Artist: Louis C.K.
DVD: "Chewed Up"
Release Date: 12/16/2008
Last year Boston-raised comedian Louis C.K. recorded his HBO special, "Chewed Up", at the Berklee Performance Center. In late December the DVD was released and it's easily one of the best stand-up performances of the year. The Emmy award-winning C.K. has captured an incredible evening of stand-up on this DVD, in a style that is old school and minimalist. C.K. appears upon an unadorned stage, in a plain black t-shirt. The entire show is just a man and a mic, no quick cuts and edits, and no agitated camerawork.
Even more remarkable is that although one can hear how the audience reacts to his performance, there are no shots of the audience—finally, a break from a lot of stand-up videos that show people randomly laughing, sometimes obviously at something other than the joke that was just told.
The DVD also includes a remarkable self-interview by C.K., just him answering a list of questions, but in an open and honest manner that we've never seen before. You might think that you aren't familiar with Louis C.K., but he's been a writer for Letterman, Conan, Chris Rock, his excellent but sadly short-lived HBO series "Lucky Louie", and a host of other TV programs and films.
C.K. is not one to repeat material, so each one of his DVDs is a frozen moment in time, with great anecdotes and stories and surreal ramblings that are not likely to be told again. The laughs are relentless so we can't recommend getting this DVD enough.
Next month, on Saturday, March 14th, Louis C.K. will return to Boston to record a performance at The Orpheum Theater. Yes, that's right, you can be at a taping of a Louis C.K. show. These shows are hugely popular, so if you want to be there, get your tickets before they sell out.
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