Stand-up comedians Tony Blanco and James Fritz caught the Saturday night Doug Stanhope revue at the Lakeshore Theater this past weekend, and wrote in to tell us about it. Local legend Brian Potrafka opened for Stanhope.

Notes in italics are Fritz's remarks; roman is Blanco.

(twas fun.)

Very strange. (Nah. Blanco's strange.) The intro five or six comedians were mostly people I'm unfamiliar with but it was curious to see so many Virginia Tech jokes one right after another. One standout included Brian Potrafka totally taking turns weirding out the crowd and then blowing them away. One minute it's a very dark, purposefully banal and generic take on being a stand up comedian, then come the perhaps too soon V.T. stabs (Too soon? Oh look everybody! Katrina made Tony sensitive!) but he brings it all back to a place where everyone can feel safe and smart (I felt stupid and threatened) , telling silly riddles with obvious punchlines. He ended the set with one of my favorite closers in Chicago comedy so i don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Also bleeding through among the endless train of opening acts (Sounds like you had a good time) , Scary Monster, an old school boogeyman comedian laden with jokes about being "in the closet."

Stanhope comes out and does a weird bit about the way some guy pronounces his name and I didn't get it. Neither did most of the rest of the audience. (Lies! He was talking about Bears kicker Robbie Gould. Tony hates sports because he's an "intellectual.") Stanhope acknowledged his poor opener with a quip (Quip? Really?) about never opening well and a mention of how he needs to be more drunk before he can be funny. (My brain says that to me every day.) Later in his act, the concept of being funny when drunk becomes a great source for several minutes of meta-humor about the nature of comedy and recovery in between shots from a well positioned gigantic bottle of Yeag. He talked about all sorts of things, hating Jews, Don Imus, having ugly children and especially how our freedoms are being taken away. Did i mention he is a Libertarian Candidate for President? (Hillary nomination = instant vote for Doug from me) He's very funny and open, and I can totally see his appeal among the room full of my jaded peers laughing with Doug at the world that's falling apart all around us. (Tony, a born-again ex-smoker, failed to mention that Doug made a smoking section onstage, 4 chairs and an ashtray, so smokers in the audience wouldn't have to watch him chain-smoke for an hour and a half in pain. It was a noble gesture, indicative of his inclusive nature. I thought it was a damn cool thing to do. As great as Saturday's show was, I wish I could've seen Friday's. At one point Stanhope was onstage, in a trash can, wrapped in a urine-soaked American flag, announcing his candidacy. Also, management at the Lakeshore Theatre seems awesome. Like they actually enjoy stand-up comedy. Novel concept.)

Fifteen Dollars Well Spent. (Damn straight. Stanhope's the best comedian alive and working right now. Go see him every chance you get.)

Doug Stanhope will return to the Lakeshore Theater with his Unbookable miscreants May 18 and June 22.