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Michael Ian Black amuses audience at Alys Stephens

Posted on Jul 26, 2010 in Features

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You’ve seen him in “Wet Hot American Summer.” You’ve seen his shows on MTV and VH1, such as “The State” and “I Love the 70’s/80’s/90’s.” He’s hilarious, he’s Jewish, and he was on campus Thursday night, July 22.

Michael Ian Black took the stage at the Alys Stephens Center to show off his comedic chops for an audience comprised mostly of students, who only had to pay $10 admission while non-students had to pay $15. It was a small price to pay for the hilarity that ensued.

Opener Chris Davis took the stage at around 8 p.m. and used his act to not only get the laughter rolling, but also to lay down the ground rules for the Alys Stephens Center – no cell phone usage, no flash photography and so forth. As he was nearing the end of his set, his own phone rang, with his significant other on the line. At the end of their “conversation,” he said, “No, baby, don’t make me say that… I mean, I’m in front of all these people!” The audience expected him to say “I love you,” but instead he said, “Oh, alright… all hail Satan.” The audience erupted in laughter as Davis closed his set and left the stage.

A few moments later, Michael Ian Black appeared onstage, dressed in a solid brown T-shirt and jeans with a stool in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He set the stool down, grumbling about having to do all the work himself. He kicked off his set by explaining how people in the South disappointed him because they didn’t fit the stereotypes he had in his mind for them.

“For example,” he said, “I asked someone, ‘What’s a good restaurant around here?’ And they said, ‘Well, do you like Thai food?’ It’s Alabama! You’re not supposed to have Thai food!”

His routine continued with stories involving risqué Halloween costumes for his kids, ticking off airplane passengers and ejaculating hot fudge sauce. He performed spot-on imitations of teenage girls working at pizza parlors and peppered the dialog with scoliosis references. The entire hour he performed was one riot after another.

He explained a situation he had with a lady at an airport while waiting on their plane to arrive so they could board the flight.

“She asked me, ‘Do you think we’ll be boarding soon?’ And she could see, just as well as I could, that there was clearly no plane there,” he said. “So I thought to myself, ‘Aha! Opportunity to be hilarious!’ So I said, ‘Well, not unless we’re flying on Wonder Woman’s invisible jet.’”

He used the “Aha! Opportunity to be hilarious” bit several more times during the course of his set, with each instance proving to be just that: hilarious.

Black wrapped up his set at around 9:30 p.m., leaving the audience thoroughly amused and definitely wanting more of his wittiness.

Email: features@insideuab.com

 




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