Mike Birbiglia @ Beacon Theatre (June 9, 2024)

This was the first time that we had seen Mike live (unlike the last two times) where it wasn't a residency sort of deal. And he brought this up during the show, commenting that some people prefer the early shows on his tours where the material is more fresh and exciting (though this has the potential downside of not being as refined). The show was billed as "One Night Only" with the title "Please Stop the Ride" - I still don't quite get that title after seeing the show, but whatever.

Since it was a tour show, he had an opening act - two in fact. First was Gary Simons, then Atsuko Okatsuka. They were both pretty decent - definitely better than the opener for Anthony Jeselnik last time out.

Neither, of course, was nearly as funny as Mike. This show was centered around his dad recently having a stroke, and also teaching his now 9-year-old daughter, Una, lessons about the good life while himself not having answers to many of the big questions. As alluded to before, it was a bit more freewheeling than his polished residency performances (with perhaps a couple of reused bits from prior releases), and he also threw in little material for the locals (as he has lived in Brooklyn for many years now). We both really enjoyed the show, and Fran laughed so hard for so long that she was crying a little bit. Mike is still at the top of his game, delivering a mix of storytelling, jokes, and life lessons in his trademark style. I look forward to seeing how the refined product turns out in the special.

Davido @ Madison Square Garden (April 17, 2024)

 

Showtime was billed at 8pm, but Fran and I arrived close to 8:20, not expecting anything to get going any time soon. The DJ started bringing on opening acts maybe 10-15 minutes later, and that lasted for about an hour before they were semi-abruptly pulled off stage. I described that whole scene as "amateur hour". At one point there were 5 or 6 guys standing behind the DJ laptops doing who-knows-what. And most of the acts, bar one, weren't very successful at getting the crowd hyped up.

Anyway, Davido came on a little after 9:30, and wrapped up a bit before 11:30. The crowd was pretty sparse when we arrived, but filled up around the time he started. Throughout his set he brought on a lot of guest performers, sometimes performing with them and other times leaving the stage altogether. A couple of those departures led to reappearances to perform songs within the crowd (once on the floor, once on the first level of seating).

I had the realization during the show that I was only familiar with maybe half of his discography, which is low for me going to see an artist's show (but I did walk out to one of his songs at our marriage reception, so I guess that's sufficient). A lot of the crowd seemed to know the lyrics to every one of his songs, in contrast to me never having even heard half of them. But there were at least a couple of songs he didn't play that I wish he would have (e.g., "Assurance").

Performance-wise... There was a live band for most of Davido's songs; though I think they just played recordings for the guests. The stage setup was modeled after the NYC subway, which made me wonder whether that was specifically for MSG or whether they reused that at other shows. There were also pyrotechnics at various points. And he had dancers that came out (somewhat randomly) for a lot of the songs.

Overall it was a fun show, but tough to give a high rating.

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Rating: 3.8/5

 

Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All @ Beacon Theatre (March 23, 2024)

Anthony Jeselnik is not for everyone. But if you appreciate his style, he's good at what he does. The only person in my NYC circle who appreciates (or at least can put up with) his style is apparently my father-in-law, Tommy.

The opener was some fast-talking lady (I forget her name), who was alright. You can imagine that her act was a bit crass, considering who she was opening up for.

Anthony's act was maybe about an hour and change (Tommy expected longer), and the material was about what you would expect from him - misdirection and one-liners. Some "targets" this time around included trans people, pregnant women, and children. He had me cringing a couple of times, when I wasn't sure if he was still on the line or a little bit over it. But you just have to remember that they are just jokes, and then you can appreciate the humor. He even had a bit where he explains his style as "gallows humor", in the process of setting up another killer joke.

All in all an enjoyable show. I can see this being another Netflix special.

Ramy Youssef: More Feelings @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (December 8, 2023)

For the second straight year, Franny surprised me with tickets to a comedy show for my birthday. And once again the show was straight fire. This time it was to see Ramy Youssef, whose TV show Ramy we had enjoyed together. This show/tour, "More Feelings" was a follow-up to his first comedy special "Feelings" (which neither of us had seen until after we saw this show). Like the TV show, the comedy show centered around his experience as an Arab American and practicing Muslim. The recent war between Israel and Hamas provided further inspiration for the new material. As I mentioned before, the show was great; his jokes were funny, and he has mastered his style of delivery even more since the first special.

