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Misanthrope

JT Habersaat

Stand Up! Records · 2016 · 60 min

A cynical, fast-paced stand-up set recorded in a Dallas rock club.

JT Habersaat brings his weathered, touring-punk ethos to the stage, performing for a crowd that knows exactly what they are getting: a cynical, fast-paced set that treats modern life as an ongoing annoyance. The centerpiece of the show is a lengthy, chaotic retelling of “The Grant’s Pass Nightmare,” an incident in Oregon where Habersaat was effectively chased out of town by a Misfits cover band that had absolutely no sense of humor. He operates with a blunt, no-nonsense grit, turning minor inconveniences and bad road gigs into cathartic, loud comedy.

Recorded live at Three Links in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, the 2016 release was put out as a CD and DVD package by Stand Up! Records. Habersaat, a veteran of DIY punk touring and the founder of the Altercation Punk Comedy Tour, was transitioning into middle-aged cynicism at this point in his career. The set features tracks targeting the generational divide in “Thoughts on Millennials,” the physical toll of the road in “Saturday Night Middle Age Blues,” and the existential misery of daily interactions in “Hell Is Still Other People”. The release debuted at number two on the iTunes comedy charts.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Being mistaken for the guy from Mythbusters

    Introduces his identity and fan base, contrasting the TV persona with his punk rock comedic persona.

  2. An encounter with a fan described as a meth-head racist

    Uses angry storytelling and emotional distress about characters met while on tour.

  3. Defining hell from an atheist perspective

    Describes hell as listening to complainers for all eternity.

  4. Rant about a vandalized Jack in the Box emblem and True Blood vampire secretions

    Delivers emotionally distressed and absurd analysis of everyday scenarios and pop culture.

  5. Justifying choking hazards for four-year-olds

    Pushes extreme shock value and alternative viewpoints.

How it plays

Tone
Blunt, in-your-face, cynical, edgy, and fueled by righteous punk rock anger.
On stage
Crotchety and conversational, delivering jokes like an old man found at an afternoon dive bar; vocal about his punk credentials and self-described as catering to punk rockers and drunkards.
About
punk rock, misanthropy, touring experiences, hatred of neighbors and millennials, atheism and hell

What the critics said

Praised by critics as an edgy, blunt, and funny fusion of punk rock angst and standup realism suited for underground comedy fans.

In the room: Appeals to fans on the outskirts of mainstream comedy, described by Habersaat as punk rockers and drunkards.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: centraltrack.com, kutx.org, theinterrobang.com, en.kinorium.com, amazon.com, nytimes.com.

Backstory

Infusing stand-up comedy with a DIY punk rock ethos, booking rock clubs and music venues rather than taking the conventional open mic and comedy club path.

Details

Released
Taped
Three Links, Dallas
Runtime
60 min
Where
Stand Up! Records
Topics

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