Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Concert review: Paul Mooney / AwkQuarius Showtime taping at The Lodge

By Mike Orren

Updated 03:39 p.m., April 21, 2009

DALLAS — Only a really good comic can make you laugh when you are, ostensibly, the butt of the joke. It takes a great comic, like Paul Mooney, to maintain a demeanor and flow that keeps you laughing (howling? screaming?) for the bulk of a long, extended set.

We joined a crowd of a couple hundred who gathered at Dallas gentleman's club, The Lodge, as the audience for an AMS Pictures taping of a Showtime network special and DVD, currently titled "The Paul Mooney Project." We were told to expect a free buffet, drink specials and "potential nudity." (Not quite sure why they messed around with the "potential" part.)

I originally found out about the event, tacked on to a four-night Mooney stand at The Improv, via an email from our old pal Pikahsso, whose band AwkQuarius served as the warm-up act. (I ran into Tahiti, the other half of AwkQuarius in the restroom later and he reminded me that AMS had worked with their old band P.P.T. on a concept for a reality show.)

According to AMS, the Mooney film concept:

AMS reps told me yesterday that the special was still being shopped around cable networks, but at the gig, AMS CEO Andy Streitfeld said that it would be on Showtime, a point corroborated in the Twitter feed of stripper-cum-reality-star Leilene Steucklin, who appeared in the potential nudity portion of the show. (Take that sentence to J-school, baby!)

For a TV taping, the vibe was amazingly laid-back. Early arrivals enjoyed the Lodge buffet, and weren't forced to give up their plates at showtime as announced. Drink service continued throughout the show and nobody seemed bothered when patrons danced around the three-camera-and-crane setup to slip out to the powder room. The house lights and were up and then some, making the Lodge the brightest strip club you've ever seen before 2 AM.

AwkQuarius kicked off the show with an energetic and hardworking ten-song set. It was certainly not the optimal scene for them, as the crowd was not familiar with them and were making their way in and out throughout. But, as they always do, Pikahsso and Tahiti won everyone over with their upbeat vibe and fearless "weird' performance. I hadn't seen them perform since their PPT days, and they haven't changed a bit -- I prefer the numbers where they veer more towards funk than hip-hop, but Pikahsso also busted out a couple nice freestyle rhymes themed towards the show.

After a half-hearted pole-dancing session from some of The Lodge's finest (including the aforementioned Leilene) and some announcements from the AMS folk, Mooney took the stage to a standing ovation.

If you've seen any of Mooney's work, whether as a writer for Richard Pryor and In Living Color or as a performer on Chappelle's Show, you know that you're in for a lot of incisive racial humor -- with white people as a favorite (but nonexclusive) target. He kicked off with thoughts on the Obama presidency and continued on for about an hour and change with a sharp, well-paced performance, pausing only occasionally to accept a brow mop or a drink from one the Lodge gals.

That's not to say the show ended that soon -- it was just clear that after the "touring material" was done, Mooney shifted into a lower gear and hopped from topic to topic without as much thematic planning. In all, he went on for about two hours and forty minutes, without a break. The 67-year-old comic didn't seem winded when he asked his manager and the producers if they "had enough," but I for one was exhausted.

You can't judge Mooney's show based on the extended performance, because it was clear he was running through almost everything he could so that it could be committed to film -- the DVD extras on this one will be a doozy. But it did highlight how the one-track theme of race, racism, races, racist people and racial stereotypes can wear thin after a while. Fortunately, when he hit the home stretch, he went into a staccato setup-punchline delivery of a couple dozen classic jokes that hearkened back to old "party records."

If all you've seen is his Chappelle work, Mooney's stand-up delivery comes across as much less angry and brusque. That's not to say that the teeth aren't there, but he's more laid-back and jovial, occasionally peppering his observations with a headshake and long chuckle, giving the vibe that he's just describing the world as it is and as it amuses him -- not "doing bits." The only criticism I could add is that Mooney spends a lot of time on cultural touchstones (Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe, Sarah Vaughan) that were largely lost on the young audience in attendance.

The crowd was starting to tire by the end, with a few sneaking out during lulls, but managed an energetic closing ovation for the cameras. I'm going to be very interested to see what makes it into the final edit.

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Comments

Mike Orren Staff

Not the best video, but decent audio found on YouTube from the performance last night. VERY NSFW:

6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )