Nate Bargatze is awesome. Seriously awesome. And he has a new stand-up comedy album out called “Full Time Magic,” released by Comedy Central Records. Are you still reading this? Just go buy it. You won’t regret it.
For those of you still here, let me get one “warning” about this album out of the way.
The warning is this … if you are already a fan of Nate Bargatze, and already own his 2012 stand-up comedy cd “Yelled At By A Clown,” you are going to find that a lot of material from the prior album repeated on Full Time Magic. Is that disappointing? A little. Do I fault him for it? Not really. I have been a huge fan of Bargatze since his 2011 episode of Comedy Central Presents, and I would have loved a solid hour of new material on Full Time Magic. But, that having been said, I fully understand why some of the material is repeated — and it’s because Full Time Magic is Bargatze’s first full-length television special. The people who purchased “Yelled At By A Clown” were likely people who were already fans of Nate Bargatze, or those convinced to buy it by his fans. Now, with “Full Time Magic” airing on Comedy Central, Bargatze will be exposed to many possible new fans. If you were a stand-up comic and had the opportunity to widen your fanbase like this, wouldn’t you want to use your best material, even if that meant repeating some material from your existing album? I think so, and that’s why I don’t fault him for doing it here.
Now, that having been said, let me also say that even though some of the topics and bits are repeated, many of them are not simply repeated verbatim from his prior album. He has developed many of the bits, and they are even better now. So, to his existing fans, you are still in for a treat. And, of course, there is no shortage of brand new material; all of which is funny. For those looking for more “family friendly” comedy, Bargatze also works clean.
Those familiar with Nate Bargatze’s prior album will also instantly recognize the significance of the title “Full Time Magic,” and get a laugh out of the title alone. In “Yelled At By A Clown,” Bargatze has a great bit about having a father who is a clown, and how weird it is to be yelled at by your father while he is wearing clown makeup. However, his father transitioned from being a part-time clown and a part-time magician, to being a full time magician. Simply seeing the title “Full Time Magic” brought an instant smile to my face in anticipation of listening to the album.
This album, like his prior one, is fantastic from start to finish, with not a single weak bit to be found. I cannot say enough nice things about Nate Bargatze, and look forward to his next project.
Full Time Magic
Nate Bargatze
Stand-up Comedy Album
Comedy Central Records 2015
