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Smell the Thunder

Auggie Smith

Stand Up! Records · Album · 2022 · 48 min

An album of loud, sputtering stand-up rants against public hypocrisy.

Listen on Stand Up! Records(opens in a new tab)

Auggie Smith operates at a high-volume, red-faced sputter that works because he knows exactly when to ease off the throttle. On this album, which received a digital re-release from Stand Up! Records in 2022, he channels progressive-leaning irritation into a loud frenzy, taking aim at the exhausting mixed messages of public behavior. Compiled from live club sets in Kansas City, Boise, and Dayton, the material finds Smith reacting to the absurdities of the early Obama era. He delivers frantic critiques of the BP oil spill, the irony of drivers with religious bumper stickers screaming profanities in traffic, and the sheer weirdness of the MTV show Pimp My Ride. At the time of its original release, critics compared Smith’s delivery to Sam Kinison and Lewis Black, praising his ability to maintain a high-decibel rant without exhausting the room.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Americans celebrating foreign drinking holidays like Cinco de Mayo

    Highlights the hypocrisy of partying for Cinco de Mayo while rejecting Mexican immigrants, suggesting changing the Statue of Liberty inscription to 'No Vacancy'.

  2. Parents using leashes on their children

    Argues that using a leash on a child represents officially throwing in the towel on parenting.

  3. Opponents of healthcare reform comparing it to Nazism

    Muses that while the Nazis did have socialized medicine, that wasn't the reason people didn't like them.

  4. Bumper stickers in traffic

    Questions the necessity of bumper stickers when drivers already hate each other enough in traffic.

  5. Barack Obama and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

    Rants about disaster relief efforts and Obama's handling of the crisis.

  6. Renaming city streets

    Examines the civic politics of renaming streets after civil rights leaders.

How it plays

Tone
Derisive, incisive, sarcastic, and angry.
On stage
Fuming, manic, righteous, and sarcastic, combining loud humility with satirical rants likened to Lewis Black and Sam Kinison.
Pace
Rapid-fire delivery and wide dynamic range shifting from an almost whisper to a full-throated yell, working himself into a red-hot frenzy.
About
politics, pop culture, parenting, relationships, traffic and road rage, foreign policy

What the critics said

Praised by Comedy Reviews for strong pacing and likability while reaching a red-hot frenzy over modern absurdities, and described by Laughspin as derisive, incisive, clever, and devilishly wicked; Joe Schneider of The Serious Comedy Site offered a dissenting view, calling it overused and overly angry material.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: music.apple.com, en.wikipedia.org, oregonlive.com, theseriouscomedysite.com, wowt.com.

Backstory

Recorded during the Obama era against the backdrop of events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the contentious public debate surrounding health care reform.

Details

Released
Runtime
48 min
Where
Stand Up! Records (album)
Honors
Comedy Reviews Best Comedy Albums of 2011
Topics
Before
Cult Following (2022)
After
Taste the Lightning (2023)

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