"France is gay." – Eugene Mirman, from "Leaning In Chelsea, Born Gay, Gay Brother, Sneezing"
Eugene's topics usually tennis between heavily political and extremely personal, dripping with arrogance in victory over basic human stupidity and a penchant for disgustingly graphic, surrealist inner/outer monologue and rapier wit. No, he's not Bill Hicks, George Carlin, or even David Cross calibre... but he's close. Moreover, these 35 odd minutes of stand-up are not really enough to go by, and the home video DVD is pretty short, too. But I am certain I'll buy every new Eugene Mirman CD from now on. He was a henchman from Under Siege 2; there ain't much about the guy that isn't funny. In Bill Hicks or Eddie Izzard style, Eugene rehashes bits of bits from his previous release as he thinks through his set of the day aloud. Like all comedy albums, he delves into studio recorded album cappers, but contrasting Hicks/Izzard, Eugene occasionally dips into prewritten asides and thematic props during live performance. Basically, he's got his own style that works well alongside the pure rage of labelmate David Cross. He takes on the similar topics of consumerist society and general ignorance but with all the vigor and subtlety of Stephen Colbert, while his bluntly honest style and lack of inner monologue pushes the surrealism of his non sequitur sets beyond any other comedian going today. I truly hope Sub Pop continues to sign comedy acts like Eugene and David, because no one is making them like this any more.
1. Ever Get Drunk And... ?, Edinburgh
2. Joking & Lying, Jack in the Box, Extreme Bowling
3. Truth Or Dare, Dogs, Tube Steak Sex Guys
4. Leaning In Chelsea, Born Gay, Gay Brother, Sneezing
5. Movie, Deep Fried Stuffed Cheeseburger, What Kind Of Animal?, Red Tide, Abortion
6. The Right Stuff
7. Girlfriend, American Airlines, Scientists
8. Grandmother
9. Revolve (The Complete New Testament In The Form Of A Teen Magazine)
10. Swearing In Russian, Immigrating
11. Letters To Nouns
12. Horses Talking, Bathroom Door
13. Coupons For The Audience
14. Driving & Thinking
15. The Goodnight Song
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