Many comics try to validate their use of the F word during their act. Tommy Tiernan opens Something Mental with the most believably sincere of them all. If you are a Tiernan fan you are most definitely prefer the DVD version of this stand-up comedy performance which is the same stuff as on this CD.

Make no mistake though, the CD version itself is rock solid.

The first half of Something Mental is material aimed at an American audience though Tiernan makes it fun for everybody and universal by inserting short bits about more worldly experiences like working on a building in Barcelona.

Not all the topics are original but even jokes about the weather are funny when told by this Irish comedian.

The material about the American Gun Culture or WWJD is very funny and more vicious than the audience realizes.

Segues are a Tommy Tiernan forte. Strangely enough this is more obvious on the CD version of Something Mental. This is especially apparent with the religious comedy in the middle of the show.

Again, this is original and very funny stuff, especially the World Cup of Religion idea. The Chicago audience does not quite grasp the seriousness of some of Tiernan’s material and he gets away with telling them to F-off before continuing on with his religious bit and some really funny stuff about Eskimos.

What also impresses on this Tommy Tiernan stand-up comedy CD is his range. Something Mental opens with F and closes with a reference to Samuel Beckett on the “bonus track”.

The show closes with some stand-up material about women, the differences between men and women, and sex. Again, standard comedy stuff but original and funny in this comic’s hands especially the changing room bit.. My favorite is what happens when a woman is crying with other women around.

Something Mental
Tommy Tiernan
Stand-up Comedy CD
Image Entertainment 2008
67 minutes

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