Somewhere, deep down inside all of us, there's a dormant nerd. He arises whenever his subject of choice (which could range from sports to Lord of the Rings) comes up in conversation. It's in these moments that he thrives, spewing all sort of useless knowledge out to an audience that cares about half of what it is hearing.

On some rare occasions, you'll get a nerd in a room full of people who appreciate him, and what transpires is either a thing of beauty or a sad commentary on our culture. I'm still not sure which of these labels can be affixed to Brian Posehn, the self-professed nerd whose standup comedy is captured on Live in: Nerd Rage, but what I do know is that it's hilarious.

Posehn is "that guy" from Mr. Show and Just Shoot Me!, but his ability to blend with other comedians in a television show shouldn't detract from his marquee-worthy talent. He immediately outs himself as a nerd - specifically, a metal nerd who realized long ago that he was the last person rockers wanted as their biggest fan.

Nerd though he may be, Posehn managed to attach himself to a pretty woman, and his wife is the subject of some of his best jokes. He levels with the audience when he ponders whether people will wonder how he won her over when they are both old, telling them that if they get upset at mentions of octogenarian sex, they'd better be ready for far worse. The "worse" the subjects get, though, the better the comedy is.

Like Patton Oswalt, whom he has toured with as part of the Comedians of Comedy, Posehn is unblinkingly vulgar, and he jokes frankly about sex (both in the solo and with-partner varieties), marriage, and the comedy standards. But, as the title of the album would suggest, it's his nerdy side that takes the cake. There are more "what did he just say" moments than you can count, from his claim that old Jewish women and Mexican babies ruin movies to his professional opinion of riot footage.

Posehn uses the fact that he has a CD as a chance to exorcise his metal demons, tacking two musical numbers, "Metal by Numbers" and "Try Again, Again." The first is a hilarious breakdown of what goes into a metal song; the second, a skewering of the Metallica style of rock. The songs are so off the drummed path that even those of us who aren't metal nerds can appreciate the entertainment.

My fellow blogcritic Steve Carlson said it much better than I ever could have when he said "Between what he jokes about and how he jokes about it, there's a sense of constant surprise in Posehn's humor, of never quite knowing what you'll hear next. As I value the unpredictable in humor, I'm very happy with Posehn's stand-up."

To that I can only say "rock on, brother." Posehn is so funny, so consistently, that there is very little you can criticize about him. All you can do is tell everyone who reads to get their hands on Live in: Nerd Rage and prepare to laugh your head off.