Lewis Black, "Let them eat cake"

I took a train out of Philly yesterday to see comedian Lewis Black in my hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. First of all, a quick tip for anyone taking a train at 30th street station. The line for boarding was honestly about 200 people long, and as I followed it, winding around corners and pillars, I guess the lady walking next to me noticed my increasing annoyance. She gave me a subtle "follow me" and led me to an elevator. I gathered that she was a frequent traveler, and knew that an elevator goes down and boards people before everybody else. Bottom line: locate the nearest elevator to your stair, wait for someone in a wheelchair, and walk behind them like you know what you're doing.

On another note, trains are freakin' awesome. With the new, lower price of gas it costs about a dollar more per gallon than driving. (if you usually use 3 gallons of gas to drive home, that would be 9 bucks, a train ticket would cost 12) For that price you get to sleep, or look out at the scenery and get to feel all cool riding the train, plus it's better for the environment.

But anyways, Lewis Black. It was everything I hoped it would be. I know many people aren't huge fans of Black. Many don't like his angry, heart-attack-at-any-moment style, swearing, or left-leaning opinions. If you ask me, I think it's perfect given the current state of politics and government in this country.

One of my favorite parts was when I think Black actually became enraged, beyond what his normal shtick is. He was talking about how there is so much material nowadays, it becomes difficult for him to even make jokes. His point: which McCain campaign worker makes the most money? Answer: Sarah Palin's make-up artists, at $22,000 for two week's pay. "That's half of what Joe the Plumber makes in a year!!" Couple that with Black nearly ripping his already disheveled coat off, and I was rolling pretty hard.

Black also went on to rail against everything from iPhones (don't tell me we can't get alternative energy in 10 years, I can get a million vaginas on this iPhone in one second) to aging (don't tell me turning 60 is the new 40, 60 is fucking old. There is nothing wrong with immortality, I'll get new friends)

However, the laugh of the night came when Black was talking about his parents, in a non-political portion of his routine. He was talking about how one of his performances was in the Poconos, and his 83-year-old parents were coming along. They were put up in two rooms in what were essentially, love shacks. "All there was in these shacks were places to fuck..in the bed, in the tub, in the jacuzzi, in the giant martini... All there was in the fridge was some small, free food...My parents, being children of the depression, loved free food and found some in the fridge...all there was was a bowl of strawberries, and a bowl of whipped cream...my mom asked what the whipped cream was for...and my 83-year-old dad, without missing a beat, responded 'it's for my balls'"


That's Lewis Black; enraged, foul-mouthed, with a mix of 15-year-old masturbation jokes and 60-year-old life jokes. In my opinion, totally worth a Friday night.