STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Doug Stanhope

July 12th, 2011

Angie Frissore

We have been saying it for weeks, but Under The Gun Review is undergoing an evolution of sorts and part of this change involves the unveiling of many new, recurring features. Today we are continuing the debut one of our most anticipated features, a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

This week, we are putting a spotlight on Doug Stanhope and his latest special, Oslo: Burning the Bridge to Nowhere. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

Doug Stanhope just doesn’t care anymore. At least, that is what he’d have you believe.

Stanhope’s recently released live CD/DVD, Oslo: Burning the Bridge to Nowhere, is an 80-minute journey into the hilarious, yet slightly dark brand of humor fans have come to expect from him. Recorded live in a converted warehouse, on a mere thirty-six hour notice, Stanhope crosses the language barrier to the delight of a Norwegian crowd, for whom English is not a natural language.

“Half the shit you do doesn’t work in Europe even though they speak the language,” Stanhope tells Punchline Magazine. “In the States, if I’m going into a hole I could pull my head out of the ground. You can’t do that over there, because you get three minutes into a bit and you realize the payoff is something that’s completely American-centric and it’s going to fucking die and its three more minutes to you get to that part.”

Unlike a lot of recordings, Oslo isn’t a perfect, finely-orchestrated live recording. It’s laced with pauses here and there, as the audience tries to understand certain jokes, and includes something I’ve never actually heard on a live comedy CD – coughing fits (after all, one can’t let a cough get in the way on such short notice). All of it combines to create a truly unique listening experience, almost giving the feeling that you’re sitting in a comedy club watching the performance.

But again, Stanhope doesn’t care.

“I don’t care anymore, I don’t give a shit. I have nothing else to yell about,” Stanhope jokes. “I’ve spent almost twenty years now just yelling about everything that’s wrong with the world, and I just want to do f**king p***y jokes now.”

Stanhope’s jokes focus on real life situations and is somewhat observational (something he detests in comedy), but he’s quick to make light of it, even poking fun at the Jerry Seinfeld brand of ‘Did you ever notice?’ type comedy. One attribute I’ve always admired in Stanhope is his eloquence – any comedian who can successfully use the word minutia in a joke definitely has my admiration.

His antagonistic humor deals with society’s hypocrisy and selfishness, citing those with children as the biggest threat to the environment and lamenting the lack of civil rights representation for ugly people. But he’s also insecure – talking about the horrific experience of having sex with him and being a self-proclaimed wash-up.

“You’re wondering,’ Why is he filming a show in Norway?’” he tells his audience. “Because I’m washed up – you guys get everything ten years after it was popular.”

While overall the CD is as hilarious as one would expect a Doug Stanhope CD to be, it definitely gives off the impression that Stanhope is growing disinterested in the game of comedy. Chalk it up to the international setting, but there’s no crowd work, and Stanhope’s self-deprecation shines through and, in some spots, seems almost self-pitying.

I won’t let that get in the way of the CD’s high points, and, from what I’m told, the DVD format of the show is much better – providing the context to some of the pauses and jokes. It will be interesting to see where Stanhope takes things from here.

You can pick up Doug Stanhope’s Oslo: Burning the Bridges to Nowhere in stores now or through amazon.com.

Written by: Angie Frissore