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Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Comedy Central Stand-Up

A Different Kind of Dude

River Butcher

Comedy Central · 2022 · 34 min

A relaxed stand-up set about transitioning, divorce, and truck nuts.

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River Butcher starts his 2022 Comedy Central half-hour by addressing the obvious: since his last stand-up release, he transitioned and got divorced, emerging onto the stage as, simply, some guy. He does not spend the set explaining transness to a cis audience; instead, he shifts the gaze outward. His best bits redirect the culture-war lens away from marginalized kids and onto the weirdly aggressive details of straight, cisgender Americana, namely the guys who hang rubber testicles from the backs of their pickup trucks. It is a set built on curiosity and bemusement rather than anger, treating the quirks of traditional masculinity with a mix of gentle confusion and sharp observation.\n\nFilmed at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, the 34-minute set serves as a reintroduction of sorts. Butcher establishes a conversational pace, moving comfortably between personal updates and broader societal critiques. He reflects on his relationship with his father, who makes noises like a struggling jalopy when forced to show emotion, and finds warm humor in his pre-transition interactions with a local gas station attendant. Reviewers praised how the set turned his own life changes into a springboard for examining broader social habits rather than focusing purely on self-reflection.

The set list

4 bits

  1. People standing in line to enter an escape room after 17 months of pandemic lockdowns.

    Observes the absurdity of people paying to be locked in a room doing puzzles after spending over a year stuck at home.

  2. Transitioning during the pandemic and taking testosterone.

    Reflects on gas station attendants correctly calling them 'sir' for years and jokes about feeling like 'history's slowest werewolf.'

  3. Wannabe allies and white women overreacting to pronouns.

    Skewers overly intense acquaintances at parties demanding their pronouns, only to announce them awkwardly to the entire room while misgendering them.

  4. Wellness checks for people hanging rubber testicles on trucks.

    Questions the bizarre anatomical proportions of a giant vehicle having tiny balls hanging off the back.

How it plays

Tone
Warm, conversational, playful, observational, and irreverent.
On stage
Even-keeled, bemused, conversational, confident, and presenting onstage as 'just some guy' wearing a denim jacket.
Pace
Breezy and conversational, with deliberate pauses and occasional elongated storytelling evoking a sitcom dad navigating an awkward conversation.
About
gender transition and pronouns, COVID-19 pandemic and masks, escape rooms, masculinity and dudeness, truck nuts and car accessories, divorce and family

What the critics said

Praised as a masterclass in culture war commentary by Esquire and lauded by Autostraddle for seamlessly integrating personal milestones with deftly constructed callbacks.

In the room: Supportive and engaged, with occasional organic dialogue from the audience that Butcher addresses from the stage.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: weownthelaughs.com, goodmenproject.com, thebuckeyeflame.com, autostraddle.com, newcitystage.com, en.wikipedia.org, podcasts.apple.com, windycitytimes.com.

Backstory

Filmed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting on personal life events including transitioning, taking testosterone, and going through a divorce.

Details

Released
Taped
Knitting Factory, Brooklyn
Runtime
34 min
Where
Comedy Central
Topics

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