Validate Me

Patrick Susmilch hits the stage with a nickname like “Baby Veins” and immediately sets the bar for self-deprecation. His material revolves around minor health humiliations, gender roles, and the desperate craving for approval. The cornerstone of the set is a prolonged, deeply detailed analysis of home catheters—the same bit that earned him a brief television spot on Last Comic Standing—which he pitches as a bizarre milestone of feminist progress. He also spends time demanding to know why The Walking Dead refuses to depict the realities of post-apocalyptic urinary tract infections.\n\nReleased as an audio-only album by Stand Up! Records in April 2016, Validate Me captures Susmilch at a point in his career where he was transitioning from the Minneapolis open-mic scene to establishing himself as a distinct, wry voice in indie comedy. Over 15 tracks, Susmilch leans into a cheerful yet sardonic worldview, touching on his love for the movie Frozen, the absurdity of wind chimes, and why the 90s hip-hop group 69 Boyz deserve a college-level dissertation. The performance relies on a quiet, deliberate delivery that highlights the absurdity of its own hyper-specific subjects.