A couple of additional noteworthy tidbits... His disabled friend Steve, whom we knew from a recurring appearance on the TV show, was the opening act - a pleasant surprise for us. There was also a point during Steve's act where he was describing the concept of "inspiration porn" from a disabled perspective, and asked for audience members to yell out someone who inspires them. On the second asking Fran shouted "my husband", to which I was immediately embarrassed (kinda like when she tries to start the clap after a plane lands). Thankfully Steve's on-stage reply of "Somebody hasn't been f*cked in a while" helped relieve the awkwardness. 😅

Lastly, this performance was a no-phones show (they locked up audience member phones in little bags that they unlocked afterward), so I didn't get a picture.

Kid Cudi @ Kings Theatre (October 13, 2023)

This show was billed as "Kid Cudi Presents: Cudder’s Clubhouse", an intimate and experimental performance for the fans before he goes on a legitimate tour next year. This was one of a few hastily arranged concerts (the announcement and on-sale were the week before the first show) where Cudi would go deep into his catalog, playing some songs for the first time in a while, or ever.

One particularly novel aspect of the performance is that he set up the stage like a living room of sorts, where he eventually hosted 6 fans from the crowd. He stopped at 3 different points during the performance to select the guests based on their energy and enthusiasm. He treated them to booze and weed that was set out on the table; and of course he also partook in the goodies.

The show was very interactive with the rest of the crowd as well. He paused after just about every song to introduce the next one, or tell an anecdote, or explain how he's finally happy in life, or gush about his special guest Chip tha Ripper, or gush about how great his forthcoming album INSANO will be.

Speaking of the new album, he played 3 new songs from it, and I have to agree that they were all bangers. The setlist from the show should be here, but has not been filled in at the time of publication; but the one from the first clubhouse show seems pretty similar (though longer), so you can get an idea of what he played. Some of the songs were only partially performed, so he went through more than would be played in a typical show. He included a few songs from his WZRD and Kids See Ghosts collaborations. Unfortunately I can't say that I'm a fan of most of his rock material. But the rest of it was pretty good. I suspect that I would have preferred a standard Cudi show with a more crowd-pleasing setlist, but it was still nice to hear some deep cuts (some of which I was not up to speed with); "Balmain Jeans" was a highlight for both me and Fran. I also appreciated his showmanship and smooth dance moves on the stage. Overall a solid show which Fran enjoyed as well.

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Rating: 4.0/5

Explosions in the Sky @ Kings Theatre (October 5, 2023)

I think this was my first proper Explosions in the Sky show; of the couple of times I can remember seeing them before, I think one was a festival set, and the other time I missed a significant portion of their performance. It was a nice and efficient 1.5 hour set with no encore. The light design was interesting (though unspectacular) - the illumination came almost entirely from the floor; and there was a lot of fog. In terms of music, they threw in plenty of classics alongside a couple of new cuts (see the setlist here). While my favorite songs of theirs are typically from the early part of their catalog, "It's Never Going to Stop" from the new album (End, which is actually pretty solid) was an unexpected highlight; it had a unique feel compared to their typical fare, and was interesting to see played live. If I could have made any changes, I would have swapped out "Loved Ones" for "Ten Billion People" (both from the new album). In any case, I'm still quite impressed by how cleanly they play their tunes. Strong work from the boys from Texas.

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Rating: 4.4/5

 

Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool @ Vivian Beaumont Theater (December 10, 2022)

Fran's main birthday gift to me this year was a joint celebration by going to see one of our favorite comedians, Mike Birbiglia (or Mikey B, as we call him), in his new comedy show. The show is currently in the middle of a two month run at the Lincoln Center. His last show "The New One" (which was on Broadway for a few months) centered on his experience becoming a new father. I won't give too much away, but this one continues with themes of family, health, and death. I would highly recommend it if you are a fan of Mikey B's previous work.