Reviewed By: Emanuel Caros

While not amongst the gods of alternative comedy like Patton Oswalt and Louis C.K., California stoner comedian Doug Benson has proven to be one of the most creative and truly funny stand-ups today.  Overflowing with material, Benson has released 3 albums, starred in a movie, and hosted a hit podcast all in the past 3 years.  With his latest album, Hypocritical Oaf, Doug brings a little different style than in his previous albums, likely induced by his expedited album release schedule.  While his first two, Professional Humoredian and Unbalanced Load, brilliantly meld weed jokes with almost Mitch Hedberg-like musings, Oaf seems a little watered down in comparison.  Having previously hit with jokes about McGriddles, he brings back the subject here; but what was once a funny bit turns into the joke equivalent of a direct-to-dvd film: same topic, but no plot or real punchlines.  About half-way through the disc, Benson takes to reading jokes he has posted on his twitter over the past few months.  While these 140-character jokes are definitely funny, for those who follow him on the site, they're old news.  Also, for someone who down-played Hot Tub Time Machine for taking the easy route with gross-out jokes, Doug surprisingly fills time with his fair share of dick and fart jokes; which are unfortunately more vulgar than funny. 

Still though, Hypocritical Oaf prominently displays the charm that has made Benson a lovable favorite to many.  He starts out with his trademark "Hey Everybody!" and endears by following a shot at his small member with a barrage of "jk's."  Finally, his improvisational chats with the crowd are nice to hear and sometimes sources for some off-the-cuff jokes.  

Doug Benson is definitely an extremely funny guy, but Hypocritical Oaf fails to meet expectations; seemingly succumbing to his quick turnaround time, as these jokes lack the quality of his previous material.  While the album is better than most of the comedy out there, recycling old jokes and reciting Twitter posts is no way to put together a record.  

5.5/10

P.S. While this album falls short, Doug's podcast Doug Loves Movies is constantly hilarious and absolutely worth subscribing to on itunes!

Reviewed By: Emanuel Caros

Although more recently known for playing the villain in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, David Cross is one of the godfathers of alt comedy responsible for the HBO favorite Mr. Show, an analyst and therapist (analrapist) on the perfection that was Arrested Development,  and numerous stand-up albums.  At first listen, most of Cross' material would offend even some of the most open-minded people, but his risqué rhetoric goes deeper than just shock value.  It quickly becomes obvious that Cross is highly intelligent and that he refuses to take the hacky "what's up with senators these days?" approach to political humor.  He makes his point by introducing the audience to the ironies of the world; he's the socially-conscious Sarah Silverman.  

On Bigger and Blackerer Cross doesn't deviate from that approach.  But, while the albums still consists of his usual republican/religion bashing, the jokes are relevant to current issues (the health care bill) and original takes on those issues that you won't get from Bill Maher.  In the few instances that he's not calling out Scientology or making fun of Orthodox Jew babies, he still delivers hilarious bits.  The first track starts with the obligatory MC intro, but fluidly segues into song, and then into a joke regarding an under-represented group in comedy: Cosmonauts.  

David Cross has been making people laugh in so many different ways for so many years.  He continues to do so on his new stand up dvd and further cements himself as one of the best, and most under-appreciated, stand-up comics ever.


9/10

Reviewed by: Emanuel Caros

Fart jokes are funny.  No matter who you are, it is a fact of life that a little well-timed flatulence is enough to make you laugh till your cheeks hurt.  But, like everything else, excess is no good; and that is where self-proclaimed metal-head/nerd comedian Brian Posehn goes wrong on his second comedy album, Fart and Wiener Jokes.  

Judging by the title alone, it is clear that Posehn is well aware of what he is bringing to the table.  The first track consists of him acknowledging the fact that he's come equipped with low-brow jokes, and you're gonna have to deal with it, bro.  And while there are many chuckle-worthy bits on the album, the whole thing sort of stagnates; and by the 8th self-depreciating masturbation joke, it's gotten old.  His association with the Comedians of Comedy (Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Maria Bamford, Eugene Mirman) gives him credibility in the world of stand-up comedy, and it shows whenever he deviates from the "fart and wiener jokes."  Riffs about iTunes judging his taste in music, and how yelling "SLAYER" during gay sex makes it somewhat less homosexual are really clever and funny.  If he'd filled the album with those sorts of jokes, and sprinkled in the random fart and the occasional wiener, his second recorded effort would be favorably comparable to his first album, 2006's Live In: Nerd Rage.  

