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Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast

The Toad's Morale

Sam Tallent

YouTube · 2023 · 45 min

A rapid-fire barrage of filthy jokes from an indie comedy workhorse.

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Sam Tallent steps onto the stage looking like a friendly pharmacist in a Carhartt shirt, then immediately launches into a hyperkinetic barrage of dark, filthy jokes that completely contradict his cherubic appearance. Recorded at Go Bananas Comedy Club in Cincinnati—a venue so central to his career that he has its logo tattooed on his wrist—this sophomore hour showcases a relentless joke-per-minute pace. He sidesteps the modern trend of solemn, slow-burn storytelling, opting instead for a rapid-fire delivery of punchlines built on sex, bodily fluids, and general degradation.\n\nThe 2023 release capped a major period of growth for Tallent. Bypassing the traditional streaming gatekeepers, he distributed the special for free on YouTube via Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast channel. It was a move that matched his DIY literary ethos, having previously self-published his acclaimed novel Running the Light. On stage, the hour moves quickly through highly specific, bizarre premises, including a breakdown of talking toilets in Japan, the weirdness of staying at rural bed-and-breakfasts, and a highly enthusiastic defense of Girl Scout cookies. Tallent balances the vulgarity with a novelist’s eye for language, ensuring even the grossest punchlines are engineered with surprising literary precision.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Trans women and the Bud Light controversy

    Riffs on drinking Miller Lite instead of Bud Light and how trans women possess 'the peak of sexy science', joking that men who can't get hard for them are homosexual.

  2. Having sex at a bed and breakfast

    Describes having intercourse in a B&B bedroom where an elderly couple's son overdosed and died, pointing out the oddity of sleeping in the untouched room.

  3. Coconut water

    Notes that coconut water finally solved his issue with regular water not tasting enough like semen by matching the taste and viscosity of jizz.

  4. Being the largest mammal in the comedy club

    Jokes about his massive size compared to the audience in Cincinnati, stepping down into 'the pig hollow', and joking that he lactates horchata with ramen seasoning.

  5. Girl Scout cookies

    Engages in crowd work asking an audience member about cookie preferences, violently dismissing Thin Mints, and joking about eating Samoas versus eating a Samoan.

How it plays

Tone
Dark, blue, filthy, irreverent, and shocking.
On stage
Cherubic smile, wearing drugstore pharmacist glasses and Carhartt 4XL, exuding inviting pleasantry and effortless delivery while presenting filthy, extremely dark material.
Pace
Hyperkinetic jokes-per-minute rate with rapid punchline after punchline (rat-tat-tat), natural and relaxed tempo disguising skilled joke construction.
About
Sex, Bodily fluids, Death, Relationships and marriage, Body size and physical appearance

What the critics said

Praised by The Spectator as showcasing 'filthy genius', exceptional rhythm, rapid-fire joke density, and high-level joke writing that runs against current storytelling trends.

In the room: Shocked laughter from the Cincinnati crowd, responsive to his transgressive and blue material.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, standupd.com, spectator.com, letterboxd.com, en.wikipedia.org, podscripts.co.

Backstory

Released on the YouTube channel of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast / Shane Gillis; filmed at Go Bananas Comedy Club in Cincinnati.

Details

Released
Taped
Go Bananas Comedy Club, Cincinnati
Runtime
45 min
Where
YouTube
Director
Zaq Tull
Topics
Before
Waiting For Death To Claim Us (2021)

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