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Promotional art for Live from the Town
Cover image credit: via TMDB

Live from the Town

James Davis

Comedy Central · 2019 · 61 min

A conversational hour about golf, Facebook, and hood-adjacent living.

James Davis succeeds in Live from the Town by throwing out the typical self-serious tone of a televised hour in favor of a loose, club-set energy. Standing on stage at The New Parish in Oakland, he plays to the room as much as the cameras, interrupting his own flow to interrogate quiet front-row audience members and calling for fake commercial breaks when a joke does not get the reaction he wanted. The core of his act rests on his self-described hood-adjacent upbringing in South Central Los Angeles—knowing the people who got shot in a drive-by but never being invited to the cookout. Filmed for Comedy Central in late 2018 and aired in January 2019, the special marked a major milestone for Davis following the run of his 2017 series Hood Adjacent. He uses the hour to bridge mainstream and urban cultural divides, turning a love of golf into a bit about Barbecue Davis, his idealized, swaggering alter-ego meant to be the Allen Iverson of the PGA. Other bits focus on the shift of Facebook from a college playground to a retirement home, an impression of post-presidency Barack Obama working as a party DJ, and a breakdown of why getting pulled over requires a precise vocabulary, specifically knowing the difference between popping bottles and popping a bottle.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Barack Obama impression and life post-presidency

    Imagines Obama as a party DJ and dissects his vocal cadence, noting his declining inflection when introducing his family makes them sound like a law firm.

  2. The evolution of Facebook over 15 years

    Compares the live audience to profile pictures, critiques older people on Facebook, and differentiates public 'wall talk' from private direct messages.

  3. Embracing golf and creating the alter-ego Barbecue Davis

    Recounts falling in love with golf after an episode of Hood Adjacent, aspiring to be the Allen Iverson of the PGA or the next Chi Chi Rodriguez.

  4. The #MeToo movement and male misconduct

    Acknowledges the importance of the movement before awkwardly rationalizing how men historically tried avoiding the friendzone by exposing themselves.

  5. Condoms versus unprotected sex

    Claims unprotected sex is how God intended it and equates using condoms to eating a Starburst candy with the wrapper still on it.

  6. Magic Johnson conspiracy theory

    Davis shares a comedic conspiracy theory regarding Magic Johnson.

How it plays

Tone
Charismatic, raucous, and observational, mixing broad laughs with squirmy and provocative takes on social issues
On stage
Charismatic, highly physical, engaging, and confident, blending natural charm with bro-leaning humor
Pace
Possesses a natural rhythm that takes time letting moments land, paired with high-energy physical delivery and seamless transitions into improvised exchanges
About
social media and aging, Barack Obama, golf, the #MeToo movement and gender dynamics, police violence and racism, relationships and sex

What the critics said

Critics highlighted Davis's undeniable charisma, audience interaction, and exceptional Barack Obama impression, though some found the hour somewhat over-edited and felt his rationalizations surrounding the #MeToo movement cast a sour shadow over an otherwise charming set.

In the room: Highly interactive, raucous, and vocal, engaging directly in spontaneous back-and-forth crowd work with Davis.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: allmovie.com, thetvdb.com, thecomicscomic.com, primevideo.com, pastemagazine.com, letterboxd.com, vulture.com, imdb.com, themoviedb.org.

Backstory

Filmed in Oakland following the launch of his Comedy Central series Hood Adjacent, balancing cultural themes and social commentary on contemporary topics

Details

Released
Runtime
61 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Ryan Polito
Topics

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