I like Todd Barry. I enjoy his low energy approach to stand-up comedy as evident in Falling Off The Bone, his Comedy Central released stand-up comedy CD and DVD set.
Barry is a comic who needs no artifice to make his material funny, who does not need to punch the joke to get a laugh. He is willing to let his material do all the work, a refreshing thing in a Dane Cook filled world. This is the most laid-back stand-up comic I have come across in a while.
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Barry is definitely an original. Tracks like Michael Jackson and Jose and September 11th Story do not go anywhere near what you would expect. This comic never goes where you thought he was taking you. This is an autobiographical and especially observational comic whose keen observations and ability to see the ridiculous side of things put him in a league of his own in that kind of stand-up comedy material.
There are no long routines here. Instead, you get thirty-eight short set-ups and jokes on a variety of subjects that are sometimes nicely segued and sometimes just jumped to.
There are many, many funny bits on this Todd Barry comedy CD but personal favorites include Benefit Concerts, B.B. King Blues Bar, and Victoria’s Secret Designer. I especially liked the bit about garage bands never getting a Grammy.
Falling Off The Bone is an almost solid comedy CD. Almost because the variations of the sound level vary too greatly for a listener to fully enjoy the experience. True, Barry does not speak very loudly but there should have been a way to make sure you can hear every word he says without having to backup on certain tracks.
The Todd Barry comedy CD Falling Off The Bone features a more or less extra DVD featuring a twenty-something minutes Comedy Central Presents performance by Todd Barry and a ten minute documentary.
This is a very good set that includes a lot of material from his Medium Energy CD. Barry is his usual understated self: if he moves more than a step or two on stage I must have missed something and I was watching carefully The documentary, on the other hand, is basically a waste of time behind the scenes thing.
Comedy Central has a really good thing going with their comedy sets like Todd Barry Falling Off The Bone. You get a CD with the comic’s newest material and a DVD with a Comedy Central Presents show featuring a past performance by that same comic.
This is a consumer win-win situation especially since the price is definitely right. Still, the Comedy Central Presents Todd Barry on this release suffers for about a dozen or so moments where the sounds gets scratchy, something that is very annoying to any listener.
Todd Barry
Falling Off The Bone
stand-up comedy CD and DVD set
Comedy Central Records 2004
48 minutes CD
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