A Great Hannibal Buress Show is Just What We Needed after a Crappy Week
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Being funny with a mic can cure a lot of our ails
Last night I got a great break from the horribleness that is going on in our country right now. I got to see comedian Hannibal Buress at The Pageant here in Saint Louis.
I'm a big, big Buress fan. I loved his show "Why? With Hannibal Buress" on Comedy Central, I think he is great on "The Eric Andre Show", his writing on stuff like "SNL" and "30 Rock" has his stamp on it, but most of all, he is a world class stand up. That is what he does best, in my opinion. This was the third time that I have seen him live, and it was as great as the first time.
We did get an opener, Willie Lynch Jr, and he was very funny as well. He touched on many things, like being a vegan, a new dad, a college grad paying student loans, all very relatable things to the crowd. I really enjoyed his short set, and I think he could become a bigger comedian, quite possibly, a headliner.
Then, we got Buress. He was great. He opened his set by immediately addressing what a shit show this country is now based on who the electoral college elected, but instead of using that as the basis for his whole set, as some other comedians would do, Buress did 10 minutes on it, only touched on it one or two more time throughout his 90 minute set, and that was it. I respect the hell out of that. He did not use it as a crux. He said his peace, then went on to do his regular set, and it was hilarious.
Like I said, this is the third time that I have seen him, and there were some familiar jokes, but the majority of his set was all material that I have never heard. Buress loves sports, I do too obviously, and he did some great bits about being a bandwagon fan, gambling on teams and a chance encounter between his father and Bulls/White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf. He also did some good stuff about Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. The sports stuff, as far as comedians go, can be hit or miss, but Buress' stuff was all a homerun for me. I laughed pretty hard at all the sports jokes.
Buress also did some stuff that has become a new thing at his shows. He has always had a DJ with him, the great Tony Trimm, but this time, Trimm added a lot more than just music. There was a great bit about a Reddit thread that had someone, a fan, that had recently been intimate with Buress, commenting on the experience, for all the internet to see. Buress and Trimm put her words on a big screen behind them, and Buress made hilarious comments about the stuff that this person wrote. Trimm also played the role of straight man very well. Buress would talk to him from time to time throughout the show, and Trimm would have only one or two word responses, which led to Buress doing some great improvised stuff that all worked. Trimm did bring the music as well. Buress did his bit about rappers talking about waking up "in the mood", which I have seen before, but he had some new riffs on this, and Trimm was there to play the songs for him. Buress did his Riff Raff bit, fans will know what I'm talking about, and it was as funny as it always is, again with some help from Trimm.
The best thing that he and Trimm did together though, was when Buress talked about what he wanted to do at his funeral. The subject of funerals was brought up when Buress said the worst thing he had been to all year was his Uncle's funeral. He said that it was like most funerals, sad, dour and upsetting. This led to Buress talking about what he wants to do at his funeral when he dies, and clearly, Trimm was his camera man for all the hilarity that ensued. Buress had a video of himself introducing everyone to his funeral, and then his face melted. He then talked about splicing in videos of him doing weird shit, so the crowd would be thrown off. He had a video of himself humping a Keurig Coffee Machine, Trimm put his spin on it, and I was laughing at this image so hard, I had to cover my face with my hat. I was in literal tears. There was some other stuff, Buress doing random things, showering, working out, and saying, "I can't do this anymore, I'm dead!". This was the highlight of the night for me.
After this great, new bit, Buress did a little crowd work, finding a pregnant lady and telling her he'd buy her baby for 10,000 dollars. It was very funny, especially when he kept asking her questions, never letting her off the hook. He also talked about getting in shape, getting older, doing more movies, investing his new found money, just basic stuff from a 33 year old comedian that is currently blowing up right now.
This show was exactly what me and my two friends needed after a very crappy week. It was great to get away and laugh for a couple of hours at random jokes and observations. I was so glad that this show happened last night, and I want to personally thank Buress for putting on an excellent show. Hannibal Buress is fast becoming a very big name in comedy, and I highly recommend seeing him if he comes to your town, you will not be disappointed. Go see this guy do stand up, he is great.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If you are an aspiring stand-up in the St. Louis area, tell Ty and he will review your show. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.
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