Last night, I went with Do and her girls and their boyfriends to the Largo at the Coronet to see Gruber--the Comic formerly known as the Naked Trucker--perform with some other guys, featuring sketch comedy from Gruber and his group, Two-headed Dog. I guffawed several times.
The The Coronet, by the way, is famous for being the venue where Bertolt Brecht and Charles Laughton premiered their English version of Brecht's GALILEO.
The Largo is a theater that used to be located elsewhere, but then moved to the Coronet, hence the name Largo at the Coronet.
Greg Proops had the actual Largo theater, while Gruber performed in a little room called the Little Room, which could hold maybe fifty people, tops.
As we waited in the Foyer for the doors to open, celebs abounded, most of them waiting for the Greg Proops show. Among them: Greg Proops, Margeret Cho, Andy Richter, Fee Waybill, This Guy Who Used To Be On Saturday Night Live, and I'm sure I have forgotten a few.
Like I said, the show made me laugh out loud. If you ask me to explain why, I couldn't tell you. I guess I could say that I just know funny when I see it. I once saw Lawrence Ferlinghetti give a poetry reading, during which he said trying to explain poetry was like trying to explain a bowl of roses. So, I guess trying to explain comedy is like trying to explain a bowl of rubber chickens.
That, and I think most comedy is disposable and, like a bowl of rubber chickens, is bound to wilt with time.
But, at the same time, I marvel how this ex-naked Trucker guy seems to churn out bits and pieces and do new material all of the time. I recently listened to a CD version of Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up," and it seems that Martin worked for years developing about three hours worth of material, then quit.
I met Gruber after the show. A pretty nice guy. Kind of intense, but upbeat and positive.
As both shows ended, the two audiences mingled again in the foyer, and, like Gruber, Proops walked through the crowd thanking people for coming. At one point, he walked up behind me and squeezed my shoulders and patted me on the back as if to thank me for being there.
I dind't tell him that I had just come out of a different there.
4 comments:
Tastes Like Rubber Rattlesnake.
I'm glad you finally got to see his show. Boy, you went on a good night. I told you his shows could be uneven but you got to see one of the best. This one was comedy-heavy but usually they feature more music. I hope you'll come with us again. I think his show is a good model for what we could be doing. Not the Two Headed Dog stuff, though!
By the way, you didn't write about your Sashay experience. Don't you want people to know about it? Really, there's nothing to be ashamed of.
I think it's really funny that Greg Proops showed you some love for being there. That was a great capper for the evening.
Sashay: I am not ashamed of my Sashay experience. Sashya, for those of you whom don't know, is this bit featuring three of the two-headed dog guys. They strip down to their underwear and do these gay tableau of sporting events. They strike a pose whenever Gruber says the word Sashay, and, as a finale, run out into the audience and dry-hump everybody and everything. If you happen to sit in the aisle, wear something disposable. I got Sashayed twice.
Bwhahahaha.
friagabl - not sure if once you've been sashayed by Grubers pals you are frigid.
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