Monday, April 6, 2009

Neil Hamburger - Bartender, The Laugh's On Me!!!!

(Planet Pimp, 1995)

Comedian Neil Hamburger hits his stride on this one, locking into the bumbling, idiot-wiseguy mode of the classic America’s Funnyman album, his tortured punchlines happily tending toward the topical as he discusses race, Rush Limbaugh, and the O.J. Simpson trial in front of a hostile Modesto crowd. Further linking this recording to that LP, there’s even an extended, visual-gag cigarette joke that makes absolutely no sense on disk (and of course generates considerable canned laughter), which serves as a fine warm-up for the famed and equally nonsensical “X-Rated Hot Dog Vendor” bit soon to come. Technical malfunctions add to the yuks, with the final joke ending in over a minute of painfully shrill microphone feedback. One of his best records, and a perfect stylistic companion to the Funnyman alb – DEMAND a reissue today!

1 comment:

dog daze tapes said...

awesome post. i actually emailed neil hamburger trying to reissue this a few months ago. i guess drag city has also been trying to, but hamburger wants to keep this stuff out of print because his act is so different now. bummer, more people need to hear this stuff!