Search - David Cross :: Shut Up, You Fucking Baby!

Review from a cranky terrorist!

animate ~ | Fayetteville, NC | 03/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"David Cross is well known. Sort of.



I usually remind others about him through movies like "Pootie Tang" and "Scary Movie 2". These movies have their funny parts, but they kind of mask the person that is David Cross. He started his career with standup, as a teenager. He's been a wonderfully insightful and funny comedian for over two decades, and this CD set is one of the best comedy albums of all time.



The CD set itself is very adventurous. A two CD standup set from almost any other comedian would seen overblown and pretentious, and you have to give it to David for having the balls to not cut this tour's material down to one disc. It's long, yes, but it doesn't wear out its welcome, and Mr. Cross tackles so many topics that nearly everyone is to find something they love (and maybe even hate) in this set.



He discusses his childhood; growing up in Roswell Georgia ("the whitest place in America"), and how his Jewish family was treated by locals, that "for a lack of a better term" are called Southern Baptist. He also discusses 9/11 (he lived, and still does, in NYC), and the effect it had on America in the way of crass commercialization ("have flags grafted on the inside of your eyelids so that at all times you have flags!") and neurotic patriotism.



The two best tracks are at the end of the second disc, where he discusses at length a drunken ordeal with the band Harlow, preceded by a mockery of rambunctious radio DJ's, and the track after, which discusses "the Promise Keepers" and their writings about events that "you know never happened".



[...] I'm only kidding.



There's very little wrong with this set, and the length of the tracks is not a problem. David has a great ability of building up tension and timing his jokes with great precision (any comedian will tell you that timing is a comedians most powerful tool). And while he says the "F-word" an awful lot, he uses it in such careful ways, as to punctuate an emotion he's feeling that may have not come through during the tension building I mentioned above. A parallel could almost be made here with Richard Pryor and the word "nigger"; something he struggled to get over in his childhood, and finally added to his arsenal, bringing about a revolution in comedy.



Today, there are hundreds of mediocre one-trick-pony comedians that work clubs day and night pulling out dick jokes (think of who Bill Hicks used to make fun of) and clever commentary on racism. This has been done a thousand times, but David Cross (along with others who I plan to review) gives us something more to think about; he brings issues to the front (once again, as Hicks did, but not to that extent) while providing great, hilarious examples of real life experiences using a great (and funny sounding) speaking voice.



These two discs are pricless to me- my friends and I still quote them all the time. The issues are also still relevant, and the discs require more than one listen to fully appreciate (there is alot of material here, after all). I really can't recommend any other working comedian over David Cross.



"I don't care if you've been in a [...] shark attack!""

Tasteless, offensive, and disgusting. I like it.

Evil Mr. Egg | Holland, MI USA | 10/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"David Cross is hands down the funniest comedian alive today. Most people are familiar with him through his work on Mr. Show, but this performance album from indie label Sub-Pop proves that he is just as funny, if not funnier, on his own. Dealing with topics ranging from the Bush Administration and the Catholic church to rednecks and radio disc jockeys, Cross is an angry man and he turns his anger into scathing and poignant comedy. With two CDs worth of live material, this album is well worth the money."