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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of Eugene Mirman

Eugene Mirman

Suicide Squeeze Records · Album · 2004 · 48 min

The debut album that helped shape the Brooklyn alternative comedy scene.

Eugene Mirman treats the stand-up stage like a boardroom where he is delivering a series of deeply stupid, highly formal business pitches. His classic bit selling geometric figures to the public, offering slogans like ‘Square: The Other Rectangle,’ shows exactly how he operates by taking the dry, polite language of corporate advertising and applying it to nonsense. Released in 2004 by the indie label Suicide Squeeze Records, this debut CD and DVD combo served as a formal introduction to Mirman’s place in the early-2000s alternative comedy boom. At this point in his career, he was a fixture of the New York scene, co-running the weekly ‘Invite Them Up’ show in Brooklyn and regularly touring as an opening act for bands like Modest Mouse. The album captures him at his most delightfully pedantic, whether he is recounting an escalating war of passive-aggressive letters with a credit card company over a minor billing dispute or explaining how his childhood as a Russian-Jewish immigrant in Reagan’s America shaped his perspective. The material earned critical praise upon its release, securing spots on the year-end best lists of both The A.V. Club and Time Out New York.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Being Jewish and tokenizing audience applause

    Notes that audiences do not cheer when he reveals he is Jewish like they do for hometown cities, joking about whether being God's chosen people is not enough applause.

  2. Growing up as a Russian immigrant

    Parodies stereotypes of communist-bloc immigrants sitting around weeping over not owning property and eating cold tears at each meal.

  3. Television anti-pot advertisements

    Parodies the hyperbolic anti-marijuana PSAs airing on TV by taking their premise to the next illogical, surreal step.

  4. Takes on steakhouses and steak

    Humorous riffs on steaks and steakhouse culture.

  5. Teen Wolf and gay rights

    Routines addressing the 1980s film Teen Wolf alongside gay marriage and gay rights.

How it plays

Tone
Absurdist, surreal, ironic, and self-deprecating.
On stage
Awkward, neurotic, and eccentric demeanor coupled with a remarkably relaxed, comfortable vocal delivery and an intellectualized, absurdist comedic sensibility.
Pace
Neurotic yet relaxed delivery with unconventional pacing that frequently eschews traditional setup-punchline structures.
About
Jewish identity, Russian immigrant life, absurd pop culture, anti-pot ads, gay marriage, steakhouses

What the critics said

Praised by The Onion as sharp and hilarious, and lauded by critics for inventive, absurdist standup bridging alternative comedy and indie rock audiences, though In Music We Trust critiqued the album as a hit-or-miss split between strong material and filler.

In the room: Receptive, indie-oriented crowd willing to embrace non-traditional formats and unconventional material.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: suicide-squeeze.myshopify.com, eugenemirman.bandcamp.com, open.spotify.com, allmusic.com, popmatters.com, nypost.com, inmusicwetrust.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Graduated from Hampshire College after designing his own major in comedy; moved to the US from Russia as a child and draws upon his Jewish and immigrant background while performing heavily in indie music and rock venues.

Details

Released
Taped
Pianos / The Middle East, New York and Boston (Cambridge)
Runtime
48 min
Where
Suicide Squeeze Records (album)
Honors
Voted one of the Best Albums of 2004 by The A.V. ClubVoted one of the Best Albums of 2004 by Time Out New York
Topics
After
Vegan on His Way to the Complain Store (2015)

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