Comedian/political satrist Lewis Black starts his show with his theory that the anticipation of any event is always better than the actual event itself, but in the case of his presentation of "Red, White, and Screwed" last night at the beautifully appointed Grand Theater in down town Wausau, Wisconsin, I must most respectfully disagree.Lewis played to a sold out house and I don't think there was a soul that came away disappointed.
Speaking of the anticipation, Kim and I were both surprised throughout this week to find how many Eau Claire locals do not even know who Lewis Black is. If you are a staunch follower of the Jon Stewart Daily Show you have seen his continuing segments entitled "Back in Black". He has been with the show since its inception.
We first saw him at Milwaukee's Summerfest a dozen years ago and have been fans ever since.
"Red, White, and Screwed" is his third HBO Special, the first two being "Rules of Engagement" and "Back in Black". If you are one of the oblivious who are unaware of his existence, may I suggest you make a beeline for Blockbuster Video and rent them.
If you are an NFL football fan, you have seen him as he does a regular feature on Inside the NFL.
He also has broken into motion pictures, the most recent beng "Man of the Year" with Robin williams and Christopher Walken.
Last night he was no disappointment, fresh off having appeared in Appleton the night before. The real disappointment came from asshole audience members who think they must help the performer during the show by yelling out shit during pauses in delivery.
I take that back -- they don't think. If they actually thought, they would have taken the obvious clues given by Lewis' opening act, John Bowen, who more than once made it very clear to the gathered that performers do not appreciate having interruptions to their prepared material.
By the end of the show, I got the distinct impression that Lewis was not very fond of performing in Wisconsin. He hit the nail squarely on the head when he alluded to the fact that Wisconsin folk are the only people he knows who can laugh and judge at the same time.
When Kim and I first arrived and perused the program, we were a bit disappointed to find that there would be an opening act, but after watching John Bowen work, it was obvious that his delivery style and material are the best match possible with Lewis's.
He did a very tight, uptight 45 minute set and had me laughing to tears.
Our personal thanks to Dixie Duffy of Charter Cable, Eau Claire, who while working with the staff os Wausau Charter Cable, secured the two tickets.
Our thanks to to the Charter staff that we met last night at the show. they were very kind and hospitable.
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As long as it is still on my mind, a few more words about the status of people who attend public performances. When did it become fashionable to draw attention to yourself at a concert? It is incredibly selfish, ignorant, and boorish to yell out at a performer during a show.
As a performer of thirty years, I am no stranger to this phenomenon. There was one night that I actually told the management to remove a boor who kept interrupting the flow of my monologue. When I first told the staff to remove him, he got all hurt and wanted to know why. I told him why. You are interrupting the show and bothering the people who came out to listen; to which this egotistical piece of shit said: "You didn't have a show til I got here."
There was another time I was having the same kind of trouble with a "fan" of mine. During break I asked him not to keep yelling out things during my show and he, too, got this very hurt expression, and said: "Well, I was just trying to help."
I told him I had been honing my material for years and I really didn't need any help, thank you very much.
Kim and I talked about this again this morning. As a teacher, she says that both parents and teachers have failed "this generation" in not teaching correct behavior at events. She said even younger teachers don't get it. They will chastise their students for talking during a presentation in the auditorium and then stand back in the corner and talk to each other.
For the same reason, I have stopped gong to movies in public. The last movie I went to some five years ago, I had two college age girls gabbing behind me. I finally turned around and said: "Are you going to talk through the whole movie? Because if you are, I am moving to another part of the theatre."
Remember when the expression was: "Never trust anyone under 30."? I have moved the bar. Never trust anybody under 60.
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