5 minutes before the giggly and eager audience begins filing in for the special Patton Oswalt birthday edition of Comedy Death Ray, a dark-suited CAA rep, who stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of flannel-wearing hipsters on Franklin, approached the clipboard-wielding UCB intern to notify him of his presence and was promptly directed to the end of the line. I smirked and continued the slow trickle into the theatre thinking that this place is a lot like Father’s Office, the hamburger place in Santa Monica (also privy to long lines) that doesn’t care if you are allergic to blue cheese, you’re getting it anyway.
The show is hosted by Blaine Capatch, who used to host Comedy Central’s Beat the Geeks. He begins with some clever jokes about turning 40 and manages to tell both a Star Wars and Star Trek joke in the same set, which is equal parts nerdy and impressive. The highlight of Karen Kilgariff’s set was her “present” to Patton; a 90′s clip of the show “America’s Funniest People,” when it was still hosted by Dave Coulier, featuring a chubby overall-shorts-clad Kilgariff reciting Macbeth valley-girl style. The always-solid Dana Gould had some new flavor to add into the endless Obama rants comedians are dishing out now, and a side-splitting story about working with Bob Hope when he had “One foot in the grave and one on a banana peel.”
This gem segued into what would be happening if we voted McCain into office. Brian Posehn claimed the stage and provided the most “roasty” set in accordance with Oswalt’s birthday. His set was droll and he continually referred to his notes, but it didn’t take away from the laughs he provided, especially when conceding that Pixar sucks Oswalt’s dick. All four comedians are close friends with Patton and that took this “Death Ray” to the next level of fulfillment. They were thrilled to be there celebrating their friend and hence everyone had a great time.
The night closed with the birthday boy himself, decorated in a three-piece suit. He reminisced about his first gig in Honolulu in ’92 when he looked like Rachel Maddow “if Rachel Maddow let herself go.” His set grew exponentially more hysterical, my favorite being the hate he feels for hippies due to their insane desire to bring childbirth back to the Oregon Trail days. He then brings the nerdiness full circle by discussing Comic-Con and the crowd goes wild.
Comedy Death Ray features the finest stand-up in LA on a weekly basis and for only $5 you end up with an ab workout and jokes you will laugh about later.
Tuesday nights, 8:30, $5
5919 Franklin Ave Hollywood, CA 90028
www.ucbtheatre.com
by Katie Matthews
Tags: patton oswalt, ucb
Music
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