3:10 to Humour

Rich Hall treats stand-up less like a polished theater show and more like an irritable conversation at closing time. The set runs on improvised momentum, prodding the front row for their occupations and turning the details into country and bluegrass tunes alongside guitarist Rob Childs.

Taped at London’s Vaudeville Theatre during his 2015 tour and released on DVD in 2016, the 71-minute set caught Hall during a comfortable stretch as British television’s resident American grouch. Years after winning a Perrier Award as his musical alter ego Otis Lee Crenshaw and establishing himself on panel shows like QI, he appears here under his own name with the same gravelly deadpan.

Between songs, he grumbles through automated supermarket checkouts, the National Rifle Association, and the early absurdities of the 2016 American presidential campaign. When an audience member interrupts with an unsolicited explanation of a regional power station, Hall pauses the gig to note that other comics get hecklers while he gets footnotes.