My introduction to the comedy of Stephen Lynch came about 5 years ago when I happened to catch a Comedy Central Special. After a half an hour of Stephen, I was hooked. His comedy, which came in the form of songs, was extremely funny and downright shocking. Yet, as I’ve learned, the songs that were presented on Comedy Central were but watered down versions. Little did I know at the time that his… ahem… his uncensored song stylings would make a sailor blush. This fact made all the more shocking by his clean cut, boyish visage. When I had an opportunity to review some of his CDs and a live DVD back in 2006, I wasn’t prepared for the offensive onslaught that is Stephen Lynch. Unprepared though I was, it is fortunately impossible to offend me so I was able to enjoy the manic genius behind the sings that others might call… offensive. Ever since I have hoped for the chance to see him live, a hope that I thought would be a longtime fulfilling when he took on the role of “The Wedding Singer” on Broadway.

But as fate would have it, it didn’t take that long for Lynch to tour again and my chance came on a dark, rainy night in Dallas. A night not fit for man or beast… the kind of night that even the most hardened of Dallasites wouldn’t dare go out in. (Actually, it was quite nice out… but it makes the story a little more interesting, don’t you think?)

So there we were, at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. 8 o’clock came and went, but I was used to concert starting a little late. The theatre was filled to capacity and you could feel the anticipation. It was obvious that a lot of the audience was made up of fans, I only had to wonder how those uninitiated would take to him. Around 8:25, the lights went down and a video hit the screen set up at the back of the stage. Here we got to see Stephen and the boys (more on them later) warming up on the tour bus with some improvisation. True to form, it was as funny as it was stupid. It immediately got the audience laughing.

When the lights came up Stephen was center stage and ready with one of his new songs, “Waiting.” As is the case with most of his songs, you think you know what it is going to be about… then he zings you. In this case, he started playing his guitar and ‘waited’ to start singing. Thinking this was what the title of the song alluded to, we all laughed… until he started singing that he was “…waiting for my AIDS test to come back…” Which of course got an even bigger laugh.

This was pretty much the show for the next 90+ minutes. He did old fan favorites like “Special Ed”, “The Devil Machine” and Beelz” as well as most of the tunes off his new CD, “3 Balloons.” I purposely held off from listening to his new CD so I could be pleasantly surprised by the lyrics as they hit me throughout the show, and I was not disappointed by a single one. All were hysterically funny, most were hysterically shocking.

But I have to admit that it wasn’t the songs themselves that made me laugh so hard I nearly choked, but more Lynch’s onstage persona. Again, he looks like an innocent college boy (an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one) but when he opens his mouth he becomes this spastic whirling dervish of platitudes and attitude. When he says something shocking (which is often), he plays it off with a ‘did I really say that look.” He fills his performance with so much fun, even when he is blasting Comedy Central for white-washing his special from a few years back. He comes across as angry, but it is a funny angry and it washes over the audience forcing them to laugh along with him.
He occasionally acts like he hates the audience, especially when he hears them yelling out songs they want him to play. “I’m not a F****** Juke Box,” he yells. And even more when they yell out “Freebird” (a staple to yell at most concerts). But he’s prepared. When the latter happened he ‘angrily’ spits out a version of “Freebird” (as well as a few other famous songs) that had me almost on the floor laughing.

In this new tour, Lynch opted to also try out a few new things like adding videos to the show. Throughout the concert, he would stop and a video would pop up showing Lynch and his boys (more on them later) with gas usually centered around the tour bus (which we later found out is NOT how they get around). We learn how to play proper practical jokes and that you need to have a candle, a lighter and a can of air freshener for those who break the rule of ‘No Crapping on the Tour Bus.’ We also learn how to use these items… which you have to see to believe. The video screen was also used from time to time during songs, most notably during the new “Halelujah.” Never have I seen so many breasts projected on a screen in so short a time. The video screen was also used to great effect to show us how each member of Lynch’s entourage would be in their dream movie role (Fill ‘er Up 6… indeed…).

Speaking of Lynch’s boys (told ya I’d get to them later). I talked to a few members of the audience who were disappointed that he wasn’t being joined by longtime collaborator Mike Teich (who you can see on Lynch’s “Live at the El Ray” DVD). On this tour he is joined by Rod Cone and David Josefsberg. Neither was a disappointing addition to the show. For the most part, Cone filled in for Teich, singing along on “She Gotta Smile.” Looking kind of like a sad sack version of Jeff Daniels (a fact that is pointed out on stage much to Rod’s lament), he quickly became a crowd favorite as Lynch’s whipping boy.

David Josefsberg, who has his own comedy CD out, is also tagging along on this tour. He is not so much a foil as he stands toe to toe with Lynch with his own peculiar songs. The pair belt out a fantastic rendition of (are you ready for this?) “Dirty Sanchez”, which almost brought the crowd to its feet. The three had a terrific rapport on stage, and though I’m certain every single line they said was well planned out, were able to deliver all of it like it was fresh and new improvisation just for us.
There wasn’t a single point in the show where I wasn’t laughing, so much so that my plan to see if anyone walked out was foiled. Lynch and company closed the night with a rendition of Princes’ “Purple Rain” (alluding back to a joke about a dream earlier in the show), which DID bring the audience to its feet.

I recommend seeing Steven Lynch live at any cost. But I’ll warn you, you really have to have a cast iron sense of humor. If the subject of AIDS, Christopher Reeve, breasts, or kids being A**holes offends you, go watch reruns of “The Smurfs.”

http://www.stephenlynch.com/