Another Diatribe About Comedy...Sorry
About a year ago, while having yet another long, impassioned (and probably utterly boring to anyone else within earshot) conversation with a friend about the state of stand-up comedy in the city, I lamented over what I ineloquently termed "the indie-rockization" of the comedy audience. What my point lacked in grace it made up for in prescience. Just yesterday, I came across a nicely run blog that proudly proclaimed comedy to be the new indie rock.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with indie rock, I'm a fan of many indie rock bands myself. And I think comedians and shows, particularly those that don't yet have TV credits or industry recognition, should have a strong, dedicated fan base that actively seeks out what's new and noteworthy. What I find troublesome is the kind of audience that turns out for shows but doesn't laugh. It's the same kind of audience that turns out for bands and doesn't dance. There are shows in town that consistently pack their small rooms with attractive fans who are more interested in showing how hip they are to know about the shows than actually listening to the comics they've never heard of. And they definitely won't go to a show that doesn't already have the indie seal of approval.
In this scene, a writing credit on SNL or a never-aired pilot in LA matters more than the sweat equity that struggling comics have put into their fledgling careers. Affectation matters more than substance, and scatological humor and rape jokes are the new, "What's the deal with airline food?" No one seems to want comedy to be about anything and that's a sad state of affairs. I laughed at Mitch Hedberg a lot, but as a patron saint of comedy he doesn't really match up to Bill Hicks, Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor. I only hope that Sarah Silverman doesn't suffer an untimely death as her living legacy is already dangerously out of control.
This is one person's opinion of course. Comedy is an art form like any other and what works for me doesn't work for everyone. But there's a level of agreement in the indie-rock-comedy scene that seems to be based less on real comedy chops and more on the idea of what happened, when and where and who saw it. At this point, comedians almost have to be better party planners than they are writers and performers. They have to create a scene that's about drinking, dancing and possibly hooking up with someone semi-famous. Invite Them Up seemed to explode once they had established the idea of an afterparty DJed by the performers where you might find David Cross or Michael Showalter stopping by for a drink.
Meanwhile, other consistently great shows with a following, like The Shark Show, The Rob and Mark Show (Tuesdays at 10 in April right after Drink at Work) and the late Giant Tuesday Night, go largely unnoticed when it comes to industry buzz and still occasionally struggle with attendance. Comedy deserves an audience as vibrant as its performers and an industry that actively seeks out unique, new voices. You can't find the next great writer or performer by waiting to see who gets a deal with Super Deluxe or who has the most hits on YouTube. You have to go to a lot of shows. I'm not begrudging people who go to one show a month and therefore want to go to the one they've been to before because they feel confident that it will be good. We need those people, too. But the indie-rock moniker is meant to convey an audience that is more cunning, thoughtful and adventurous. An audience that looks for substance, not a scene. Turning out for a big show because it features all the alternative comedy stars you've already heard of is more about being "in the know" than discovering something. And, frankly, that sounds more like fashion than indie rock.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with indie rock, I'm a fan of many indie rock bands myself. And I think comedians and shows, particularly those that don't yet have TV credits or industry recognition, should have a strong, dedicated fan base that actively seeks out what's new and noteworthy. What I find troublesome is the kind of audience that turns out for shows but doesn't laugh. It's the same kind of audience that turns out for bands and doesn't dance. There are shows in town that consistently pack their small rooms with attractive fans who are more interested in showing how hip they are to know about the shows than actually listening to the comics they've never heard of. And they definitely won't go to a show that doesn't already have the indie seal of approval.
In this scene, a writing credit on SNL or a never-aired pilot in LA matters more than the sweat equity that struggling comics have put into their fledgling careers. Affectation matters more than substance, and scatological humor and rape jokes are the new, "What's the deal with airline food?" No one seems to want comedy to be about anything and that's a sad state of affairs. I laughed at Mitch Hedberg a lot, but as a patron saint of comedy he doesn't really match up to Bill Hicks, Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor. I only hope that Sarah Silverman doesn't suffer an untimely death as her living legacy is already dangerously out of control.
This is one person's opinion of course. Comedy is an art form like any other and what works for me doesn't work for everyone. But there's a level of agreement in the indie-rock-comedy scene that seems to be based less on real comedy chops and more on the idea of what happened, when and where and who saw it. At this point, comedians almost have to be better party planners than they are writers and performers. They have to create a scene that's about drinking, dancing and possibly hooking up with someone semi-famous. Invite Them Up seemed to explode once they had established the idea of an afterparty DJed by the performers where you might find David Cross or Michael Showalter stopping by for a drink.
Meanwhile, other consistently great shows with a following, like The Shark Show, The Rob and Mark Show (Tuesdays at 10 in April right after Drink at Work) and the late Giant Tuesday Night, go largely unnoticed when it comes to industry buzz and still occasionally struggle with attendance. Comedy deserves an audience as vibrant as its performers and an industry that actively seeks out unique, new voices. You can't find the next great writer or performer by waiting to see who gets a deal with Super Deluxe or who has the most hits on YouTube. You have to go to a lot of shows. I'm not begrudging people who go to one show a month and therefore want to go to the one they've been to before because they feel confident that it will be good. We need those people, too. But the indie-rock moniker is meant to convey an audience that is more cunning, thoughtful and adventurous. An audience that looks for substance, not a scene. Turning out for a big show because it features all the alternative comedy stars you've already heard of is more about being "in the know" than discovering something. And, frankly, that sounds more like fashion than indie rock.
posted by Carol at 10:32 PM
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3 Comments:
Hicks' on Late Night w/ David Letterman
http://video.dotcomedy.com/player/?id=56394
Well said. Very well said.
It's worse... it's fashion with air quotes around it. And really, when you get down to it, it's just a different kind of frat party.
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