Netflix Instant Nudge: Comedy Central Presents

Let's go back to the well for this one. Go watch Big Jay Oakerson (#14 on the list) do a solid 20 minute set.

His delivery is calm, indifferent, confident, sarcastic, and consistent. It's a little bit Dave Attell, a smidgen Ron White, a splash of Robert Schimmel. And he's putting out good stuff. He throws a lot of very quick jabs into his material getting laughs along the way without breaking rhythm.

Oakerson has a following, and it's gotta be growing. He did some writing for Chappelle's Show, he has toured with Korn, performed at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, and in the last few weeks he's been jumping across the country headlining. A New York comedian, he's headed out west for some shows on that coast. He'll be at Punchline, this week in San Francisco, next week in Sacramento.

There's an interesting moment in his CC set, towards the end, where he makes a claim and someone in the audience disagrees with it unnecessarily, simply saying "No" while Oakerson's in the middle of the bit. And it's one of those ridiculous Nos that's obviously false, and not intended as an actual belief, but put out only for the sake of making a stubborn little joke. It's barely a heckle.

Oakerson brushes the comment aside, unfazed, and plows thru the bit as if the opinion didn't matter at all. He doesn't argue, pursue, or acknowledge any minimal value of the dissent. He stays in charge and does his act from his perspective. He moves so forcefully and smoothly thru it, that I probably wouldn't have noticed it if my OCD for marking each line hadn't been kicked up a notch by a pot of coffee. The word to hold on to: unfazed. That's how I'd describe his act. With all the benefits it implies.

Still. They should spray that type of audience member with a permanent dye to mark them and keep them out of any more shows.