The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson Live

The Thursday Morning “Nobody-Asked-Me-To, But-Here-I-Go-Anyway” Concert Review – TV’s Craig Ferguson.

(Or, “Why I Will Never Be A Professional Concert Reviewer…”)

Here’s the challenge. With a music act, your review can recount the songs the artist(s) performs, while making filler comments about the sound-mix or use of tremolo by the lead vocalist. With a stand-up act, you just can’t relay how friggin’ hilarious the jokes are without giving away the farm for anyone that might see the performer after reading the review. You can’t go on at length commenting about how he poked fun at his time growing up in Scotland, and you especially can’t mention any of the punch-lines. That would be bad form, even for this space. But you just ache to, because the routines were SOOO funny!

Craig Ferguson is hands-down the funniest guy hosting a late- nite TV talk show. His monologues are untouchable by any of his competitors, and his sketches are typically hilarious. Most of all, his lip-synch routines to popular songs (embedded with recurring puppet friends – hey, who are we as mere mortal viewers to judge?) – simply crack me up. Doing his stand-up act live in concert, you are lucky enough to get a blend of many of his popular late nite bits along with scathing observational humour. Not so lucky – your sides and cheeks, which feel like they have been extras in a slasher film after laughing so goddam hard for an hour.

Weighing in on topics like Charlie Sheen’s Christmas Day arrest for (alleged) domestic violence, Kevin Costner’s long-forgotten sex scandal, and even (cautiously) the more recent indiscretions of that gap-toothed gentleman from Worldwide Pants, his mind moves at about the speed of light, so fast at times you can’t even straighten back up from doubling over to keep following along.

We were treated to his Larry King impression, glancing blows at the current late-nite brouhaha, and Don Rickles-like ribbing of everyone from Kate Winslet to your average Brit and German.

So fast does that mind of his work, he often got acres away from his topic, before stopping to admit that he had to get back to telling the joke he had originally intended to tell.

For my money, the funniest parts of his Late Late Show are the lip-syncs to pop songs, and that’s how he closed off the show last night, complete with some familiar faces, as you can see from the attached pics. Sadly, no puppets (we missed you, Mr. Wavey), but who can complain when you see three grown men writhing away enthusiastically onstage to the sinful pulsating rhythms of “Oops I Did It Again”. Terrific fun!

I should mention one glaring difference from his TV show – he does perform a bit on the blue side. OK, a lot on the blue side. Who cares? Funny is funny.

Opening act (local fav) Jebb Fink put forward a great little set, admirable in that he had just been sacked in the latest round of CITY-TV layoffs, getting his walking papers just yesterday or the day before. He’s got a great read on the human condition, and draws the audience right in to his act.

Randy Kagan, who up until recently has been a Late Late Show writer in addition to Mr. Ferguson’s regular opener, did a set that came off as a bit rusty (he get strolling back to read notes), but funny nonetheless.

Ooh la la!! A great night out!! Check out this show if it rolls through your own city. I damn-near had to change my Depends at one point – but that could just be me…

Chow for now!!