Standup Comedians - past, present, future

[VigoTheCarpathian]

Per some silliness in the dating thread (@Conflicting Thought, @ash_what_) am hoping to use this to discuss, debate and recommend standup comedy/comedians.

I’d also like to note that there have been a fair number of standups who have been revealed to be pieces of human garbage, and its hard to separate the art from the artist with this art form, so acknowledging this is important as part of the discussion.  Also, I think talking/debating “cancel culture” always sneaks into comedy discussions, and I would prefer not to have it here, and use a cancel culture thread to discuss.

A few prompts with my answers below.

1. Where do you find comedy recommendations? 
 - In earlier times, I’d just keep tabs on my local club and who was coming through, and now it’s via a bunch of comedy podcasts - YMH, You Made It Weird, Nikki Glaser, Tuesdays with Stories, Working it Out

2. What’s the a) most recent and b) best standup show you’ve experienced?

a.) Bert Kreisher (Burnt Chrysler) at a theater, with Jesus Trejo opening.  Really fun show, but the crowds at a Bert show are a bit…much.  

b.) I saw Patton Oswald, Maria Bamford, and Brian Posehn during a second run of their “Comedians of Comedy” tour (Zach Galifinakis was on the first run, there’s a 2005 movie about it I recommend)

4.  Give us your top 3 personal favorite comedians/comedy specials.  We can debate about the GOAT and what holds up as art, but comedy is very personal and subjective at the end of the day.  My parents introduced me to Steve Martin, Cosby (horrible person) , and Carlin, and I consider them to be probably the best (Pryor and Eddie Murphy round out that list) but these spoke to me in my formative years, and that I can point back to informing my sense of humor and enjoyment

- Dave Attell, Skanks for the Memories (“You shoulda hung out, man!”).  

- Bill Hicks, Relentless (“Then forgive me.”)  

- Eddie Izzard, Dress to Kill (“Have you got a flag?”)

 

Cheers!

 

[DaveSumm]

Not sure how well it’d transfer outside of the UK but James Acaster’s Repertoire on Netflix is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. There’s a newer set but for some odd reason it’s only available on Vimeo. 

Most of the stand up I watch is just taking a punt on Netflix. But it’s tricky, there’s no obvious way of telling whether it’s any good. I saw Phil Wang’s special last week and it was … OKish. Funny enough to bother watching to the end but not memorable. 

[kungtotte]

I mostly find new acts through YouTube recommendations. A really good channel is Dry Bar Comedy, they feature a lot of relatively unknown acts so it's a good place to find new comedians to watch. Once you've watched some then the sidebar will populate with more recommendations.

It's really hard for me to narrow down favourite comedians for me because I like so many, but in no particular order:

Dave Chappelle, Tom Segura, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Mitch Hedberg, Özz Nujen (Swedish), Eddie Izzard, Bill Bailey,  Dara O'Brien, James Acaster,  John Oliver, Noel Fielding, Mike Yard, Nate Bargatze, Maria Bamford, Louis CK, Ms Pat, Josh Blue, Kyle Kinane, Dulce Sloan, Robin Williams, Michelle Wolf, Steven Wright.

There's a bunch more where some of their shows/specials are good but I don't like all their stuff. Like, Joe Rogan's Netflix specials are good but I don't like him in general.

[Heartofice]

From a British perspective i think that stand up comedy has been in a real low for a while. Pretty every ‘comedian’ worth their salt now has to make a living appearing on tv panel shows, which is really a very different skill to meticulously crafting a good stand up performance.

Some of my favourite people on panel shows have very mixed records on stage. The recently deceased Sean Lock was an absolute genius on cats does countdown, but I really struggled with his stand up. I think that’s common. Phil Wang mentioned above was great on Taskmaster but his stand up is really weak. 
 

It’s also not surprising because the main gateway for stand up comedy is the Michael Macynter vehicle and live at the Opollo. It’s on the whole very safe family stuff made to appeal to a mass audience. 
 

For context the last stand up gig I went to was Stuart Lee. Lee’s shows are maybe not even funny 70% of the time but his writing is truly clever and crafted. He very much subverts comedy in his own way. He’s also not good on panel shows.

