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.