Phil Johnson – Pretty From the Back

Pretty From the Back
Phil Johnson and
the Roadside Attraction
Comedy DVD
Independent release 2015
Available at comic s website.

I really enjoyed Pretty From The Back by Phil Johnson and the Roadside Attraction. Johnson, who looks like he unsuccessfully escaped from an eighties hair band cover group is a very funny guy who can tell a story and has quite a few original observations to share. This is a small-budget indie production and it shows,especially with lighting that sometimes washes out the comic’s face, but it is not anything that gets in the way of enjoying a solid set and routines that bear repeated watching.

Of note are a bit about the political overtones of rock, paper, scissors, the story of Buford the redneck vampire, and Hawaiian Wheel of Fortune (36 letters, 1 word). These are but a few of the really good moments on this DVD. Hell, Johnson even came up with something original to say about the post office losing your stuff.

The last third of Pretty From the Back features Phil Johnson and then he and his band doing funny songs. I am less partial to the genre but I have to admit he really knows how to write a weird and very funny song. “Dodged a Bullett” about a sperm that overcame adversity is funny as hell. The Greek mythology rocker was also a hit with me. The Roadside Attraction really rocks.

On the less positive side, the cuts to a lauging audience member are too frequent and grainy and a  couple of things like the Banana Republic joke, do not really work.

Special features include four music videos, three of which are for songs on this DVD, and the set by opener Chad Opitz, and a thirty-minute Making of (for some reason)

Pretty From the Back by Phil Johnson and the Roadside Attraction is available as a DVD or a download at the comic’s website where, at the time of writing this review, you can preview the tracks.

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