Live at Bimbo's

Natasha Leggero takes the stage draped in faux fur, dripping with pearls, and clutching an e-cigarette, leaning hard into the hyper-affected, high-society persona she has spent years refining. She immediately sets the tone by puffing on the vaporizer and remarking that it is so new, literally no testing has been done. What follows is a sharp, condescending, yet self-aware interrogation of the middle class, hipster culture, and her own upcoming marriage. She acts as an elite looking down on the plebeians, yet her comedy works because she is always the first to mock her own ridiculous lifestyle choices.

Filmed at the historic Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco, this 2015 Comedy Central special arrived at a high point in Leggero’s career. Her satirical Gilded Age sitcom Another Period had just premiered to strong reviews, and her appearances on celebrity roasts had cemented her reputation as a formidable insult comic. Rather than standard stand-up storytelling, the special opens with “Diamond Pussy,” a lavish, five-minute rap music video featuring Thomas Lennon. On stage, Leggero skewers everything from the logistical horrors of Burning Man to dumpster-diving boyfriends, and even pauses her set to play matchmaker, forcing two unsuspecting audience members into a highly uncomfortable live date.