. That is exactly how I feel about Dane Cook.
He is very polarizing, people seem to either like him or hate him. I think he's a huge toolbag. I love Lewis Black. Like Bill Maher and Jim Gaffigan. And I really enjoy the crop of regular comics on Chelsea Handler's show (Sarah Colonna, Josh Wolf, Whitney Cummings, and Natasha Leggero), I've seen many as they passed through town.
I just saw Demetri Martin.Person for the second time this weekend and loved it. Cactus Jokes with Guitar
Crass or clean, it doesn't matter. Good is good. Bad is bad. I never understood Andrew Dice Clay's popularity. He was vulgar for the sake of being vulgar. George Carlin, Denis Leary and Dennis Miller knew how to do it.
Bob Newhart is my all time favorite, but I love Steve Martin, George Carlin, Bill Cosby and Brian Regan. I saw Craig Ferguson's stand up special on Comedy Central a few weeks ago and that was awesome too. Can someone explain to me why Dane Cook is funny? I just don't get him at all.
I like Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Dane Cook, Jeff Dunham, David Cross (when he doesn't get preachy)...as you can tell, I have a wide range of tastes when it comes to stand up. As long as I think the person is funny, I'll like them.