Bonnaroo Revoo: Marc Maron and Steven Wright

Of the many comedy shows I was going to see, the three that excited me the most were Marc Maron, Steven Wright, and Judah Friedlander. For the past year, I have obsessed over WTF and Marc Maron’s neurotic form of comedy. His live show did not disappoint. He was self-deprecating and neurotic. He shared personal stories of his own drugged past; at a festival where the clouds of weed smoke permeated even the walls of the sturdiest tent. He seemed to shrink on his stool and he felt parts of the show or his routine didn’t land. His set was a mix of the polished and new; like most road shows. As a note, I have since listened to the two podcasts around Bonnaroo and listened with joy at his references to it. Marc Maron is a comedian who impressed me greatly, his awareness of his own failure brings a certain amount of audience compassion. We are with him as he feels he fails. The show was incredible; looking forward to his next trip to Laughing Skull.

Steven Wright is a modern comedy legend. His pace is slow and his humor dry. However, every word has a weight and a value. The jokes are almost all one liners and the jokes always land; if sometimes a few minutes late. If you don’t know his humor, it is hard to explain. “I wish when I was a baby, my first word was ‘quote,’ so that my last word could be ‘unquote.’” “If at first you don’t succeed then skydiving probably isn’t for you.” “I saw a bank that said “24 Hour Banking”, but I don’t have that much time.” “Imagine Pulitzer Prize Fighting.” “I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.” Whether or not this comedy is for you, I loved it and I can tell you from where I was sitting, it looked like all the other comedians came to watch him.

Enjoy,
Editor