Words Of Mass Destruction is pretty much like the weapons of the same name in Iraq: nothing there. Even the audience present at the taping of this half stand-up comedy CD is basically non-existent and barely reacts when Tom Myers calls them on it
It is the first time I have really wondered why a stand-up comic chose to record a CD and make it available. Is there really that much pressure on comedians now to have their own comedy CD to sell after the show that they think that little more than 3 years in the biz warrants releasing their material? Tom Myers obviously wants to provoke and be edgy. There is a definite aspiration to be one of those comics who do jokes about American politics. There is an obvious wish to do the kind of comedy Lewis Black, Bill Maher, or Will Durst do so well. Unfortunately, pointing out the silliness of politics is not a joke in itself. You have to do something with the observation and not just let it lie there. We can all comment on things: stand-up comics take that comment and use their talent to find the new take on it, the thing we had not thought about, the connection to another political event we had not made, or their own “life experience” to give this political observation new life and find the humor that the audience has not already found. Myers points something out but does not go anywhere with it. A case in point are the tracks titled The Philosophy of Arnold where Myers’ imitation sounds more like Colonel Klink than Ahnold, The Case For War, and My Name is Al, Al Gore.
This is not the only weakness of this independent stand-up comedy CD. There are way too many moments when you hear the mic snap, crackle, and pop while Myers either takes it off the stand, puts in on the stand, or knocks it, touches it, and so on. Hearing tables and chairs being moved around (in My Name Is Al, Al Gore) doesn’ t help. The stand-up comedy bits are interspersed with The Myers Experience, studio bits from the days, not so long ago and about two years ago in fact, where Myers had a college radio show.
Tom Myers Words of Mass Destruction is almost 25 minutes of stand-up comedy, the rest being studio bits and a very very long intro track.
Words Of Mass Destruction
Tom Myers
Stand Up comedy CD
Independent Release
