Normally, I don’t enjoy watching stand-up comedy. I feel like I have a responsibility to laugh, and I hate responsibility, so that’s no fun.
However, I saw an Irish comedian named Tommy Tiernan on Dave Letterman the other night, and I tell you, I laughed harder than I have in months. Years, possibly. The bit which got me was when he talked about Americans who ask him, [nasal tone] “Are you going out tonight, Tommy? Are you going out? How many beers are you going to drink?”
He looked straight at the audience with a bemused expression, and said quietly, “I don’t know…” [pause] “I don’t really understand the question.” [hysterical laughter] “I couldn’t really put a number on it…let’s say, a small child full of beer.” I forced my husband to watch a clip of the routine that I found online, and he loved it too – then again, he would, since I’m always saying, “And how many beers have you had now, exactly?”
Plus, he had a lot of hilarious comments about the Church – yes, that’s Church with a capital C, just like Catholic, which I am.
You can visit Tommy at his website, and watch his routine here.