STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Ari Shaffir

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 Ari Shaffir’s comedy career. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

The last time we reviewed Ari Shaffir, the comedian had self-released his first comedy special, citing his then-realization that there simply weren’t any networks vying for his talent. Fast forward to 2015, and Shaffir has definitely caught the right amount of network attention: his new special, Ari Shaffir: Paid Regular, is set to air on Comedy Central this Friday, January 16th, at midnight ET.

Paid Regular, shot at the World Famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles, seems to offer a far more confident Shaffir than his first special, resulting in a sleek, well-timed performance that engages his audience from start to finish. Exploring the “hackiness” of racism, camping on mushrooms, UFC fights on acid, the morning blowjob, and all the small ways you too can challenge authority, Shaffir delights the crowd with his atypical observations on society.

Championing the importance of the occasional morning blowjob, Shaffir lays out his argument like a seasoned lawyer – even taking the important step of acknowledging just how terrible such an activity is for the other party involved.  Guys, if Shaffir doesn’t lay out the case for you with your woman, it might be time to move on.

I’m loving the recent trend by Comedy Central to tape new specials in comedy clubs versus theater venues, and I’ve said many times – clubs are where comedy is born and raised, therefore specials filmed in clubs give you the most realistic feel for the stand-up environment.  Club specials clearly lay out the evidence that choice of venue certainly has an impact on one’s performance. Couple Shaffir’s venue with his obvious hard work and you’re left with a brilliantly funny and unique hour of stand-up.

Ari Shaffir: Paid Regular will be available on January 17 in the Comedy Central App to fans that sign in via their cable or satellite provider. The Comedy Central App is available for free for iOS on the App Store, for Android on the Google Play store, and for Xbox One. The Paid Regular album will also be available on January 20th.

GRADE: A-

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