Craig Ferguson, a Scottish-born comedian, writer, actor, director, author, producer and voice artist, brought his brilliant stand-up comedy show to a packed Samala Showroom at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez last Friday night.
Many Americans are familiar with the acerbic comedian from his Late Late Show on television. But fewer people, in this country anyway, are aware of his very different and much more masterful role as a live stand-up comedian.
Ferguson works in the vein of great insult comics like Don Rickles, but with a more modern twist involving clever timing, an astute wit and almost mime-like performance antics. The tall, lanky performer employs a formula that is constantly injected with new material.
He begins his presentation by promising to tell a single joke. Before he comes to the punch line of that joke near the end of his 90-minute routine, he barrages the audience with an ever-intensifying deluge of gut-wrenching material. By the end he manages to insult nearly every segment of the audience, much to their delight, and magnificently ties his voluminousness funny stories together, with tiny key pieces of material.
The result is a massive montage of comedy that almost no one interprets completely, but almost everyone relates to as a hilarious presentation created by an incredibly intelligent and talented comedian.
Ferguson’s anecdotes include a wealth of his own life experiences, everything from joining The Rolling Stones on tour to his first foray into a bar in New York, which unbeknownst to him was a gay bar.
The clever comedian earned an extended standing ovation on Friday night from an adoring audience, but more importantly, he had them rolling in laughter for the entire performance.
Ferguson may just be one of the best stand-up comedy performers of all time, in the company of Lenny Bruce and George Carlin.
— L. Paul Mann is a Noozhawk contributing writer. The opinions expressed are his own.