[lbo-talk] Asshole

[Dennis Perrin]

> >If his show tanks, he can be a reg on Colin Quinn's hate-filled
> >"Tough Crowd" -- a show that beautifully reveals the bile & stench
> >of stand-up comedy.
>
> I gotta say that show makes me laugh a lot, but it's really
> disturbing too - naked ids overflowing with aggression. Is that the
> way comics are?
>
> Doug

All too often. Some of the angriest, darkest, nastiest people I've ever met
were stand-ups -- myself included -- which is why I got out of it and into
(hold your laughter!) lefty politics. (Though after my little triumph the
other night, the wife wants me to go back in.)

Sometimes the anger can be righteous -- look at Bill Hicks, who also showed
a lot of tenderness and humanity in his act. Richard Pryor at his best
infused his work with pathos and a touch of humility. There are others. But
in the main, at least in my travels, stand-ups are just fucking pissed off.

DP