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Brick Wall Comedy

Hey, Sailor!

Kristine Levine

Stand Up! Records · Album · 2018 · 60 min

Blue, cynical stand-up from a Portlandia veteran.

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

Kristine Levine has a casual, unapologetic relationship with misery. The set, captured at the Funhouse Lounge in Portland, Oregon, makes a strong case that her hometown is not actually ‘weird’—it is just populated by people too polite to tell someone on a unicycle that they look ridiculous. Levine has the working-class pragmatism of someone who has raised three children, worked in a porn shop, and been recognized at the welfare office while concurrently appearing as a recurring cast member on IFC’s Portlandia.\n\nReleased by Stand Up! Records in May 2018, the hour is built on dark storytelling and a complete lack of shame. Levine targets the sacred cows of both progressive Portland and blue-collar America, running through bits about self-interventions, kicking over roadside memorials, and why she dumped a wealthy banker because he refused to take a Tuesday off to go huckleberry picking.\n\nThe material leans heavily into the dirtier side of life, operating with the casual cynicism of someone who has seen it all and is too tired to sugarcoat it. She treats the stage less like a soapbox and more like a dive-bar patio, keeping the pacing loose and the punchlines heavy.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Bruce Springsteen being a wealthy 'nice guy'

    A 10-minute routine exploring Springsteen's wealth and drilling into the premise of wealthy celebrities being considered nice.

  2. Getting recognized at the welfare office

    Levine shares the awkward humor of achieving local notoriety while standing in line at the welfare office.

  3. Portland's 'weird' reputation and unicycles

    Argues that Portland is only considered weird because residents are too polite to tell each other that unicycles are pointless.

  4. Kicking over roadside memorials

    A brash, irreverent routine touching on highway cleanups and roadside memorials.

  5. Relationship with her son

    Personal, non-spoilered maternal routine featured near the conclusion of the record.

How it plays

Tone
Anti-PC, brash, filthy, and shocking.
On stage
Anti-PC, brash, proudly bitchy, and buoyant with a filthy mouth.
Pace
Buoyant and endearingly shocking.
About
14 years working in an adult sex shop, Motherhood and family, Life in Portland, Poverty and welfare, Blue-collar and retail jobs

What the critics said

Received enthusiastic praise from The Serious Comedy Site, which called it 'fantastic' and an album that reinvigorates a love for stand-up comedy.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: wweek.com, tucsonweekly.com, theseriouscomedysite.com.

Backstory

Levine recorded the album after returning to Portland from Tucson, where she moved in 2016 after six years working on 'Portlandia'. The material draws heavily on her eclectic background as a mother, comedian, metal worker, and 14-year veteran clerk at an adult sex shop.

Details

Released
Taped
Funhouse Lounge, Portland
Runtime
60 min
Where
Stand Up! Records (album)
Topics

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