Tickle me not!

As we step quietly into 2022, watching both ways before crossing January, I would like to formally wish all my readers, Happy New Year and lovely effin’ Saturday. Excuse the language, I am operating under large amounts of Caffeine and having a laugh. What has gone wrong now? Has he lost his mind? No sir, I just remembered all the best stand-up shows I have watched during the pandemic and I realized, I have to share it with people and share a collective sense of suffering and joy. If my writing oozes funky energy, its because of these comedians whom I mentally begged to Tickle me Not!

Disclaimer – If your humor isn’t broken as mine, This might be the best place to leave.

1. Lubricant

Performed in London’s Hammersmith Apollo Theater, It stands out as one of the best laughs I have had in a long while. As a writer, the difference between a good book and great book is humor. Whether its Lord of the rings or Dumb and Dumber, Humor is just as important as the story. However, in our society, humor is also directly related to making fun of an individual or an idea of an individual. I am guilty of cracking many a joke about my friends who usually clap back with the same amount of ferocity and sting. It has been that for many years but usually someone whom I did not intend to hurt gets hurt in the crossfire and that kept me wondering, is it truly possible to make people laugh without hurting anyone’s feelings?

Turns out Russell Howard has come as close as a comic you can get to perform an entire show without throwing an insult! I didn’t realize until the very end where I went hold on, ‘He hasn’t made fun of an audience member or a group or any particular thing, how am I laughing still!’ Well, depends on who is watching, it may sting a bit, if you are a murderer and a bigot but for normal folks you would hardly feel being picked on. That is insanely difficult to pull off and I take my hats off to this man who has written a beautiful show purely based on wit and relatable things. Perhaps comedy can be just that – Having a laugh. It need not be about how awful things are but about beautiful things are. It was almost childlike humor that I loved but don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t pull back his punches when it comes to addressing an issue.

Lubricant is now available on Netflix.

2. I’m Brent Morin

Performed at the The Gramercy Theatre, New York, this stand up special had to be one of the most relatable piece of entertainment that I couldn’t get enough of. Most male comics bring up their experiences of puberty or experiences with women that were the most bizzare or crazy. However, this one went right for the bone (No pun intended) of the normal experience that is relatable to anyone who has ever went into dating. The wierdness of discovering that you like girls for the first time, the million different things that go on in your mind when you are talking with someone whom you like, the crazy adrenaline and confusion from your body changing mixed with you being a romantic. I used to think all of these things were funny but for the first time I saw this brilliantly written 60 minute no nonsense humor describe those complex moments so vivdly that I just couldn’t stop laughing!

It was a wild ride from start to finish and he has the ability to do different accents in varying degrees of age. From small Italian boy to a garden gnome and an opera singer, he hits all the chords without missing a beat. Brent Morin has this incredible ability to act out two characters in a scene without having to describe them extensively. When he talks like a character, you can feel the tension in the air which makes the humor all the more tummy tickling. It was the right mix of entertainment and humor with the right amount of personal struggle of growing up as a romantic. And oh almost forgot – A bit of Foreshadowing – I do love math.

I’m Brent Morin is now available on Netflix

3. Quarter-life Crisis

Performed in The Aladdin theater, Portland, this stand up made me laugh and nod my head every five seconds as if I was in a secret trance. I had to go back and watch it for my brain to remember what made it so special and as soon as i clicked on it, I knew. It was the most relatable material i have watched from a female comic by a long shot. As much as I love talking about feminism and how to remove misogyny from the society, I also want to know how your day has been. And most female comics don’t go there at all. It always has to do with how trash men are and how to make them even more useless. However, this stand up was way different. She does take a diss on men when its required and I loved that, but it was not the mission statement.

The reason why it was so relatable for me was because her life experience that she was sharing is pretty much the same for anyone who hasn’t had the time to go out partying every night. If you told me you got drunk at 3 in the morning and drove a car into your neighbour’s pool, I would laugh but its not relatable. At 3 in the morning im snoring so hard that the one spider in the house is terrified of me. (His name is Ben, named after uncle Ben, RIP.) It was a blast watching this stand up and honestly, it could have been me having the same experience if I was in a foreign country.

Quarter-life crisis is now available on Netflix.

4. Pardon my icelandic

Performed, at The National Theater of Iceland, this wondefully written show came as a suggestion from netflix right after I had watched Eurovision movie with Will Ferrel in it (Also a great movie by the way). I was immediately drawn to his comedic talent because of how easy he made it all seem. He could speak multiple languages with accents and integrate it with the jokes that landed at the right moment. I am sure most of us have never been to Iceland but I found myself tearing up in laughter when he was talking about the beauty and the funny side of Iceland. Scientifically laughter is involuntary response of saying ‘Yes, I agree’. It was his pure talent that made a brown asian guy agree to whatever was going on with a Nordic viking country.

This wasn’t fast food comedy. It was like being in a restaurant and being served flavour after flavour of hand crafted jokes that hit home. Even now, after a couple of years, when I watch it again I still laugh at the same jokes. It doesn’t get old or lack its lustre, purely because of the writing was not based on trends or whats Hot at that moment in time. It was based on human behaviour which if you hadn’t noticed, doesn’t change in million years. His humor would permeate through his body when he is telling a joke when you are already laughing from the previous ones. His hands would move or his eyebrows will raise depending on the pitch and timbre of the accent he was using at the time. If you are not laughing when he says ‘Rammstein’, you can call me out on twitter.

Pardon my Icelandic is now available on Netflix.

5. You complete me, Ho

Performed in Ice house comedy club, California, this stand up is a stomach hurting relentless giggle fest that made me forget about everything that was happening in real life. As much Ken is famous for the Hangover movies, it was the first time I ever saw him perform a live show and boy did he deliver! I loved the unashamed, owning up to who he was and having that confidence to tell people that he was a doctor who played a naked asian dude in a hollywood movie. Everything about this show is spontaneous, I wonder how much of material he actually had because I wouldn’t have complained if it had gone as long as another hour or even a series with ten episodes. The way he interacts with the audience and tells his story without breaking eye contact, and completely loses it because his joke is so funny causes a reflex reaction to those who are watching which ultimately makes you laugh as well.

There are no ten dollar words, world ending high concept nuances, poetry of dialogue, none of that pretentious gawking. It was just pure fun. It was as if you were listening to that one senior dude in college who doesn’t give a shit. But it was not just mindless banter, he talks about the pursuit of dreams and how much his wife meant to him and I thought that was heartwarming. In the end, when you come back to reality and you see a guy who has put everything on the line to make a career in acting and made people laugh their asses off while still remaining himself. Thats the type of comedy i love watching, The one that tickles you enough to open your mouth and gives you food for thought. You complete me, Ho is now available on Netflix.

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P.S – This is a growing list of specials. However, if you had already watched them and came to this last line fully disappointed you haven’t discovered a hidden gem and you are very angry at me, I would like to inform that you are the comedy special tonight that spent your time scrolling through a blog for no reason.

This blog was not sponsored by any of the comics mentioned, if I was sponsored I wouldn’t be here writing a blog. Again, Happy new year!

*all images belong to their respective owners