The Last Stand (Up)

Craig Shoemaker leans hard into the odometer reading: creaky joints, marital friction, and the stubborn persistence of the baritone bedroom-voice alter ego that bought his house in the 1990s. When he rolls out the rasp of The Lovemaster or slips into an impression of Barney Fife, the Pasadena crowd gets the exact road-tested rhythm they came for.

Comedy Dynamics released the audio recording in May 2015, capturing Shoemaker back at The Ice House in Pasadena, where he had recorded his first comedy album decades earlier. At eighty-seven minutes, the set was billed as a career finale—a planned curtain call after thirty-five years on stage before he shifted focus toward motivational speaking and his Laughter Heals foundation.

He spends the time detailing domestic exasperations, taking aim at overpriced child gear, suburban family vans, TSA airport screenings, online gambling, and the unique temper of Philadelphia sports fans.