Comedy Review: Tig Notaro @ the Trocadero
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
It’s not easy to review a comedy show knowing the performer collapsed soon afterward and ended up at the hospital for a long time. Before all that, I was gonna write about how Tig Notaro is at the top of her game, comedy-wise. That she’s C.K.-ing right now, performing with such control and freedom that every little thing she does on stage is not only funny as hell, but also perfect (admittedly, in a medium that has no precise definition of perfection).
Comedy makes for a lousy social barometer.
[ 11/7 ] It’s not easy to review a comedy show knowing the performer collapsed soon afterward and ended up at the hospital for a long time. Before all that, I was gonna write about how Tig Notaro is at the top of her game, comedy-wise. That she’s C.K.-ing right now, performing with such control and freedom that every little thing she does on stage is not only funny as hell, but also perfect (admittedly, in a medium that has no precise definition of perfection).
Comedy makes for a lousy social barometer. As sure as there are progressive comics pushing the boundaries there are conservative ones securing the borders. Generally speaking, nobody should get their news from Weekend Update (or the Bell Curve, for that matter), and nobody should let a comic dictate their understanding of how the world works.
Except when it comes to Tig Notaro. As a social critic and storyteller, Tig’s miles away from the tired, easy, knuckle-draggers she unfortunately must call her peers. Her plainspoken, thoughtful, self-aware, in-the-moment style is an inspiration — for people who try to be funny and for people who try to be people. We should all be this kind and insistent. Now that Tig is on the mend, I feel confident saying that she should be Elizabeth Warren’s VP nominee.
