David Sedaris live at Carnegie Hall
Published May 07, 2004
David Sedaris might be the funniest man in America.
That said, this is not a musical album. Sedaris is a writer who frequently appears on National Public Radio's "This American Life." His calling card is a seeringly painful yet hilarious look at his dysfunctional family, as well as his take on cultural differences between middle America (exemplified by Raleigh, N.C.), New York, and various foreign countries.
Sedaris doesn't do stand-up. "Live at Carnegie Hall" is a series of readings from his written work. But that does not detract from the hilarity. In fact, one of the dangers of listening to his work in the car is the very real possibility that you may have to pull off the road to compose yourself after laughing so hard your eyes are closed.
I've never read one of Sedaris' books, only heard the audio adaptations. I highly recommend these audio versions, because it is Sedaris' high-pitched voice and timing that make the stories come alive. And the stories are worth hearing more than once.
"Live at Carnegie Hall" is new material, but some of the references only make sense when you know his past material from "Naked," "Me Talk Pretty One Day," "Barrel Fever" and "Holidays on Ice."
Typical of his autobiographical humor is the first selection, "Repeat after Me." In it, he visits his sister Lisa and touches on the difficulties of using your family for material. The interaction with the parrot is absolutely hilarious.
If nothing else, the CD is worth the price just to hear Sedaris' "first draft" of an introduction to an interview between Ira Glass and Terry Gross of NPR - "Why Them?"
"I first listened to National Public Radio in 1977. I was young then but saw the network for what it was and continues to be ... a conspiracy of Jews."
Lest you think Sedaris has something against Jews, he goes on to skewer the French, Germans and Dutch, and finds a strange sort of patriotic pride in the fact that blind people can hunt in Michigan.
"Who's the Chef" plays on Sedaris' experiences in France, negotiating the French language and trying to convince his boyfriend and dinner guests that his "chef" has a rubber hand.
He takes on fashion and accessories, like the "Stadium Pal," a portable catheter in a series of pieces that originally appeared in Esquire.
The climax of the tape is another examination of Christmas traditions - a theme Sedaris mined for much hilarity in the "Holidays on Ice." Here, Sedaris' acerbic wit is trained on the Dutch tradition of St. Nicholas and his band of "6 to 8 black men." Not reindeer. Not elves, but 6 to 8 "friends" who ride with the former bishop of Turkey to give candy to Dutch children in early December. He explains why the Dutch tradition would never work in America. Again, to spoil the punchline would be wrong. But it touches on the American Dream and race relations.
The bonus for those familiar with Sedaris' work is a short question and answer session at the end of the disc. Here, we learn that David's brother, known as "the Rooster" is expecting a child with his wife. This little tidbit leaves the listener assured that David will have much comedic material for years to come.
- David Sedaris live at Carnegie Hall
- Published: May 07, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Books
- Filed Under: Books: Families, Culture: Humor and Satire
- Writer: Bryan S.
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Having heard him on NPR, Sedaris' voice is exactly why I wouldn't buy this. Just totally irritating.
Well then, Nick, at least pick up his books - you can assign your own voice to his words in your head.
Too late. I can now never get that voice out of my head. If I had heard Bukowski's voice before reading him, I never would have read him, either.
Besides that, the content (maybe about the difficulty of learning French?) was more than a bit too precious and twee for my taste.
Oh, well, Nick.
I was going to say the same thing about the voice. If you've heard his voice, it is unique, and you won't be able to read it without getting that voice out of your head.
But it's your loss. Doesn't decrease my enjoyment one whit.
BTW, the "real life detective stories" is absolutely side-splitting on the tape. I don't know that reading it would have the same effect. Plus, the way he gets his sister to do all the female voices - it's just that much added humor.
Wasn't my intention to decrease your enjoyment. Just throwing in my 2 cents worth.
A few years ago, after I had expressed myself on some aspect of The Phantom Menace, my niece asked, "Uncle Steve, do you have an opinion on everything?"
I stopped to ponder the question for a moment. "Yes," I replied, "Yes, I do."
Bryan - the story you mention, oddly, is not as effective in the book as it is it hear it. I think it's as you note - the inflection of his voice as he reads it adds a dimension somehow missing in the story. However, the voices are all David - not his sister, unless you're referring to a different version of "True Detective" than I am.
If you like David's brother, I HIGHLY recommend reading his story "You Can't Kill The Rooster." His brother seems like he must have been adopted from a rural Kentucky family, he's so different. My favorite part? When his brother suggests to anyone in distress that they get themselves a "fuckit bucket," a bucket full of candy. (I'm paraphrasing, but it's close.) "When you're havin' a bad day, just get your fuckit-bucket and say, "Fuck it," and have some fuckin' candy bars." Absolutely priceless.
Damn, now I think I need to order that boxset.
Tom,
sorry I wasn't clear. I have the box set, and amy does the female voices on a whole host of stories, including the one about his lisp, for instance. She often plays the part of his mother or sister.
The reason I mentioned the Rooster is specifically because I have the tape recording of "You can't kill the rooster." And actually, amy does the voice of the Rooster on that story, as well!
Another story that really made me laugh was the story about learning about Easter in France - with the chocolate bells compared to the easter bunny that expands into a discussion of the nature of faith. I chuckle just thinking about it.
My problem is I have the box set on tape. I'm going to have to invest in a CD version so I can listen to selected parts without having to wait for the fast forward.
Cool, very intriguing, Bryan. This makes me need the box even more.
he is one of the funniest people i have have ever seen live. so much better than any comedian. as far as his voice is concerned, it can be a bit annoying at fist, however, with time, it becomes part of the story...
jack
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Great review, Bryan. I recently "found" Sedaris after years of reading about him and hearing people tell me I'd like him. Man, were they right. I've read Me Talk Pretty One Day and am in the middle of Naked right now, plus also own this recording. To really appreciate his gifts, I'd say you need to both read the stories yourself and hear his renditions of them. Each story has such rich detail that it might get overlooked in the live context.
What amazes me, story after story, is that this is all real. His family really is this weird. Someone in his house really did use the bath towels instead of toilet paper to "clean up" after using the toilet. His sister really does dress up as other people just for the fun of it. Everyone thinks their own family is weird, but the Sedaris clan is so far beyond what we've all learned to accept with our own families - this is one of the most bizarre families I've ever heard of. Seeing sister Amy on David Letterman a couple weeks back only confirms this - she may actually be much more odd than even his stories indicate.
Neat show-off fact: I've got front-row seats for Sedaris when he visits Scottsdale, AZ in June in support of his new book. Can't wait!