GKarsEye
Regular
If you're a big fan of biting, vicious and clever stand-up comedy and think that TV "comedy" sucks ass, like I do, I can't recommend highly enough the new Bill Hicks DVD that just came out.
Hicks was a comic who died a few years ago. Lots of cursing and smoking, his attitude was actually genuine and not an act like Dennis Leary (though he's funny) and Dice Clay. Bill Hicks carried on the spirit of Lenny Bruce and George Carlin for our generation and was one of two really important, original, influencial and hysterical comics of the 90s (along with Sam Kennison).
Along with tried-and-true routines about drugs (he quit them but has no regrets and happily claims to have had good experiences), rock and roll and the JFK assassination, he always mixed it up with rants, deviations and audience interaction. The act depended on his mood at the time, so what you got was genuine, not the always angry/depressed/happy schtick of most comics who stick to their stage persona. In this sense, Hicks was complete performer, so even if you heard some of the jokes a million times (as I did before getting the DVD), it makes it entertaining to watch, like a good rock band playing the 5 billionth version of Train Kept A-Rollin'. This soul-bearing performance comedy art is most reminiscent of Pryor's best material.
Unlike other comics, Hicks did not want to use stand-up as a "stepping stone" to TV or movies. For him, the stage was the goal. This is why he is both not a household name and the greatest of his time.
The new DVD has three performances.
Everybody should rent or buy it.
Hicks was a comic who died a few years ago. Lots of cursing and smoking, his attitude was actually genuine and not an act like Dennis Leary (though he's funny) and Dice Clay. Bill Hicks carried on the spirit of Lenny Bruce and George Carlin for our generation and was one of two really important, original, influencial and hysterical comics of the 90s (along with Sam Kennison).
Along with tried-and-true routines about drugs (he quit them but has no regrets and happily claims to have had good experiences), rock and roll and the JFK assassination, he always mixed it up with rants, deviations and audience interaction. The act depended on his mood at the time, so what you got was genuine, not the always angry/depressed/happy schtick of most comics who stick to their stage persona. In this sense, Hicks was complete performer, so even if you heard some of the jokes a million times (as I did before getting the DVD), it makes it entertaining to watch, like a good rock band playing the 5 billionth version of Train Kept A-Rollin'. This soul-bearing performance comedy art is most reminiscent of Pryor's best material.
Unlike other comics, Hicks did not want to use stand-up as a "stepping stone" to TV or movies. For him, the stage was the goal. This is why he is both not a household name and the greatest of his time.
The new DVD has three performances.
Everybody should rent or buy it.
