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REVIEW: Bill Maher @ the Hult (Eugene, OR – 11/13/09)
I don’t have HBO, but my love for Bill Maher has grown exponentially in the past 2+ years with the advent of podcasts. His HBO show, New Rules, gets released for free in audio version about a few days after it airs (iTunes link). He’s right alongside Keith Olbermann & Rachel Maddow (both from MSNBC), George Hrab’s Geologic Podcast (not about geology), and Kevin Smith & Scott Mosier’s SModcast in my “must listen once they get downloaded” queue.
OK, enough podcast talk… I also love what Bill Maher did last year with his comedy / documentary Religulous. It was more comedy than an actual documentary for me, and it was quite entertaining from a non-believers point of view. While I don’t think it’ll change (m)any minds, I still enjoyed it quite well.
When Bill gets time off from his show, sometimes he hits the road. When I found out about his Eugene date, I already had tickets to go see Cincinnati band Over the Rhine up at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge. I was torn. I mean, I’ve seen Over the Rhine fifty times (no lie), but I really love them. Well, my wife had a Eugene art community show conflict the same night as OTR; so I sold our tickets and opted for Maher instead (sorry, Karin & Linford, we’ll catch you next year).
There was no opener, and Bill Maher hit the stage right around 8:15 and did a solid hour and a half of his crude but poignant comedy. He touched on many topics and comedic bits from New Rules… the economy, politics, religion, and food culture in America.
Some of my favorite bits were on religion, specifically the Mormontology bit, the Muslim Dior fashion show, and the Pope’s Facebook relationship status (“it’s complicated”).
Some of my favorite lines:
“Crocs – for people who find flip flops a little too dressy.”
“Those liberals, always wanting to get across the river in one piece.” (sarcastic re: the politics of spend, i.e.- wanting to build crazy things like infrastructure)
“The Republicans have looked to the future for their political leadership and found… radio.”
“Ronald McDonald has killed a lot more people than Osama Bin Laden.”
I don’t agree with all of Bill’s stances, specifically some of his thoughts on medicine. I don’t think he’s being all too scientific in his vocal stance against vaccines, for example. However, he really didn’t bring those topics up last night.
Overall, I think Bill Maher’s stand-up is a lot like George Carlin – many of the same topics – crude, cutting, and powerful humor.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Bill Maher’s Official Site
- HBO’s New Rules
- Bill Maher on MySpace
- Bill Maher on Facebook
- The Hult Center
~Dan – np: A Perfect Circle – Mer De Noms
Flight of the Conchords (Oct 20)
Well, after a false start (it was supposed to be released Apr 14), the 2nd album by New Zealand/HBO comedy duo Flight of Conchords is set to be released October 20th, 2009 on Sub Pop Records. The songs are from the group’s 2nd season on HBO (out on DVD August 4th).
Check out the full tracklist for I Told You I Was Freaky below:
- Hurt Feelings
- Sugalumps
- We’re Both in Love with a Sexy Lady
- I Told You I Was Freaky
- Demon Woman
- Rambling Through the Avenues of Time
- Fashion Is Danger
- Petrov, Yelyena and Me
- Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor)
- You Don’t Have to Be a Prostitute
- Friends
- Carol Brown
- Angels
Check out my review of their show on May 14, 2009 in Portland, OR.
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas – The Infinite
Flight of the Conchords – 2nd season premiere (online)
The first episode of the second season of the New Zealand comedy Flight of the Conchords has premiered a month early on Funny or Die.
From Paste:
In the second season opener, Bret and Jemaine are quick to fire their affable manager, Murray. After the addition and swift subtraction of a new band member last season, Murray has spent much of his time with the Flight of the Conchords reject, who formed a new and rather popular band that Murray manages, Crazy Dogs. But the boys bounce back, scoring a job writing a jingle for a women’s-only organic toothpaste. In a Conchord first, Murray sings a solo ditty after Jemaine and Bret leave his (brand new, huge!) office. The tune is pretty painful, but overall the episode is predictably hilarious considering the very talented sources.
The show returns to the regular airwaves on HBO on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 10 p.m. EST, but you can watch it now at Funny or Die (click link below):
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS – SEASON 2 PREMIERE
~Dan – np: Auragami – Esoteric
http://www.myspace.com/auragami
Bill Maher’s Religulous
(click for larger poster images)
Well, I saw Bill Maher & Larry Charles‘ Religulous yesterday afternoon… and while it was the third weekend in theaters, there were more people in attendance than the opening weekend of Expelled (same theater in Eugene, same time of day). Hmmm…
Anyway, funny funny funny movie. Of course, considering the subject matter, there’s a wealth of comedic opportunity. While it is primarily making fun of religion by talking down at its followers; well, there are some good points made. Obviously, I’m biased, though… I like Bill Maher, and I tend to side with him in many areas. Meh… sue me.
Check it out if it’s playing near you, or when it hits the DVD shelves.
If you like Bill Maher, you can get his HBO show Real Time for free as a podcast… check it out here (iTunes link).
~Dan – np: Goddamn Electric Bill – Topics for Gossip
PS- sidenote / unrelated…
Fox News has nothing better to talk about than magazine touch-ups, as they are effectively on the wrong side on the issues when it comes to the constituents… might as well talk about magazine close-ups of former beauty queens:
Bill Maher on Larry King re: Religion
Bill Maher & Larry Charles’ religious comedy Religulous comes out October 3rd. It was supposed to come out in June (I mentioned way back in April during my review of Expelled).
Bill Maher was recently on Larry King…
Part1 – Also available for download at the RDF (warning: 17.5M)
Part2 – Q&A: Rick Warren, environmentalism, stimulus checks, etc…
Part3 – more Q&A: more religion & politics, cockiness, marriage, etc…
Best interchange from the Religulous clips (in Part 1)…
“It worries me that people are running my country who think, who believe, in a talking snake.” – Bill Maher
“You don’t have to pass an I.Q. test to be in the Senate, though.” – Senator Mark Pryor [AR-D]
*SIGH*
“Why can’t God just defeat the Devil and get rid of evil? Because then there’s no story… and no reason to pass the plate.” – Bill Maher
What we really need is a dense ecumenical bandana.
~Dan – np: Radiohead – In Rainbows
Tenacious 3
Per Paste Magazine‘s blog, Tenacious D (Kyle Gass & Jack Black, below) are working (even if slowly) on their 3rd album…
Kyle Gass announced that he and his brother-in-rock Jack Black are back in the studio and should have their new album out soon. But Gass also says they have a mere one and a half songs wrapped up for the LP. This could largely be due to Gass stating the album is slated to become a masterpiece, so please plan your year-end list accordingly.
“We’d like to do one final masterpiece. I think we both know we’re approaching death, as it were, and we’d like to have a lasting legacy,” Gass told Billboard.
The album remains untitled and there is no confirmed release date.
“It might take the rest of our lives, but I think it’ll be worth waiting for,” Gass says.
No word on when it’ll be done or if Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl will help out on drums again. I loved their debut. The Pick of Destiny (movie) was good (even though it was cheesy). The Pick of Destiny (album) was, well… too short and too much like a skit/trailer for the movie.
Here’s hoping the 3rd is a return to form…
~Dan – np: Ornette Coleman – Something Else!!!
7 minutes 15 seconds
My favorite 7 minutes and 15 seconds of video…
Always cheers me up…
~Dan
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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