Other than that, for me Louis CK is probably the funniest stand up I’ve seen in the last 10 or so years. Haven’t seen anything close in quality.

[Iskaral Pust]

I grew up with Irish/British stand-up — I used to go see Dylan Moran, Barry Murphy, Dara O’Briain, Ed Byrne, Tommy Tiernan, Ardal O’Hanlon and so many others live, plus follow the UK comics on TV.  The US comics who crossed over were the likes of Mitch Hedberg, Steven Wright, Bill Hicks, etc.

Since living in the US I get to far fewer live comedy shows because the local comedy clubs tend to have a lot of weak journeyman comics, while the big stars only do occasional tours that get sold out far in advance.  I think Jim Jeffries was the last really good live stand-up I saw.  And improv like Second City just isn’t that funny.  Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Jim Gaffigan, Eddie Izzard, Jim Jeffries, Kevin Bridges, Mickey Flanagan, Katherine Ryan, Dara O’Briain, Iliza Schlesinger, Bill Burr and others like that I follow on YouTube and Netflix and HBO specials, often rewatching some of their older (best) sets.  It seems really difficult for a comedian to stay funny and relevant and edgy over a long period.  Some get better with more experience (e.g. Iliza Schlesinger), while others run out of jokes or start navel gazing as they get bored with the process and fans indulge them too much.  My wife loves Kevin Hart and Jim Gaffigan.

Netflix has also served up some good new (to me) talent like Taylor Tomlinson and Daniel Sloss.  Seth Meyers Netflix special was pretty good too (and better than I expected).  The Apollo/McIntyre showcase for UK comedy seemed to decline in quality over the years but I still check it out.  Most of the best UK comedians now live on constant repetitive comedy quiz shows; I’m glad the comics can make a living but the quality is getting badly diluted.  Some good comics like Hal Cruttenden seem incapable of sustaining quality beyond ten minutes, while others like Romesh Ranganathan disappear into a quasi-political advocacy rather than comedy.

I discovered DryBar on YouTube during COVID.  It offers a wide sampling of comics off the usual radar, although most of them are journeymen for a reason.

I don’t have a good source for new recs.  I mostly try suggestions from the YouTube algorithm.  A lot of the buzzier names in the media, e.g. Amy Schumer, turn out to be very limited or just unfunny.

 

[TheLastWolf]

14 hours ago, VigoTheCarpathian said:

Per some silliness in the dating thread (@Conflicting Thought, @ash_what_) am hoping to use this to discuss, debate and recommend standup comedy/comedians.

 

I'd love to recommend some jokers from my region, but short on time to do justice, so stay tuned or smlt

[DMC]

14 hours ago, VigoTheCarpathian said:

Eddie Izzard, Dress to Kill (“Have you got a flag?”)

This set is definitely in the top three.  The other two would be Carlin and Pryor, I'm not exactly sure which ones specifically I'd nominate them for.  But with Izzard, it's undoubtedly this.  Just its mentioning makes me wanna go watch it, which is what I'm gonna go do.

[polishgenius]

I'm not a hugely consistent standup watcher (I tend to watch bits on youtube rather than full sets, for some reason), but I think my favourite is Adam Hills, because his sets are usually about making you feel happy as much as just making you laugh, so they're always so positive. He's also a brilliant, and very friendly, audience-interaction improv dude (he did I think botch one interaction where he made someone a bit uncomfortable on the otherwise brilliant Clown Heart, but he wasn't being cruel, just misread the tone I think).

Sadly it's hard to get his full sets online- they exist in bits on youtube but often in bad quality and I don't think any streaming service carries the earlier oens (you can rent or buy Happyism and Clown Heart on Amazon Prime). 
He also hasn't done a recorded tour in five years, which is a shame, but he's got The Last Leg occupying his time so...

 

14 hours ago, Heartofice said:

For context the last stand up gig I went to was Stuart Lee. Lee’s shows are maybe not even funny 70% of the time but his writing is truly clever and crafted. He very much subverts comedy in his own way.

