Demitri Martin
On Friday night Jeanine and I were given tickets last minute to see Demitri Martin at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium. We had looked into purchasing tickets when they first went on sale, but once you added in the service and delivery fees they were more than we wanted to spend.
However thanks to the generosity of one of Jeanine’s co-workers, we were able to attend for free. The seats were excellent, giving us an unobstructed view from the bottom of the upper section.
I’d watched most of the episodes of his show, “Important Things,” when it was on Comedy Central last year and thought I had a good idea of what to expect. He used his big drawing pad and played instruments like on the show, but pulled off a much better performance. For starters, he used a laser pointer to make fun of various aspects of the room we were in (including a faux curtain built into the wall and the fact that there were two American flags on stage). Personalizing the show with this intro and various jokes about his experience in Cleveland really allowed him to connect with the audience. (“That’s Ohio”).
What really put the show over the top was the way he turned disastrous moments into their own jokes. At one point he went so far as to drag his piano stool across stage while continuing to play guitar and harmonica so he could sit low enough to speak into his mic stand that had fallen over. I guess it was maybe one of those “you had to be there to get it” kind of moments.
Regardless, I give him my highest endorsement and say make sure you see him if he comes to town.
My name is James and I've found that I spend entirely too much of my free time looking at random crap on the internet. In an attempt to make myself feel better about this, I share.