Search - Lewis Black :: Carnegie Hall Performance

Mark S. from AMISSVILLE, VA
Reviewed on 11/23/2015...

Note: Despite the listing, the first 9 tracks are on disc 1, the second 9 are on disc 2.

Lewis Black's absolute best since 2002's End of the Universe

jlennon314 | AR | 04/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lewis Black's more recent recordings have seen him retreading over a lot of familiar material. The Luther Arts cd included almost a word for word performance of his End of the Universe work over Britney Spears and the Super Bowl.



This cd set sees Lewis back on the top, with energy to spare, for an hour and a half of ranting, raving, and anger-laden comedic gold. While he does touch bits that he has touched before (most notably in his book), his performance here doesn't just feel like a repeat. Candy Corn has always been one of my favourite Black rants.



His energy last him for all 85 minutes, which is surprising since he is such an "anger-comic," and one would typically expect to run out of this energy after maybe 50 minutes. Not here. There are no typical long pauses or uneasiness that accompany even 45 minute performances of most comics. Lewis instead blasts his material out one after the other after the other, giving you just enough time to really laugh before getting you ready for the next joke or story.



It is difficult to judge a comedy album, because comedians are so varied, as are people's tastes. For most people, you either like Lewis Black or you don't. For me, he is approaching a cynical, yet honest portrayal of the US that has not been reached since Bill Hicks. He is almost an extension of Bill Hicks himself. Bottom line - if you like Lewis Black already, this album will not disappoint. If you like Lewis, but feel that his last album or two have been kinda let-downs, this album will delight you. And if you don't like Lewis Black, give this one a try. It's his best work since The End of the Universe, and almost rivals his best work on both that album and the White Album. Even if you think he's one you have to watch instead of listen to, this one may be one of those you say "Well, y'know...I haven't listened to Carnegie in a while."



For only 15 dollars, you are getting nearly twice what you get with "headliner" performances. Also, the packaging is just wonderful. Gatefold CD's almost always impress me, and this one was just great. Hold the case in the light a certain way, and a negative or postive of Lewis Black appears. There are no extras, no bells or whistles on this cd. Just an hour and a half of pure comedy bursting from Lewis Black.



For Carnegie shows, one expects the best. After all, every comic since Lenny Bruce has had to live up to that historic night when Bruce played to thousands in the Hall. Well, Lewis, congratulations. Whatever notion that I had of you faltering or losing your touch - gone! Out the window. Bye! Bye!"

Corn ... that tastes like candy

Vaughn Deyhle | 11/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yeah, I'll gladly recommend this album because it's Lewis Black and it's a LOT of him. I'm not gonna get bogged down in the issue of "Does it really stand up to his end of universe album? It's inferior to his performance on Feburary 7th 1995 at a small coffee shop back in Springfield Ohio..." Let's get past all that shall we? Thanks.



Here's why I say BUY IT. First off, it's a lot o' bang for your buck. I'm always happy when a comedy album is a double. I like a long performance (provided it's good.) I like hearing someone really get in a flow and go for as long as is necessary. Here, Lewis has his opportunity to take all that rage and dumbfounded disbelief at the world and just put it all out there.



And it's good stuff too. Lewis can WRITE, he can TELL STORIES too. His story about performing his surgically sanitized material with Dick Cheney sitting next to him is a priceless listen. Lewis cranks out entertaining stuff that is still MEATY too.



One of the things that got me about this album though that I finally figured out just the other day is this. As a rule I USUALLY don't like comedy recordings in LARGE VENUES. I'd rather hear a recording done in a small club. It's more intimate, you can hear the personality of an audience reaction. Most large show recordings, the audience just washes out into a rolling wave of laughter that waxes and wanes at the appropriate times. It usually lacks feel. For some reason, I'm OK with that on this album and I finally figured it out. In this album, Lewis is also ORATING, and it feels very much in place with the large hall size. For this particular recording it actually feels right.



Anyway, I gladly recommend this to anyone looking to widen their comedy collections. If you're NOT one of those comedy people, you may or may not go for it. It's up to you really, who the crap am I?





Oh and one final note. Lewis likes to use DIRTY WORDS. If you have problems with that, be warned. If you buy this, don't go playing it with your six year old son in the house ... or anywhere near your house. Is Lewis DIRTY?... not as such. Just very vulgar."