Yeah Lee is some kind of genius. He hates being called 'brave' but some of what he does takes balls to put off. Like this one:
 

 

[BigFatCoward]

Eddie izzard had a 2 or 3 specials peak that was as good as anything anyone has ever done. But he then went spectacularly off the boil (relatively, still better than 99% of the stuff out there). 

Jim Jeffries was also excellent for a while but his last special he just sounded like an old drunk ranting at people. 

I also wish I'd watched some of the greats in their time (Carlin, Bruce, Hicks) because comedy really tends not to age that well. 

One of my wife's best friends is a moderately successful (a few panels shows, presenting gigs on TV etc) and the job does not sound that much fun to be honest. 

Stewart Lee is also insanely clever with what he does, but he doesn't make me laugh out loud, he generates more wry smiles. 

Jerry Sadowitz is amazing bit also a fruitcake and impossible to find clips or see live. 

[ljkeane]

2 hours ago, polishgenius said:

Yeah Lee is some kind of genius. He hates being called 'brave' but some of what he does takes balls to put off. Like this one

Bloody hell. I've not seen that one before but, yeah, that's definitely an original premise for a comedy routine.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, BigFatCoward said:

Jim Jeffries was also excellent for a while but his last special he just sounded like an old drunk ranting at people. 

Sad, but true. His first few specials were great, but the last one I saw was pretty much this.

Chappelle's Killin' Them Softly has to be in the conversation for one of the better standup performances ever. 

This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I don't find Richard Pryor to be near as funny as people make him out to be.

[drawkcabi]

Don't really pay as much attention to comedians as I used to. When I was a kid/teen I'd make note of comedians I liked on talk shows like Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Jay Leno. Also I'd find favorites on Comedy Central back in that channel's early days when showing stand up comedy was like 75% of the programming.

I saw a decent amount of stand up shows live too, back in the day. I used to go to Atlantic City maybe once every couple months with my dad and he was always getting tickets.

I've seen live:

George Burns

Bob Newhart

Jerry Seinfeld

Joan Rivers

Buddy Hackett

Drew Carey

Jay Leno

George Wallace

Kathy Ladman

Dennis Wolfberg

I saw Jeff Dunham back in the early 90's when he was the opening act for Julio Iglesias.

I had tickets to see George Carlin but when we got there I found out the show had been cancelled. Word was Carlin had a disagreement with the management...not surprising at all as the hotel was Trump Plaza...

The best ones were Seinfeld, Burns, and Hackett.

My favorite specials are 

John Pinnette: I'm Starvin'!

Donald Glover: Weirdo

Jim Jeffries: This is Me Now

[Heartofice]

I remember Eddie Izzard at the start of his career as a comedy genius, but it really felt like he lost his edge. Feels like an irrelevance now.

Jack Dee was also someone who started out as a really great stand up but seemed to soften and just got lazier and settled down into being a middle aged man.

I dunno, maybe it’s just me getting old , but yes I genuinely think comedy is much much worse than it was when I was younger. Feels like nobody is really pushing the limits or has a unique voice. 
 

The closest I’ve felt to that is stuff like Tim and Eric , or a lot of adult swim stuff, which often doesn’t care if the viewer gets it. Not strictly standup, but I think the point is related. There just seems to be a lack of creativity in comedy.

Like in the 90s and 00s I remember Izzard, Vic and Bob, even Harry Hill were really pushing the boundaries of comedy. It didn’t always make sense but it felt like it was unique. Who is doing that now?

[Iskaral Pust]

9 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Jack Dee was also someone who started out as a really great stand up but seemed to soften and just got lazier and settled down into being a middle aged man.

I saw him live in Dublin in 1993-94 (I cannot remember which year), which must have been around his peak.  And it was a very good set.  But he faded so far and so fast into unfunny irrelevance afterward that he wasn’t worth including on my list.

[Heartofice]

3 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I saw him live in Dublin in 1993-94 (I cannot remember which year), which must have been around his peak.  And it was a very good set.  But he faded so far and so fast into unfunny irrelevance afterward that he wasn’t worth including on my list.

