Todd Barry - From Heaven
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Todd BarryEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-03-04
Music Label: Comedy Central Rec.
Soundtracks:
- Working With Me
- Leak, Looking For Apartment, Friend Looking For Apartment
- Guy Who Needs Help, Been To NYC?, Driving With Friend
- Preachy Singer, English Washer, Alabama, Pittsburgh
- Birthdays, Challenge, Cambridge, Noodle Gift
- Prarie Dogs, Sweet Soap
- MySpace, Unbelievable Questions, Guy Who Reads Email, UF
- Chipotle, Trader Joe's
- Old Navy, Short Stop
- Todd's Address, Stay With Todd, Limo, Container Store
- Anal, Set An Alarm
- Amex, Pastry Chef
- Nurse's T-Shirt
- Selling CDs, Springsteen At Bar, Moore At Party, Gawker
- Potter, Chinese Restaurant Conversation
- Fridge, Audience Member's Tab, Best Celebrity Sighting
Free Music Notes for From Heaven
Free Music Review: Todd Barry's newest stand-up album is gift 'From Heaven'
Hit: 5 Stars
In the vast field of stand-up comics working today, there are very few who are actually funny. Good stand-up comedy albums - the ones filled with consistently sharp, undated material that stands the test of time - are even rarer. Simply put, if someone like Dane Cook's onstage shtick is criminally unfunny (and it is), then it stands to logic that it won't sound any better in CD form (and it doesn't).
It pleases me to tell you, then, that New York-based comic Todd Barry and his third album "From Heaven" meet both of the above criteria. Barry, with his signature low-energy delivery and knack for putting a surreal twist on everyday observational humor, is heading the pack alongside other greats like David Cross, Zach Galifianakis and Demetri Martin. And "From Heaven" is the perfect antidote for Cook's routine of fratboy-appeasing non-jokes and shouting fits.
Barry kicks off his set with a bit of faux egoism, simultaneously joking that he could care less about his small-time opening acts and claiming he regularly hangs out with (and awkwardly high-fives) Chris Rock. It's all a gag, of course, because as Barry himself says, he's only "semi-famous" and "borderline respected." As if to validate his low level of celebrity, Barry even later reveals that "From Heaven" is being recorded in a Chinese restaurant rather than a sold-out Madison Square Garden or Carnegie Hall.
But small, intimate settings are where Barry has always shined. Whether he's asking patrons about their meals ("Noodle Gift"), comparing credit cards ("Amex") or questioning the restaurant's billing policies ("Audience Member's Tab"), Barry has always had a unique relationship with his audience, which he is usually able to mine for big laughs.
For the most part, "From Heaven" showcases Barry's uncanny ability to take a completely original approach to many of stand-up comedy's staple topics. When gearing up for a bit about his apartment in the city, he resists taking the "they're so tiny!" route. Instead, he mentions how the landlord boasted that the building was across the street from Sarah Jessica Parker's town house.
"Great," Barry says unenthusiastically. "For all my Sarah Jessica Parker needs. Now we can work out all our differences without having to spring for taxi fare."
He later tells a story about going to the zoo to see pandas but enjoying the prairie dog exhibit more and spins it into a metaphor about what it must be like to be in the audience of a show where he is the opening act.
Essentially, if there is any unexplored joke within a given scenario, Barry will not only find it, he'll reveal several hidden layers of humor and bring them to light as well.
Elsewhere, several of his stories discuss the pointlessness and illogical nature of several facets of American life. Like his friend who, while riding as a passenger in his car, refuses to buckle up because he describes himself as "not much of a seatbelt guy." Or why Old Navy sells mock-ribbed turtlenecks and purple camouflage cargo pants. And my personal favorite, the guy who makes his child wear a Dead Kennedys T-shirt so people will know how good his CD collection is.
"From Heaven" is sprinkled with a fair bit of profanity and blunt sexual references, but Barry's usage of them never veers into shock-value territory. His cursing punctuates his routine to perfect effect, and he waters down his most offensive jokes with a blend of innocence and self-effacement.
All in all, the 51-minute set captured here proves to be just as good - if not better in parts - as Barry's first two albums, "Medium Energy" and "Falling off the Bone." Not every joke is a grand slam, but the ratio of hits to misses is a good one. It is unlikely Barry will ever be catapulted to the stratospheric levels of fame enjoyed by some of his undeserving peers (don't think I forgot about you, Carlos Mencia), but that's not the point. What matters is his ability to do his job well, and "From Heaven" is a worthy showcase of that.
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