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Forget about p.c. tiptoeing around ethnicity, religion and sexual persuasion. Everything is fair game at a Lisa Lampanelli concert.
That’s precisely why thousands were on hand over the weekend to catch the foul-mouthed ultrasonic insult comic’s two packed shows at Spreckels Theatre.
I tear up just glancing over my notes, but for the life of me I can barely recall one Lisa-ism that is refined enough to share in this space.
She took swings at San Diego’s Mexican population, President Obama, gays, straights, the Navy, a certain part of her boyfriend’s body (not the one you think), blacks, whites, HBO and any name that aroused even a hint of ethnicity. Unlike joke machines, storytellers or monologue comedians Lampanelli feeds off the crowd and confronts audience members whenever possible.
People undoubtedly tip Vegas maitre d’s big bucks to land a ringside seat in hopes of being harpooned by Ms. Lampanelli’s spiked tongue. Seated in the second row at Friday’s late show, two young guys who work at Mo’s in Hillcrest became favorite targets for a torrent of gay japes.
With kamikaze precision Lampinelli licked her serrated lips, gripped the microphone, leaned forward and bellowed, “For a group of people of people who can’t multiply, where the (heck) are they coming from?”
Feet stomped, voices whooped, bodies squirmed and they remained as such throughout her one hour and forty-five minute set. As she stepped down from the stage to get closer to her prey, Lampanelli didn’t care how many cultural toes she stomped on or the number of sacred cows she butchered. She was determined to get you to laugh at yourself.
Lisa Lampanelli. (Photo by Jodette Lozano)
Instead of preaching to the choir or wagging a damnatory finger, Lampanelli’s humor unites her disciples through a side-splitting shared experience. She uses wisecracks as a cudgel to chip away at prejudice and intolerance one guffaw at a time. It’s hard to hate when you are laughing this hard.
Sadly, some of the punch lines didn’t make it up to the mezzanine; the electronic amplification system left something to be desired.
Towards the end of her set she announced that it was time to reward the most attentive and appreciative female audience member a pair of official LL panties.
Almost before she could finish the gag, one of the Mo’s boys stood to accept the coveted thong.
Scott Marks is an SDNN contributor.
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