There's no review I could write that would do Louis C.K.'s stand up routine Friday night justice. Even if I had a transcription of the 90-minute slew of jokes he delivered at The Pabst Theater, I certainly couldn't print any part of it for fear that "Net Nanny" would ban this Web site from schools and libraries.
Sailing between topics like sex, parenting, gluttony and hitting age 40, C.K.'s delightfully filthy, razor-sharp wit made for, quite literally, the funniest comedy act I've ever seen in person. I barely stopped laughing, reveling in his ability to deliver joke after joke with nary a serious moment in between. His genuine yet ridiculously over-the-top disregard for "political correctness," for lack of a better term, was even funnier in person than in his HBO special or series "Lucky Louie."
C.K. showed a mastery of his jokes with a sense genuine honesty that made him funnier. Inappropriate on nearly every level, his shtick was also highly relatable. Calling the tour "shameless comedy" is a massive understatement.
Todd Barry opened for C.K., and was also hilarious. Watch out for this guy, he's got an "every man" sense of humor that isn't far behind Louie.
Nothing I can say can capture the hilarity I witnessed tonight, and 45 minutes later, my belly still hurts. I'll just say this: if you ever, ever have the chance to see this brilliant comic, run, don't walk, to buy tickets. And if those tickets cost just $25 like they did tonight, it'll be a steal.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
