I gotta agree with Ra_Z. He's closer to Dane Cook then an actual really good comic. Pretty funny, but who gives a ****.

And Aziz is a very funny guy who happens to not be that good at standup comedy. His first special was very decent, but his second special paled in comparison. I got maybe one legit snicker, and the rest was hardly amusing. Him in interviews is damn funny though.

I saw Rickles in Vegas, Redd Foxx too. Funny guys.

I like Rickles, but his plants are a little too gimmicky for me. How was Redd Foxx? I would have loved to have seen him.

Best stand up act I ever saw was Greg Giraldo. By far the only comedian who made me laugh the entire show.

Seinfeld was the reason I started doing stand up, and the 2 times i saw him, the guy who opened for him was funnier than Jerry.

Jim Breuer really underrated standup doesn't get enough love, but he is a definite have to see guy when he comes in your area.

just a note on birbiglia, his movie 'sleepwalk with me' is a $5 download and it's good. it feels like a long louie episode.

I guess agree to disagree on Howard, because of the 50ish people I've watched hour+ long sets with of him in North America, 2 thought he was rubbish and the rest thought he was amazing and would see him again.

That might speak more about the people you hang out with than his talents. A lot of people think Dane Cook is amzing too.

+1 Russell is awful and I don't understand the appeal at all.

Also,

I was at that Russel Howard gig. He did a great job. However I wouldn't have him in the top tier.

One thing that clip doesn't show is that he was on with Jo Brand. She completely bombed (worst I've ever seen) & left the stage after only 5 minute. Howard ran back on & ran improv with the crowd for 15 minutes. Just asking for suggestions & then making **** up. Seriously impressive.

lol it was a pretty broad range of people from all over the world. Also Dane Cook's comedy vs Howards....honestly the gap is huge. There's a lot of really intelligent stuff in a Howard set. He's a clever dude.

yeah. saw russell howard at edinburgh in a small venue in 2005. it was a great great hour, lot of smart stuff, super energetic, blew the audience away. haven't watched him in a while and i've no doubt he's massively dumbed down a lot of his stuff now given his exposure and audience, but he's a solid comedian, albeit in the same way dozens of comedians are solid.

Ya my only point was that for him at age 26ish to have rocked those brilliant hour long sets in the way he did was incredible, and I don't doubt that if he had skipped the TV/money he got, he could be a beast. To be as polished as he was in his mid 20's is sort of unheard of. Anyway I disgress.

Btw very early Dane Cook, when he rocked his Bruins jersey on Kimmel, is hilarious stuff. He just got awful really fast. But in his infancy he had some very good material.

Another great comic who I somehow neglected to mention is Dave Attell. Attell is a strange case, because he's relatively well known, but is still in my opinion criminally underrated. He is an extraordinarily creative joke writer and though he's pretty edgy/dirty, he's somehow never acerbic. I like the joke on his wikipedia page:

.

But seeing him live is where he really shines. His hyperquick crowdwork is unbelievable. I saw him about two months ago and it was fantastic. If you watch the standup section at the beginning of this insomniac, you can kind of see what Im talking about:



Edit: Actually this whole quote page is full of gold:

"Ladies, is it really the size of a man's penis that matters? Is it? (some girls cheer) Well, the whores have spoken. Some woman say yes, some women say "no, it's how he uses his penis." How he uses it? What is this man doing with his magical penis? Is he building things and fighting terrorism? "A gazebo, how did that get in here?!" "Don't thank me." What if a man doesn't have a penis, but three balls, and one of them lights up and plays a tune? Does he ever get laid?! DO YOU **** HIM FOR THE STORY?!"

"Ever wrestle your dog 'til you come?"

Dave's old porn is a great show

He was pretty funny, the show was very dirty. It was at the Hacienda, where Mandalay Bay stands now. The funny thing was, 20 minutes before the show started, I saw him playing blackjack in the casino is a very nice tux. He was dressed like Fred Sanford to do the show.

This was a few years after the tv show was canceled, but that role was what he was known for by that time. He even used that old man walk on stage.

John Madden wrote in one of his books that he went to see Rickles in Vegas years ago and tipped to get close seats. The maitre d said "are you sure you want to sit close?" and Madden said "of course".
Then he said for the entire show Rickles called him the fat ******

I'm surprised no one mentioned Russell Peters

Doug Stanhope is the absolute GOAT.

I'm British, but I actually concede that I think the USA produces better stand up comedians. The UK, however, makes far better sit-coms.

Seen Dave Attell 3 times, all at the same venue, which acts as a tune-up location for many comics. He was by far the worst performer two of the three times. Since he was the biggest name two of the nights, he got to perform for as long as he wanted. To be fair, it was clear that most everything he did was near 100% experimental/new material that had yet to be developed and refined. He had a lot of misses, but I respect him for continuing to try new stuff and bombing, but not letting it get to him. I think I enjoyed him the most the last time I saw him because I understood he was just improvising a lot and trying to see what the audience did or didn't find funny.

He's certainly on the Top 10 of all-time list overall. He's my 3rd or 4th favorite right now, but as for pure brilliance, he's way up there. And as for necessary, he's up there with the all-time greats. Like Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Bill Hicks. He's on that list.

Daniel Tosh and the guy who puts on the coke bottle glasses and does his grandpa. It is an old bit and I can't remember his name but it was HI LAR E OUS!!!

im surprise russell brand wasn't brought up yet



i dont know his stuff that extensively but i love his scandalous special

Oh so you're the one.

Richard Pryor was a funny comedian, now he is dead.

Since Friday I've seen: Quinn, Jeselnik, Burr, Metzger and random openers.

Prob rank them J, B, M, Q.

Seeing Kinane, Burress, Ansari, Bamford, Belleville over the course of this week.