And I Am Not Lying is the perfect title for Jeff Simmermon’s stand-up comedy album.
The tales are so tall you really do wonder. The stories Simmermon tells here are also funny, weird, and original. Although it is not quite stand-up comedy, more on that later, this album is a keeper.
Simmermon’s UCB Theater roots show in how he narrates his material. And I Am Not Lying features few if any stand-up structures as Simmermon relies more on the narrative quality of his material to make the audience laugh. The closest thing to standard comedy is the first bit about fake jobs. This is is the perfect way to set up stories about playing the typewriter in a two-man two-chicken band and shining the spotlight on kangaroos while working for a maniacal Crocodile Dundee type dude.
That story ‘Roo Shooter is worth the price of the album alone. A close second is the closer Subway Groceries, a yarn set in the NYC subway that shows how New Yorkers can be aggresively helpful. Both of these more than meet Simmermon’s own criteria for a good story: one that you want to hear again and again.
I was less impressed by the middle of this album, a two-part story about Simmermon playing in a chicken band and meeting Al Sharpton sort of twice. This story is another instance where the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater roots show and this time for the wrong reason: UCB performers sometimes have a problem culling their story to its essential elements and this is the case with this fifteen minute narrative. But that may be just me.
If you are looking for something a little unusual but worth the buckage when it comes to comedy Jeff Simmmermon And I Am Not Lying is a solid bet. It is available from Comedy Dynamics
And I Am Not Lying
Jeff Simmermon
Comedy download Album
Comedy Dynamics 2017
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