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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Something to Take the Edge Off

Doug Stanhope

Stand Up! Records · Album · 2000 · 56 min

Acoustic guitar meets aggressive nihilism in a sweaty Houston comedy club.

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Doug Stanhope spends nearly an hour dragging a Houston crowd through his bleakest impulses, and he does it to the soothing sounds of a coffeehouse gig. Comedian Henry Phillips sits behind him on stage, strumming gentle acoustic guitar chords while Stanhope shouts about the logic of suicide and why life is an inherently bad movie you shouldn’t be forced to finish. The musical accompaniment creates a bizarre, hypnotic contrast to the material. The more the guitar lulls the room into a sense of safety, the more abrasive the punchlines feel.

Recorded live at The Laff Stop in May 2000, this was his third comedy album and the release that cemented his reputation as a reigning dirtbag of the stand-up underground. He was leaning entirely away from traditional setups and into aggressive, booze-fueled storytelling.

The closer remains a defining piece of tape: a seven-minute story about a hollow one-night stand with a woman named Bobbie Barnett. It builds to a furious, screaming climax where he reminds her that no matter how much she regrets the encounter, a thousand repo men with a thousand tow trucks can never take the act back.

The set list

3 bits

  1. Challenging the audience to name the guitarist

    Intertwining stand-up timing with Henry Phillips' acoustic guitar accompaniment, directly testing the audience.

  2. Observations on suicide and living life

    Subverting inspirational platitudes through dark, cynical, and ruthless perspectives on human existence.

  3. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Bobbie Barnett closer

    A culmination featuring an intentionally crass callback followed by an extended closing narrative denouement.

How it plays

Tone
Darkly cynical, vulgar, perverse, acerbic, and outrageous yet strangely soothing due to the musical backing.
On stage
Darkly cynical, outwardly exhausted, drunkenly relaxed, and confrontational, delivering vulgar and provocative social commentary.
Pace
A conversational and structured ramble featuring a simulated easiness that builds momentum to crescendos, cushioned by nonstop rhythmic acoustic guitar strumming.
About
Vices and smoking, Laws and societal rules, Suicide and mortality, Body horror and sexuality, Fame, legacy, and stand-up comedy

What the critics said

AllMusic described it as intensely vulgar and perverse club comedy, viewing the jokes as less developed than Sicko, while retrospective appraisal from Roads to the North hailed it as a brilliant stylistic lodestar and masterclass in set construction.

In the room: Raucous comedy club environment combined with a relaxed, smoky lounge dynamic created by the live guitar.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, allmusic.com, comedyf.art, musicbrainz.org, roadstothenorth.com, listennotes.com, standuprecords.com.

Backstory

Recorded live in 2000 at The Laff Stop in Houston with acoustic guitarist Henry Phillips continuously playing mood music to create a soothing lounge atmosphere under abrasive stand-up comedy.

Details

Released
Taped
The Laff Stop, Houston
Runtime
56 min
Where
Stand Up! Records (album)
Topics
After
Comedy Central Presents (2001)

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