Hippo Eats Dwarf
ONEONTA STATE TIMES
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
HIPPO EATS DWARF - Ovation!
By Matt Moloney
The massive line of eager fans in front of Alumni Field House signifed that some extraordinary was about to take place. Lewis Niles Black, known most noteably for his "Back in Black" segments on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, brought his angry, sarcastic and often profane comedy to the Dewar Arena. As soon as the lights dimmed, the entire crowd got out of their seats in a sea of cherring and applause for what proved to be an incredible show. AC/DC rang through the speakers as Lewis Black took the stage, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Lewis Black successfully mends popular culture, politics and his cynical personal views into an hour of comedic brilliance. The Dewar Arena was lined with people, not an empty seat on the bleachers or seat was available, leaving many standing in the back of the venue. His opening material left the crowd in stitiches and kept them keeled over in laughter for the next sixty minutes. His stand-up touched on many social and political topics, from George W Bush and the White House's mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, along with an extremely embarassing, not to mention idiotic, speech given by our president, to a newspaper article on an unfortunate circus dwarf who was swallowed whole by a hippopotamus. The crowd reacted the strongest to his criticsm of the current political fiasco that the Bush administration is tangled up in, often cutting him off in the middle of his joke with their cheers and applause.
One student, Matthew Hanington, said the show left him with "a song in his heart" and had him "toe-tapping" out of the Dewar Arena, referencing a string of jokes from Black's performance. Another SUNY Oneonta student, Nicholas Benson, referred to his first live comedy show as simply "a laugh riot."
His politically incorrect approach offered a breath of fresh air and was well embrassed by the collegiate audience. His closing statements brought light to a very tragic event for all of America, especially those in the New York area. On the wake of the five year anniversary of Spetember 11, 2001, one would assume that it would be distasteful to bring the topic up and make jokes about it, but that would prove to be incorrect. Lewis Black has an instinctive gift to make people laugh at even the worst of situations, and reminded the crowd that no one should forget about, arguably, the darkest day of this country's history. He went on to tell the audience to not walk around and be miserable about what happened, but embrace all the wonderful things still left all around us.
He took the high road with a very classy finale and let the audience know that laughter is an important asset to life, one which he has the uncanny ability to bestow upon an audience. For those who aren't familiar with Lewis Black, his life DVD sets "Black on Broadway", "Red, White and Screwed" and "Unleashed" offer a good foundation into his truthful perception of the world.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
HIPPO EATS DWARF - Ovation!
By Matt Moloney
The massive line of eager fans in front of Alumni Field House signifed that some extraordinary was about to take place. Lewis Niles Black, known most noteably for his "Back in Black" segments on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, brought his angry, sarcastic and often profane comedy to the Dewar Arena. As soon as the lights dimmed, the entire crowd got out of their seats in a sea of cherring and applause for what proved to be an incredible show. AC/DC rang through the speakers as Lewis Black took the stage, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Lewis Black successfully mends popular culture, politics and his cynical personal views into an hour of comedic brilliance. The Dewar Arena was lined with people, not an empty seat on the bleachers or seat was available, leaving many standing in the back of the venue. His opening material left the crowd in stitiches and kept them keeled over in laughter for the next sixty minutes. His stand-up touched on many social and political topics, from George W Bush and the White House's mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, along with an extremely embarassing, not to mention idiotic, speech given by our president, to a newspaper article on an unfortunate circus dwarf who was swallowed whole by a hippopotamus. The crowd reacted the strongest to his criticsm of the current political fiasco that the Bush administration is tangled up in, often cutting him off in the middle of his joke with their cheers and applause.
One student, Matthew Hanington, said the show left him with "a song in his heart" and had him "toe-tapping" out of the Dewar Arena, referencing a string of jokes from Black's performance. Another SUNY Oneonta student, Nicholas Benson, referred to his first live comedy show as simply "a laugh riot."
His politically incorrect approach offered a breath of fresh air and was well embrassed by the collegiate audience. His closing statements brought light to a very tragic event for all of America, especially those in the New York area. On the wake of the five year anniversary of Spetember 11, 2001, one would assume that it would be distasteful to bring the topic up and make jokes about it, but that would prove to be incorrect. Lewis Black has an instinctive gift to make people laugh at even the worst of situations, and reminded the crowd that no one should forget about, arguably, the darkest day of this country's history. He went on to tell the audience to not walk around and be miserable about what happened, but embrace all the wonderful things still left all around us.
He took the high road with a very classy finale and let the audience know that laughter is an important asset to life, one which he has the uncanny ability to bestow upon an audience. For those who aren't familiar with Lewis Black, his life DVD sets "Black on Broadway", "Red, White and Screwed" and "Unleashed" offer a good foundation into his truthful perception of the world.