Trying to Be Special

The meta-premise of this hour is a mock-fundraiser where musical comedy duo Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci (performing as Garfunkel and Oates) are trying to raise enough money to produce the very comedy special the audience is already watching. It is a framing device that gives them a chance to play through their catalog of cheerful, explicit folk-pop songs, complete with a giant onstage thermometer measuring the crowd’s applause.

After an opening roast by Anthony Jeselnik, who mocks them for recycling old material, the duo takes the stage at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle. Armed with an acoustic guitar, a ukulele, and an arsenal of kazoos handed out to the crowd, they deliver sweet-sounding, deeply cynical tracks about the absurdities of dating, sex, and aging. The set list includes favorites like “Pregnant Women Are Smug” and “Fuck You” (the latter turning into an audience-wide kazoo symphony) alongside newer tracks from their 2015 album Secretions.

The high point of the show departs from the stage performance entirely. A segment detailing Lindhome’s real-life decision to freeze her eggs includes behind-the-scenes footage of her administering hormone shots in airport parking lots, culminating in an animated music video for “Frozen Lullaby”. The track earned the duo an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics later that year.

At this point in their careers, the duo had built a massive online following and recently wrapped a one-season run of their self-titled IFC sitcom. Some critics noted that the scripted transitions between songs felt stiff compared to the sharpness of the musical performances. However, the crowd at the Neptune Theatre, equipped with their kazoos, remained fully on board.