BSeenMedia, a company with a great ear for stand-up comedy talent (such as Patrice O’Neal and Myq Kaplan) is back with a new release from Ben Bailey called “Live amp; Uncensored,” which is available as a digital download or a stand-up comedy DVD.
Bailey is a comic that heavily relies on one of my favorite “types” of comedy – the complete deconstruction of language. He takes everyday words and phrases, and picks them apart in hilarious ways. The opening track “Thanks for Coming Out” is but one example. At comedy clubs and other venues, you will often hear performers say “thanks for coming out.”. But, even though they “came out” (as in, left their house), they had to “go back in” to get inside the comedy club. The phrase “coming out” also has an alternative meaning, so perhaps it should be “thanks for going out” because if you “go out” you can come back in, but if you “come out,” you rarely go back in.
Bailey also somehow manages to take bits that should be trite and overplayed, and make them funny. For example, there is a track called “Ben Not Gay” in which he talks about the Ben Gay sports cream, and how it ruined his childhood. Another track is a play on the word “caulk” because it sounds like cock. Neither one of those tracks should be funny. In fact, anyone who has been a fan of standup comedy as long as I have probably cringed when I just mentioned those two topics. Yet, somehow, Bailey is able to find a unique way to address both topics.
Some people may know Bailey from the television series Cash Cab. I mention this because the title of the album is “Live & Uncensored,” and the album cover says “Warning: this is not Cash Cab, Ben uses bad words.” Both the title and the warning give the listener the idea that the album is going to be blue, and it is not. Except for a few “f” bombs, the material is actually quite tame. Remove the “f” bombs and this could be Jim Gaffigan material.
Other than the odd title and warning, this is an excellent album, funny throughout. You will keep in your comedy rotation.
Live & Uncensored
Ben Bailey
Comedy MP3 or DVD
BSeenMedia 2016
60 minutes
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