10 things John Mayer did during his Jan. 5 stand-up set at the Comedy Cellar
1. Crashed the announced 11:30 p.m. lineup that included heavyweights and Comedy Cellar regulars Godfrey (who delivered possibly the funniest set I've ever seen in person), Dave Attell, Jim Norton and Sherrod Small.
2. Wore standard stand-up fare: dark sweater and jeans.
3. Admitted "Yeah, I'm the 'Daughters' guy," then proceeded to sing amusing alternate lyrics to the song with that distinctive Mayer lilt.
4. Worked very "blue." Asked men in the audience if they too had ever stayed home from school just to self-indulge, tallying three climaxes before the "Showcase Showdown."
5. Claimed to have quit using pot.
6. Leaned a lot on the backlit stained-glass Comedy Cellar sign on the stage wall.
7. Vaguely referenced his use of a derivative of the N-word -- which he reportedly dropped at the end of his Comedy Cellar set in June -- but did not utter any form of the word again, perhaps because Michael Richards' use of it Nov. 17 was less than well received. (Small, who watched the end of Mayer's set before taking the stage, last year defended Mayer's use of the word, saying Mayer was referencing Dave Chappelle's reaction to the guitarist's "Chappelle's Show" cameo.)
8. Avoided any mention of Jessica Simpson. (Draw your own conclusions.)
9. Checked his Blackberry to see if he forgot any jokes. Made fun of himself for doing so.
10. Made the audience laugh consistently during his set of about 10 minutes.
Conclusion: The dude's naturally funny. Although arguably the weakest performer of the 11:30 set list by comparison, he kept the polite audience's attention and prompted more than a few belly laughs. He was no worse than any novice stand-up and better than quite a few professionals I've seen at the Cellar. Should he continue making a living as a talented musician and songwriter? Sure. But his performance was solid enough that I wouldn't object to another set. Anyone who can associate bodily functions with "The Price Is Right" is OK in my book.
Update: Apiary'd!
Double Update: Gawker'd!
Triple Update: Gothamist'd!
Quadruple Update: Stereogum'd!
Quintuple Update: Comedy Central'd!
Sexy Sextuple Update: Brooklyn Vegan'd!
2. Wore standard stand-up fare: dark sweater and jeans.
3. Admitted "Yeah, I'm the 'Daughters' guy," then proceeded to sing amusing alternate lyrics to the song with that distinctive Mayer lilt.
4. Worked very "blue." Asked men in the audience if they too had ever stayed home from school just to self-indulge, tallying three climaxes before the "Showcase Showdown."
5. Claimed to have quit using pot.
6. Leaned a lot on the backlit stained-glass Comedy Cellar sign on the stage wall.
7. Vaguely referenced his use of a derivative of the N-word -- which he reportedly dropped at the end of his Comedy Cellar set in June -- but did not utter any form of the word again, perhaps because Michael Richards' use of it Nov. 17 was less than well received. (Small, who watched the end of Mayer's set before taking the stage, last year defended Mayer's use of the word, saying Mayer was referencing Dave Chappelle's reaction to the guitarist's "Chappelle's Show" cameo.)
8. Avoided any mention of Jessica Simpson. (Draw your own conclusions.)
9. Checked his Blackberry to see if he forgot any jokes. Made fun of himself for doing so.
10. Made the audience laugh consistently during his set of about 10 minutes.
Conclusion: The dude's naturally funny. Although arguably the weakest performer of the 11:30 set list by comparison, he kept the polite audience's attention and prompted more than a few belly laughs. He was no worse than any novice stand-up and better than quite a few professionals I've seen at the Cellar. Should he continue making a living as a talented musician and songwriter? Sure. But his performance was solid enough that I wouldn't object to another set. Anyone who can associate bodily functions with "The Price Is Right" is OK in my book.
Update: Apiary'd!
Double Update: Gawker'd!
Triple Update: Gothamist'd!
Quadruple Update: Stereogum'd!
Quintuple Update: Comedy Central'd!
Sexy Sextuple Update: Brooklyn Vegan'd!
6 comments:
Ha. Well, I'll put it this way. Some musicians try to act in movies and fail. Others pursue more creative ventures -- the David Lee Roths, the Bonos, the Willa Fords. I think Mayer's attempt falls below Bono's Nobel Peace nomination, but above Roth and Ford's stints on radio and the dance floor, respectively.
Sounds like he went for it. Dived in (the deep end) and did it like a gent.
UPDATE: Gawkered.
Wow. A first! :)
Thanks for the heads-up, K! I could tell by the traffic numbers that I had been picked up by another online publication, but I couldn't figure out which.
It is not suprising that he has some funny material to use- usually brilliant writers are also very versatile. Anyone that is a Mayer fan and knows his musical lyrics realizes that he has brilliant lyrics and a beautiful mind that create those lyrics. He comes out with some funny comments in interviews and most likely has the type of creative imagination to piece together a pretty damn good comedy set. Bravo Mayer.....who cares if your never really ready? We think you are!
Vickymomma in Arkansas
I don't know much about this John Mayer fellow, but he seems like a d*****bag. Why am I slightly attracted to him?
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