Comedy isn't easy, and it certainly isn't easy to write about. Like the Supreme Court Justice (something I'll never be) and pornography (something that I'll never understand), I know comedy when I hear it.
So very much of what passes for humor today just isn't funny, but, every once in a while someone with a new and authentic voice appears and is heard above the babble, reminding me what comedy is supposed to do: it is supposed to make me laugh.
Most television SitComs on the air today are really just trees upon which jokes are hung. And? They aren't very well hung I'm afraid. Very much like a porn, which is a series of sex scenes, SitComs seem to have been written not in one voice, but by a group of trying- to- be- funny writers, seemingly desperate to churn-out a script on time. In Hollyworld, the group write process is aptly called a 'Gang Bang.'
Comic/musician NICK THUNE is the real deal. Like, say, JOHNNY CARSON, who was, at the same time the smartest guy in the room and the boy next door, NICK THUNE is the hippest but also the weirdest performer you'll ever see open his heart and mind, 'live' on stage.
On the way back from seeing the great Jackson Browne, who performed out at Red Rock Resort's Sandbar, I passed by Playboy Club at Palms, at the invitation of my friends who run the place and who know that I'm crazy about the comedy of NICK THUNE. Palms is a super successful hotel casino, just off the Strip but right in the center of the Las Vegas action and NICK THUNE and PLAYBOY is a nice fit. He has that dry but deep delivery, a young and handsome guy more hip than cool, and way more original than any young performer who ever played Las Vegas- ever!
After taking in the great music followed by the real comedy, I decided to walk home. I did. You see, I wanted to clear my head and try to make sense of the evening's great entertainment. *** Also? There was a hell of a fight between me and my -now ex, and she had the car keys. It's about five miles from the casino to my pad, and I made good use of the time. Clomping along in my size 12 Dr. Martin's, singing lyrics and then wondering aloud why certain things are instantly popular in our culture, here's what I concluded: First- I have big feet and Second- the public will always dig artists who speak in their own voice. Sounds simple, but it couldn't be easy for a performer to find-and then stick with, their authentic self.
If you wanna laugh- I mean, REALLY LAUGH, maybe watch some of NICK THUNE'S standup at Funny or Die (it isn't either/or, it's the name of a website) or perhaps view some of his comedy shorts (not apparel although he does look okay in his gf's panties in one vid) at Nick's site: www.nickthune.com
