Political correctness; I’m a cunt for it

I promised myself I’d blog more in 2011. I suppose I did compared to 2010, but that’s not saying much. 2012 will be different…

So, as the annual (this’ll be the 7th) new year trip to Denver, Colorado looms (should I take my laptop or not?), I’ll stretch my fingers and try a post. So, what’s been monumental in the last few weeks? Oh, that’s right. Guess that’s gonna be it…

I went to see Chubby Roy Brown*. This is why drink is the devils business. A drunken Twitter-based brinksmanship conversation (“yeah, alright then” “I will you know” “of course you will” “I will ” “Go on”) let to a cold horrible reality. I remember a reviewer in the SoS being sent to Bon Jovi at Hampden summoning the spirit of

How easy it would be to liken the flashing lights and fist-pumping chanting (“you fat bastard” Carter, flashbacks man) that introduced Mr Vasey to the stage to some sort of right wing rally. But, to be honest, the fascists have far better production values. It kinda comes across like some am-dram reproduction of the 1968 comeback gig, at best.

There’s some surprisingly adequate pumping rock ‘n’ roll pianner (are all comedians failed musicians?). Then a string of tired old yo-mama jokes (obviously changed to “I shagged a bird so fat…”). And, then the pinnacle of his craft he rolls out the term ‘Paki’ and the hall erupts into fits of laughter and cheers. So Pavlovian that even the chubster himself chides the audience “at least let me get the fucken punchline out”. Roy, it wasn’t worth it.

We lasted 20 minutes. Mainly, because this was when the next suitable musical interlude came round an we could slip out.

Yeah. So, am I just too right-on? One of the chattering guardian-reading yoghurt-knitters? I dunno. Jerry Sadowitz offends me. He “says the unsayable”. Terrifies me. But, also makes me feel I’m in the presence of a genius. This…this…

During the last Fringe I went to see Margaret Cho – gender-bending comedian, activist, all-American girl. About ten minutes into her set I realised I hadn’t really laughed yet. There was something in the apparent frankness of her material that just seemed desperately to be trying for outré and shocking. While all along it was more like a cabaret drag queen getting a hen party rolling with repeated use of blowie. “Did she really just say that!?!?” Yes, yes she did and it was not funny. It was her show that came to mind during those interminable 20 minutes.

What would you expect from a po-faced bellend like me?

Of course, the Brown crowd would love the Cho set too. But not vice-versa. What does that say for the so-called open-minded? Eh? EH?!?

A confusion seems to exist in your minds that a comedian is somehow validated by doing material that you perceive as being “brave”. Lenny Bruce was brave to challenge orthodoxies in front of audiences peppered with FBI agents aiming to arrest him. Chubby Roy Brown is not brave to sing a pro-golliwog song in front of loads of people who, from the YouTube clip, seem to be all disproportionately enthusiastic about golliwogs. Perhaps it was a private booking for a golliwog enthusiasts’ group?

What he said