Stephen Lynch Live at the Carolina Theater
getting over the flu some years ago. I had flipped the channel to Comedy Central and
there he was doing what I had thought impossible by most performers, being consistently
witty and hilarious.
After that some time went by and I was working for a movie retailer
and saw his DVD, Stephen Lynch-Live at the El Rey, come through our doors and I
immediately snagged it, brought it home and from that day it has become a staple of
entertainment for myself, my roommates and anyone who has never been to my
apartment or never heard of Stephen Lynch.
One day I came across an advertisement mentioning that he would be in my home
town of Durham, North Carolina. The moment I saw that I called everyone I knew and
let them know what I had found out. In no time we had reserved ten tickets and let the
waiting game begin. We all knew that November 5th, 2005 would be the best night of
our lives because one of the funniest and most talented people alive on earth would be in
our town, which we thought would never happen.
This was the first time I had been to the Carolina Theater and was rather impressed
with the design of the theater. Many times I have seen performances on television and
when I saw the venues I would say to myself, “I want to be one of those people going to
see a great show at such a lavish place.” Is that what I managed to get? You better
believe it!
After my friends, fiancee and myself bought our drinks and made our way into the
main area, I could not help but think once again that I was sitting in an extraordinary
place about to witness something everyone should experience, that being Stephen Lynch
live.
The curtain rose and out came nothing but a massive amount of energy. As Lynch
took the stage the feeling in the place was electric, but nowhere close to what we were
given in return. Seeing him take control of the stage was astounding. Picking up his
guitar, he took us all in not only with his songs but with his uncanny ability to play to
crowd. My roommate was the first to shout out a playful “what?” and I do not
remember the words exactly, but what I do recall was how Lynch took it, balled it up
and pitched it back to us all in a moment of pure laughter.
One thing to note about Stephen Lynch is how animated he is on stage, as well as his
incredible singing voice and mastery of not only lyrics, but his way of shocking the
audience by making us look outside of the box. Songs such as “Craig,” “Vanilla Ice
Creme,” “Down to the Old Pub,” “Superhero,” and many more are displayed in a way
that makes you go, “Oh my God I can’t believe he just said that,” and drops you to the
floor in laughter.
His songs and audience interaction takes you out of your comfort zone. In turn you
also find yourself thinking that he crosses the line of political correctness, but what he
sings about and says are so true that you can’t help but enjoy it, applaud and laugh until
it hurts.
By the end of the show my friends and I felt more than pleased with his show. For
about three days after the show my face was still sore from laughing so hard and I made
it a point to tell everyone back at my place of work how great that night was for us all.
As he finished out the night by letting us know he would be playing the lead for the
Broadway version of the Wedding Singer and closing us out with “Grow old with you,” I
was glad for him for getting out there and doing his thing, but down because I would
have to wait a long time to witness this guy work his magic on us once more.
