Lewis Black at the Tent
Comedian Lewis Black jogged to the stage as Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” blared over the speakers. When the show was over, the song of choice was the Grateful Dead’s “U.S. Blues.”
Those two titles pretty much sum up Black’s performance Aug. 20 at the Cape Cod Melody Tent and his comedic style in general. He has a bleak take on the state of the country, and he’s not subtle about pounding home his message: Politicians and pretty much everyone else have totally screwed things up; we’re insane or delusional if we don’t see it that way; and things won’t be getting better soon.
“I know that things have gotten worse because I’ve become a mainstream comedian, and that’s wrong,” he said. “I hear the things that come out of my mouth and I’m appalled.”
His is not exactly a feel-good message, but Black’s style of over-agitated anger makes it easy to laugh anyway. Part of it is that he’s as willing to put the blame for his blues on himself as anyone else. “You’re more excited to see me than I have ever been to see myself,” he said when he started. “I get up every morning and look in the mirror and say ‘(Forget) it. It’s you again. I guess it was all a dream.’”
He said a Utah paper described his act as containing “mental breakdowns” and that’s not a bad two-word description of what he does. During a bit about politicians’ ineffectiveness at fighting terrorism, he got so wound up that he said, “I’m starting to scare myself.”
Black doesn’t get why some people celebrate New Year’s Eve with the thought that the coming 12 months will be the best year ever. No way, he says. “It could be less (lousy). It could be more (lousy). But I guarantee you this: It’s going to be (lousy).”
One of his rants was about Valentine’s Day. “I believe there should be a holiday of love, but not in February. … Why would you pick the most depressing month of the year to remind many Americans they’re alone?”
From a rant on his iPhone woes: “AT&T is a carrier in much the same way a mosquito carries malaria.”
From a rant on celebs in their 60s (he’s 62) who go on talk shows and say, “I’ve never felt better”: “When you were in your early 20s, were you living in an iron lung? Did your parents cover you with ticks and you just got the last one off yesterday?”
Black got plenty of support when he said the government should legalize marijuana. He disputed the theory that pot is a gateway drug to harder drugs. “Pot is a gateway drug to the kitchen,” he said. “Legalize pot and the government can make money the old-fashioned way – with a bake sale.”
Opener John Bowman had some funny lines about people who take their kids to Las Vegas. Their rationale: “It’s like the measles. We have to expose them while they’re young, so they don’t get the shingles when they’re 70.” His response: “If you really feel that way about them, put them in a big silver balloon and call CNN.”
He talked about his Polish-American friends who “hang out in large groups and screw in light bulbs.”
Bowman has some experience as an actor and appeared in “Miami Vice,” “L.A. Law” and “Seinfeld.” He showed his gift for physical comedy when he compared President George W. Bush to a bobblehead, saying, “Dick Cheney hit him on the head once in the morning and he kept going all day.” But he collected his biggest laughs when he did a spot-on imitation of Lewis Black’s sputtering response when Bowman asked the headliner for a raise. Sounds like Black’s as volatile off-stage as he is on-stage.