David Sedaris - David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall

Long time NPR satirist and Esquire columnist David Sedaris has one of the driest wits in contemporary humor. He gives a couple of "concerts" a year to test out new material, inevitably selling out his venues---to his great surprise. After all, in his own words, he has "the laziest job in the entertainment business. I just sit here and read aloud." For those unfamiliar with his work, Sedaris made his name on NPR's "Morning Edition" reading his SantaLand Diaries that described his life as an elf in a department store's Santa department.

David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall was taped in October, 2002. It features David reading from some of his best known works: this means that we get to hear about his family, his famous spats with his gay lover, and his observations about life---the three funniest being the "Stadium Buddy device", the story of the Dutch Santa Claus, and the story about how different cultures make the rooster sound. He finishes the concert with a very short Q&A session where he talks a little more about his brother's BBQ sauce business.

I've always liked the slightly off center matter-of-factness of this sort of comedy. How many people will ask taxi drivers how to makes rooster noises? How about taxi drivers in each different country? His delivery is deadpan, like Garrison Keillor. His material is a cross between Rosanne Barr and Andy Rooney. And he has the comic timing of Dave Barry.

David Sedaris is openly gay, but better yet, he doesn't make being gay the center of his comedy routine. I appreciate his sense that being gay, in and of itself, is not funny (Like Marlin says in Finding Nemo: "Common misperception---clown fish are no funnier than any other sort of fish."). His routine has always been that his observations about life are what's funny.

Unfortunately, this concert is only partially funny. The family stuff is comical, such as his sister's insistence on speaking in code while using her cordless phone, but it is certainly not bend over funny like vintage Eddie Murphy or Rowan Atkinson.

Sedaris's humor is a little more high brow and doesn't really get going until the hilarious "Stadium Pal" reading half way into the tape. If you haven't heard this piece, I won't spoil it by talking about it here. This is a classic.

His next story, the description of the Dutch Santa Claus---thin, Turkish bishop, living in Spain, sometime child abductor accompanied by 6 to 8 Black Men---is much more typical. He builds the story layer upon silly layer, revealing increasingly shocking or comical facts one after another until the listener's guffaw (or smirk) can no longer be suppressed. Such as the fact that the Dutch can't be certain if it is 6 or 8 black men, even though they've had centuries to think about it. Then until the 1950's, these 6 or 8 black men were Santa's slaves. When that became politically incorrect, these 6 or 8 black men just became Santa's "good friends". Now picture Santa visiting your house at night with 6 or 8 black men.

While his tone is not the condescension of the elite, it could be the casual indignation of the otherwise indifferent. He sounds exactly like he is reading from his own books. And it works perfectly for this kind of presentation.

My gripe about this tape is that it is not exactly typical Sedaris. What makes the mood confusing is that in the first half of the tape he talks about his family, their parrots, and his rubber handed time is Paris. It is more melancholy than funny. At the same time, the constant laugh track backing the concert is sometimes distracting---especially when his material is not necessarily funny.

If you already own some of his earlier books in audio form, then ask if it is worth $10+ to pay for 35 minutes of new material. On the other hand, if you've never heard him before, then it's worth listening to this unique voice.

I paid $11.95 at www.audible.com for the mp3 download version. It is 74 minutes long. I understand that it is available for as little as $9.95. So comparison shop at Eps before buying.