The Kids in the Hall: Live as We'll Ever Be at The Chicago Theatre 4/29/08

The performance of the aging veteran Canadian sketch troupe was nearly irrelevant to my enjoyment of their live show. Don't get me wrong, it was great. It was solid. Their performance sets them further apart from SNL as far as cutting edge, tight knit, and frankly, good.
Let me give an example of the types of post-show conversations I engaged in:

Co-worker: So what did you do last night?
Rb: I went and saw Kids in the Hall downtown.
Cw: Oh what's that?
Rb: They're a sketch comedy troupe from Canada, but they've got all these guys that made it in really weird disparate ways (references to Talk Radio, Lilo & Stitch, Bug's Life, SNL).
Cw: Oh. Now sketch, how's that different than Second City or SNL?
(Punch Cw in face with elitist fist)
Cw: Right I understand. Did you get the memo about punching at work?
(cops arrive)

I understand that not everyone got cable in the early '90s. And, being one myself, some folks don't get Comedy Central now. But other folks are just dumb.
At any rate, fast or slow to literalize that idiom, almost every "rule" of comedy and maybe even production was totally validated by this show. It wasn't a teary moment like the end of Speed Racer, but it gave me hope that if I keep plugging away and doing what I've done and push the story/script I too can be successful, provided I get discovered in Canada by Lorne Michaels, and get money thrown at me by New Yorkers and the Canadian government, and provided I stay with it for the money even after my ensemble parts ways, and if I rehash my most famous and overdone characters.
Joking aside they left me in awe with how good simplicity can be and I will be happy to scratch them off my mental list entitled: See Them Before They Die.
In that way, they share a spot with B.B. King, Weird Al, The Presidents of the United States of America, and Violent Femmes.*

*Footnote: In most instances, folks make the list without me knowing they should have been on it until after they've been seen. Currently Neil Young is the top act not viewed yet.

Weird Al Yankovic "Straight Outta Lynwood Tour" BZN, MT, 9/9/07

So I have to say, "Holy Shit."
HOLY SHIT.
There I said it. I don't think growing up it ever occurred to me that I might ever see Weird Al in concert. Ever. When I found out he was coming to town, I decided to go. Even better, my girlfriend bought the tickets. I was more stoked to see this show than any of the other 5 previous concerts I'd been to: BB King, Violent Femmes, Green Day, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Banyan. And the one pending concert: White Stripes.
I had no idea what to expect. What's more I heard from the local producer (a business acquaintance) that Weird Al usually plays for sit down shows and this was set up more like a regular rock show (see Green Day), I was intrigued.
The show was a multimedia blend of old favorites and new stuff I'd never heard in the last five years. Not multimedia like a U2 show, but in-between medleys, Al would leave the stage and play both clips from his "interviews" on YTV, and clips of the general entertainment detritus that people find to be entertainment (sic (I love that)). And then there were confetti explosions and then Weird Al would do full costume changes including wearing the suit for "Fat." No lip-sync. No overt (stress double underline OVERT) political mumbo jumbo about war or starving or debt relief or AIDS messages either for against.
All in all I was just plain entertained. The only short comings were I figured out why after 2.75 hours why they play sit-down shows: all the video interstitials make standing hurt a bit. The other was that the show was in a formerly-open-building-turned-hockey-rink-at-the-fairgrouds. So corrugated metal is not so good. But others said the show sounded fine if you had ear protection to filter out the metal reverb.
Lastly the part I hated about the show was that I had to put chairs away and sweep the floor... and I hadn't even volunteered.
Payoff:
Press the flesh.
And The Pizza Show Ltd Ed DVD showed up on a certain Al's bus.