“You know what hilarious means? Hilarious means so funny that you almost went insane when you heard that shit.” — Louis C.K.
There are very few comedy records out there that have brought me to the brink of insanity with laughter. The kind of insanity where life, the world and work just stops because I’m too focused on loosing my mind with laughter; laughter that is so hard I’m in physical pain.
Hannibal Buress: Live from Chicago is that type of record.
Buress is a comedian that comedy nerds already know, they know about his stints on SNL and 30 Rock and his current gigs on Chozen and Broad City. They know about his legendary open mics at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.
Yet, if you’re not, then this album is an amazing place to start your discovery of one of comedy’s current geniuses. (It should be noted that you could alsostart with his previous records Animal Furnace and My Name is Hannibal ).
Buress’ style is extremely conversational — this is your buddy telling you stories about getting drunk, throwing parades in New Orleans, taking Molly, going on vacations to Mexico and loosing it on time share salesmen and meeting Scarlett Johansson. While other comics will philosophize and pontificate, Buress is that dude you know, who’s just utterly hilarious and you can listen to every minute of the day.
But, what makes Buress so amazing is his delivery. Now, it might seem like the most obvious criticism to make in the history of reviewing comedy, but delivery really matters. Buress’ material is great, but the way he sets up every joke and then the way he just nails every punchline heightens the humor a hundred fold. Check out the video at the end of this review to fully grasp what we’re trying to say. Let’s just say this, every time he delivers his punchline it kills, it’s just punctuated perfectly every time.
Hannibal Buress: Live from Chicago is absolutely hilarious — it will in fact render you useless to society with laughter. So, why not just give into Hannibal Buress and let him ruin your life with one of the funniest albums you’re going to listen to this year.
Some Necessary FYI: Hannibal Buress Live From Chicago debuting on Saturday, March 29 at Midnight ET/PT. An extended and uncensored edition of the special will be available Friday, March 24 on CC: Stand-Up Direct, for fans that just can’t wait for the on-air premiere.
On April 1 the extended and uncensored edition will be available on DVD exclusively via Amazon.com and for download on iTunes, Xbox Video, Sony Entertainment Network, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu and Target. The digital album will be available via iTunes, Amazon MP3, and other major retailers on April 1.