I mean he was on Celeb Big brother. Talk about giving up

[Iskaral Pust]

3 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Sad, but true. His first few specials were great, but the last one I saw was pretty much this.

Chappelle's Killin' Them Softly has to be in the conversation for one of the better standup performances ever. 

This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I don't find Richard Pryor to be near as funny as people make him out to be.

I agree with all three points.

Jeffries’ decline could be alcoholism, or it may just be the lack of sharpness that comes from too much success (look at Chris Rock lately).  It seems to be really tough for any comedian to sustain a high peak/plateau beyond 2-3 sets, even for the select group of rare talents who reach that high.  But that’s a whole different conversation in itself.

Pryor and Carlin are really important comics because of what they told jokes about in their time (and not just run a stream of gags), but I rarely laugh out loud at any of Pryor’s material now.  Eddie Murphy’s content has aged poorly too for different reasons, and he was a huge star in his time.

[Heartofice]

Just now, Iskaral Pust said:

 

Pryor and Carlin are really important comics because of what they told jokes about in their time (and not just run a stream of gags), but I rarely laugh out loud at any of Pryor’s material now.  Eddie Murphy’s content has aged poorly too for different reasons, and he was a huge star in his time.

Eddie Murphy Raw, something that could not be shown now, but at school this was basically all anyone could talk about. Murphy was a hypnotising presence at his peak. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Jeffries’ decline could be alcoholism, or it may just be the lack of sharpness that comes from too much success (look at Chris Rock lately).  It seems to be really tough for any comedian to sustain a high peak/plateau beyond 2-3 sets, even for the select group of rare talents who reach that high.  But that’s a whole different conversation in itself.

I thought he actually sobered up some once he blew up, but I could be wrong. His addiction issues didn't hurt his early work though attrition does take its toll. I just think he's run out of original material. He is mockery of his up bringing, family and Australia in general are amazing, but after that he's not that original and excessive swearing gets you but so far. His takedown of gun rights advocates and the Second Amendment will live on forever though:

 

Quote

Pryor and Carlin are really important comics because of what they told jokes about in their time (and not just run a stream of gags), but I rarely laugh out loud at any of Pryor’s material now.  Eddie Murphy’s content has aged poorly too for different reasons, and he was a huge star in his time.

Yeah, that's spot on about Pryor (Carlin's stuff still has me dying most of the time though). Because of my age I had heard the routines of so many people he influenced before I heard any of his stuff, and it just seemed pretty mediocre and barely got much of a chuckle out of me, but I'm sure if I was alive back in his heyday I would have been laughing my ass off at a lot of his sets. I can totally respect his importance even if I don't really care to listen to his material (and it is possible I may not have heard his best stuff).

 

All that said, it's crazy to think about just how much work goes into creating a 60 minute set that's fire. A few weeks ago I listened to a long form interview Bomani Jones did with Anthony Jeselnik and it's incredible how much time he takes to craft one (I'm a big fan of Jeselnik, but he's certainly not for everyone). He described how at times it can take years just to master a 10 to 15 minute routine and then the complexity of trying to weave several 10 to 15 sections into one overarching narrative. That in part explains as you said why it's so hard for most comedians to have more than a few hit specials. Carlin may be the best example of long term sustainability. 

[kungtotte]

George Carlin pioneered the practice of throwing out all of his old material and start afresh each time he made a new special, which I think helped a lot to keep him fresh and relevant throughout his career.

My wife is a fan of Gabriel Iglesias and he's quite the opposite, he'll do some new material each tour (we've been to see him a couple of times) but he always throws a bunch of classic jokes/stories in there to satisfy the audience. It's a bit like being to see a band play and have them dig out their 'best of' playlist to close the set.

I can see the appeal of both approaches to an extent. A good joke is a good joke even if you've heard it before, but I prefer the Carlin method of bringing new material each time. If I want to hear the old stuff I can just re-watch one of the old specials.

[HoodedCrow]

Stephan Colbert and Jon Stewart.

I saw Bill Cosby, who was important, but wowser.

I don’t know if sit  down and play the piano qualifies…Tom Lerher stuff is relevant today. I know he’s been naughty:(