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Stephen Lynch - Live at The El Rey
Comedy guitarist brings the funny live
The Show
Stand-up comedy's fallen to some real low points lately, after the '90s brought us superstars like Jerry Seinfeld and Tim Allen, among others. Sure, Dave Attell and Lewis Black are still out there, but for the most part, it's a comedy wasteland. Just when you're about to give up on stand-up though, a new guy arrives on the scene, and brings hope. Stephen Lynch is just that guy. Armed with some of the sickest songs you've ever heard, including "A Month Dead" and "Gerbil," Lynch lulls the audience with his musical skill and good looks, and then smacks them upside the head with his twisted comedy.
This disc, Lynch's first DVD, was filmed last December at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles (thus, the name of the DVD.) His show is really more like a concert than a stand-up act, as his material is made up entirely of songs. This show is a mix of hits from his first album, "A Little Bit Special," cuts from his new release, "Superhero," and some unreleased material. Unlike comic musical acts like "Weird Al" Yankovich, Lynch's musical ability could actually get him airplay on a regular radio station... that is, if he was to drop songs like "Priest" from his repertoire. But what fun would that be?
"Live at the El Rey" brings home 17 of his songs, but the set list may leave some fans disappointed. Because of Lynch's efforts to performed a variety of his material, including new stuff, some of his most popular songs go unplayed, including "Half A Man," "HermAphrodite," and "Bowling Song." Of course, the big hits, including "Special" and "Gay" are here, but in watching the credits, as they talk to fans leaving the show, it's obvious he performed more songs, including the popular "Special Olympics." Why not include them?
Lynch sounds great and, to keep things fresh, he changed some of the lyrics and arrangements of his older songs. The audience is right there with him, heckling and singing along, creating the kind of live experience that actually improves on the album, instead of just recreating it. The stage decoration is very simple, putting all the focus on Lynch, and his occasional guest stars. There are crowd shots peppered throughout the show, giving you an idea who goes to his shows, but they aren't over-the-top, as some comedy shows do, giving the audience as much screen-time as the headliner. Note that this is not a complete concert film. It is edited for pacing, inserting title cards before each song and eliminating the breaks between songs.
The DVD
One DVD is all they needed for Lynch's entire set. I was hoping that, in addition to his live show, they could have included his Comedy Central stand-up, but it wasn't meant to be. So we get his 17-song show and a boatload of bonus features (see "The Extras"). The menus are static, but include audio clips of Lynch-ian comedy.
The Songs
Not Home
Baby
Special
Talk To Me
Priest
Grandfather
Gay
Superhero
Drink You Pretty
Craig
Taxi Driver
Love Song
For The Ladies
She Gotta Smile
Best Friends Song
Classic Rock Song
D&D
The Quality
It's a good thing that Lynch is talented, because the production crew behind this DVD had some trouble. It seems like there are several camera set-ups, but only two are able to maintain focus. Fortunately, they are the two main cameras. The rest of the angles come across soft, with very out-of-focus backgrounds. Overall, the lighting is very harsh, causing Lynch's face to glow white. The skin tones for Lynch and his guests tend toward the red, which may partially be the fault of the lighting at the show, but twice during "Best Friends Song" the lighting shifts unexpectedly, so it's likely a production error. Sadly, for a DVD, this looks like over-the-air network TV.
Considering this is a musical show though, at least it sounds good, with a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack. The audio sounds like it was captured, instead of taken from a mixing board feed, so you get the echo that's heard at a live show. The audience and stage audio are mixed well, so the show doesn't get overpowered, but he's not performing in a vacuum either.
The Extras
The extras start off on the main menu, with a commentary track from Lynch, his brother Drew and guest comic Mark Teich, though Drew doesn't seem to talk much. The commentary is relaxed as they talk about the motivation behind the DVD, explain obscure references in the songs and generally rip on Lynch. While there are some stories told, the feel is similar to a John Carpenter/Kurt Russell track, where you're sitting in on old friends watching a DVD and talking.
Once you get to the bonus feature menu, you get four more songs from the concert: "Kitten," "Gangster Cowboy," "Gary Foster" and "For Me." Three of the songs aren't really Lynch songs, but he does play guitar and sing back-up for one of them. "For Me" is a faux love song from Mark Teich, while "Gary Foster" and "Gangster Cowboy" are all-Drew Lynch efforts. They aren't bad, but pale in comparison to Lynch's songs. The very popular (and PETA unfriendly) "Kitten" is performed nicely by Lynch, Drew and Teich.
Anyone looking for rare footage of Lynch will be very happy with this disc, as you get to see him in the studio recording "Lullaby", on stage in 1997 performing "Jim Henson's Dead," and in his college sketch group, called Who Are We Kidding? Even more old Lynch is provided in the section titled Multigrain Bun, which has two songs from an older Lynch band, named Straightface. These two songs are audio only, with slowly zooming headshots of Lynch and his bandmate, Jeff Heilman.
After looking way back, the DVD comes forward, with tour content, including lyric sheets, set lists and flyers from Lynch's shows, a video tour diary and Lynch playing a trick on Teich at a show. It's all wrapped up by the unusual short film "Lynch and Teich in Brooklyn." It's simply paper cutouts of Lynch and Teich filmed at various Brooklyn locales. It's not funny, and hardly interesting. The video diary and the short film are really only for completists. Even the lyrics and set lists are essentially useless, as they are barely legible. The rest of the material is very good though, especially the old college videos. It's an excellent Lynch time capsule.
The Bottom Line
Sometimes, you'll listen to a comedian or band on CD and then watch them live and be disappointed because you saw nothing you couldn't get by listening to the album. But catch the Barenaked Ladies live, and it's an entirely different experience than listening to their album. Stephen Lynch is the same way, as his enthusiastic performance gives his already fun songs an added visual dimension and an energy you can't capture on CD. Though visually flawed, this DVD is an excellent overview of Lynch's comedy, and with the extensive (though at times pointless) extras, it's a jam-packed bargain that I can highly recommend. Just remember, though he's hilarious, he's filthy and at times so offensive, he reduced the crowd of fans in front of him to "ooh." That's impressive, but not for everyone.
Francis Rizzo III is a native Long Islander, where he works in academia. In his spare time, he enjoys watching hockey, writing and spending time with his wife, daughter and puppy.Follow him on Twitter
*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.
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