Stand-Up Tuesdays is 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, Angie puts a spotlight on Baron Vaughn. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

This week’s SUT subject is one that I’ve long been meaning to review since it was released in the fall of 2011, and I am pretty darned psyched to do so. When asked if I had the debut CD from Las Vegas native Baron Vaughn by a friend, I was shocked to find out I did not – and immediately scrambled to get my hands on it. And man, am I glad I did that.

There’s not a lot that I find off-putting about Vaughn’s debut effort, Raised by Cable, so let’s get it out of the way right now. Vaughn, who is a talent of many trades (specially acting and visual/physical humor) relies heavily on a style of comedy that is lost on CD listeners, as he breaks into dancing, scatting, and other visuals that cannot be seen, leaving listeners feeling slightly left out. Thankfully, however, it’s something Vaughn is more than aware of.

“It’s a good thing I’m doing this gyration movement for an album,” Vaughn states as he takes the stage. “Everyone listening will feel this in their ears.”

Vaughn, who can be seen playing the role of Leonardo Prince on USA’s Fairly Legal, is a high-energy, classically-trained actor whose stand-up has been featured on the talk shows Lopez Tonight, Conan and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. He has also appeared on Comedy Central during Live at Gotham and Russell Simmons Presents “Live at the EL REY”. He’s able to take the simplest of subjects and twist them around in an almost-obvious, yet somehow new manner. Regardless of how many airline or air travel jokes that are made, Vaughn still finds a way to craft something unique out of his flying experiences.

“I used to not mind turbulence,” Vaughn states, “but I realized that turbulence is sort of the sky’s way of saying, ‘You shouldn’t be up here’.”

Vaughn’s comedic style may not be for everyone, as more often than not, he’s injecting some singing or scatting into the joke that may serve to turn some listeners off. For me, the addition of Vaughn’s, well, other skills is delightful, as it helps to make Vaughn’s CD stand out from many others that I’ve heard over the past year or so. The actor in Vaughn seemingly tries to use his musical talent in lieu of traditional transitions in his set, which, while it may not suit everyone’s taste, offers (for me) a sort of variety-show feeling that helps to move his set along.

“Yeah, couple of blocks, 3:00 in the morning, neighborhood I don’t know – if I get stabbed and/or shot on this walk? Your fault,” Vaughn quips about having to go home after a late house party. “Which would be redundant to get stabbed AND shot, right? ‘Stab, stab, stab, and sometimes bang!’”

While most comedians don’t have control over the environment in which their album is being recorded, one might begin to think about polling ticket holders to determine if there are any overly-obnoxious and loud guffaws to be heard. From start to finish on Raised by Cable, there sits an audience member whose laugh is reminiscent of my pal Freddy Krueger – almost to the point of distraction, as I found myself waiting for that particular laugh after each of Vaughn’s punch lines.

Baron Vaughn’s Raised by Cable is a CD that should definitely be in your comedy rotation – if even only for the delightful scatting moments and anatomy-related songs that are sure to get awkwardly stuck in your head. Debuting to a five-star rating on iTunes, Raised by Cable is sure to have you rolling in laughter from start to finish.

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Grant Trimboli

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