While it's obvious he wasn't shooting for "smartest-comedy-album-of-the-year," Brian Posehn is gifted with the humor and originality to produce an album that strives for more than what its title offers.

4/10

*Brian Posehn is one of 3 individuals who make up the funniest scene ever recorded on video. 
(Ironically, a perfect example of how "low-brow comedy" can work)
*Also after the jump, view the larger version of the album cover to see its genius.
Click 'Read More'

Reviewed By: Emanuel Caros

The debut stand-up album from Kyle Kinane, Death of the Party, does exactly what most comics strive to do.  Kyle’s relaxed, conversational demeanor on stage creates a personal feel that is a much needed change from the abrasive shouting of more popular comedians.  Unlike the two-headed Comedy Central monster that is Lewis Black and Carlos Mencia, Kinane sounds like he’s just some guy, beer in hand, that walked up on stage, and was really funny.  With stories ranging from getting pulled over on a bicycle to peeing in a Cholo bar (I’m sure that’s a demographic on the Census…) Kyle’s smart jokes work throughout all 10 tracks while never crossing the fine line of being too high-brow .  There’s even a little jab at Nicolas Cage, which always warms our hearts.  At times he takes a Maria Bamford-ish approach with his punch-lines, and in other situations he’s got a Mitch Hedberg feel; both of which are easy ways to make audiences crack up.  A fairly new face in the national alternative comedy scene, Kyle Kinane makes a nice entrance with Death of the Party. 

The album probably isn’t available at Target or Best Buy, but it can be found on aspecialthing.com, the amazing nook of the internet dedicated to alternative comedy created by the underrated Matt Belknap.  A Special Thing has released comedy albums by such current stars as Paul F. Tompkins and Doug Benson.

7.5/10  

Reviewed by: Emanuel Caros

Between Human Giant, Parks and Recreation, and two golden minutes in Observe & Report (video after the jump), Aziz Ansari has skyrocketed into my good graces over the past couple of years.  Based on the sold out show at the Colony Theater in Miami Beach, other people are pretty fond of him as well.   Having just released his CD/DVD Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, I assumed he’d do a very similar, if not identical, set.  But, because Aziz is the man, he started the show with a solid 20-30 minutes of new material.  With topics ranging from miscommunication via text message, and mean people on airplanes, he is far from avant garde, but what makes him stand-out as opposed to the Jeff Dunhams of the world (“LOOK AT ALL MY PUPPETS!”) are his Shyamalan-esque twists, and endearing delivery.  The guy is straight up likeable!  You find yourself rooting for him while he macks by complimenting a girl’s purse, and then have his back even more when he steals said girl’s purse after some bitchiness on her part.  Later on he shoots two dogs in the face, and comes out as the hero.

His most notable role is probably that of “RAAAAAAAANDY” (with eight A’s) a hysterical parody of schtick-ey comedians that rely on gimmicks and dick jokes to stand out.   After he had gotten through most of the new stuff, he turned to request from the audience, most of which were Randy bits.  Aziz made a clear distinction between Randy and his fellatio-heavy puns and the actual Aziz Ansari, making it seem like he wanted to drop the act all together.  Regardless, the cat calls were blurted out, and Aziz got huge laughs.  After a few more Randy requests, and a couple bits from his special, he closed out the show with a hilarious joke questioning what things would be like if people were racist through Star Wars characters. 

The thing about Aziz Ansari is that he is quickly launching into mainstream stardom.  What comes with that are fans who also love Carlos Mencia.  Where he supersedes such comics is that Aziz does a great job of avoiding the easy joke, while still appealing to the masses with clever and original humor.  Nothing groundbreaking here, but definitely a lot of laughs.

7/10