Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre

Just watched this very funny Louis C.K special that had some great bits, especially near the end. Got me thinking about Louis C.K. from a technical standpoint again, as he's one of my favorites to analyze. I have trouble categorizing his worldview since there are so many angles from which he approaches his humor. Cynicism, neuroses, apathy, morality, compassion, love and petty hate are all distributed in such equal parts that it's hard to pigeonhole him as an angry comic or an awkward comic, so he achieves something greater. A fully human voice.

By setting up his persona as a highly observant but wholly ineffectual commenter, he's given himself reign to explore anything his imagination allows. His observational style transcends simplicity by how adept he is at exploring vague and abstract notions, and the vaguer they are the more specific and articulate Louis' language becomes to serve his descriptions. Louis is also a great story teller, and reminds me of Patton Oswalt in this sense, as they both explore each leg or segment of the story comically before tipping their hands as to the direction the story is going, which in turn gives the stories tremendous mileage. His ability to remain endearing by agency of dirty language and perverse delusions is a feat that somehow makes it hard for one to judge him, and it's interesting that simply through his admittance, analyzation, and acceptance of his personal flaws, the audience comes to love and accept him.

The only gripes I had with the special honestly is that I think I've simply reached critical mass with Louis C.K. I've seen Chewed Up, Shameless, Hilarious, One Night Stand, two seasons of Louie and now this. He's a fantastic comedian, so now when he cracks me up, it doesn't surprise me any more. I expect him to crack me up. Even if he re-invents himself and becomes something somehow greater, I still would expect it in the back of my mind. "Of course he'd become the greatest of all time, of course".  He's now a column kingpin of comedy, and though that may dampen the surprise and rob some steam from new specials, it's still an incredible testament to his ability, to the point where I can't ever imagine saying "I've heard enough from Louis C.K."

Last things last, I found this online, it's a bit from the performance that didn't make it into the special but it's great and it should have.

Badda bing badda boom, this was Joey GooGATS, and you learn to say it right.