I’m not a big fan of “fun”. It’s not that I don’t enjoy doing things in life, but “fun” – in the traditional sense, at least – has always, in the words of TOM WAITS “…rubbed me up the wrong way.” The same goes doubly for stand-up comedy. Quite frankly, all our gods are dead in that realm, and modernity (by and large) has yet to bestow on us the next Foxx, Hedberg, Carlin, Williams, Hicks, Bruce, or Gardner. You get where I’m going with this, surely…
I’ll admit to being fairly curious when DON JAMIESON announced his first offering, Live & Hilarious, but while a few moments were chuckle-worthy, none brought an outright or unexpected guffaw. When variations of the same bits showed up on Hell Bent For Laughter, I figured Jamieson was Hell Bent For The Cut-Out Bin, so wasted no time on his third.
And it takes Donny boy about a bit and a half to start nearly ripping off Denis Leary ripping off Bill Hicks on the second track, comparing energy drinks to actual drinking. I’ll give the man credit for bringing up the difference between the terms “illegal” and “undocumented”, but I’d be crucified on giant tiki torches – or, Goat forbid, the internet – if I were to give my opinion on that, so we’ll just leave that there. Jamieson can’t get away from his painful-to-listen to puns when it comes to band names/song titles, and I don’t mean painful in the way most of us have come to know pain. “We don’t walk around calling DEF LEPPARD Hearing-Impaired Leppard. It’s not GREAT WHITE Privilege….” Get the fuck out with that bottom-feeder shit, you befuddled catfish.
Ten or so minutes of what would have been better as silence ensue, a grin-worthy moment or three peppered through the remainder of the performance (‘Death By Bus’, ‘Spitting’, ‘Fake News’), the last mentioned actually being a solid show closer. It’s true, though, as Jamieson says, “You gotta have one stupid joke in your act.”.
If only that’s all there was in his.
Review By: Lord Randall
DON JAMIESON
Demin And Laughter
Metal Blade Records
1 / 6