Comedy Giant Louis CK Is Coming To Buffalo

When I heard the news I couldn't believe it.  My hero Louis C.K. is coming back to Buffalo after what I hear was an amazing performance at UB last year.  (I missed it due to a conflict.)  By all accounts, he absolutely destroyed.  Some people were less than pleased about his joke about Buffalo looking like "It's closed."  But hey, we're aware that things are on their way back up here. 

He'll be back on May 14th with his "Hilarious" tour.  It will be a completely different act at Buffalo State's Rockwell Hall.  Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster.

If you aren't familiar with Louis' work, it's high-time you aquaint yourself.  Comedy Central listed him as the 98th funniest stand-up comic of all time in 2004, when Louis was still considered a relatively unknown comic.  That's saying a lot.  Ricky Gervais recently called Louis the funniest stand-up comic in America.  I think Ricky might be afraid to say that Louis is the funniest in the world. 

He began doing stand-up in 1984, at age 17.  Like most comics, things didn't go so hot, and like most comics, he stayed away from comedy for a time.  He came back two years later, this time much more prepared.  This was during that comedy boom of the late 80s and early 90s, when everyone was telling jokes about men vs. women and airplane food.  Yes, airplane food was a hotly debated topic in the early 90s.  Unlike those comedians, Louis CK had a point of view, and most importantly, talent.  He never went for an easy joke, which separated him from the rest, and has allowed him to perform over 20 years later with an always changing act while most of those comics are either unemployed or hosting an open mic night at a local bowling alley.

In the past 4 years,  Louis has really turned up the volume on his career.  In 2005 he filmed his own half-hour HBO "One Night Stand" special to enormously positive reviews.  This prompted a second special, this time an entire hour long, entitled "Shameless."  Amazingly, "Shameless" exceeded expectations, and HBO awareded him his own show entitled "Lucky Louie".  Despite being extremely well-received, the show was canceled after only one season, to great disappointment.  Louis barreled on, creating another hour long special in 2008 for Showtime, called "Chewed Up."  Yes, it was a huge success.

As I said before, this time around, Louis has material completely different from "Chewed Up."  

Louis CK has this amazing ability to take the most dirty and seemingly irreverent topics and make them completely endearing.  He's completely honest, which is a trait that he emphasizes quite a bit.  Obviously, his humor isn't for kids.  It's for adults, because it's intelligent, honest humor. 

I would tell you that Louis CK "isn't for everybody," which is something comics say when they're not funny.  But Louis CK IS for everybody.  Do yourself a service and buy tickets to see him perform this May.  You'll be glad you did.

This clip has been huge on the internet.  Enjoy.