Doug Benson has been on the comedy scene for roughly 35 years. The famously stoned comedian always looks like he’s just out-smoked Snoop Dogg, Seth Rogen, and Willie Nelson combined. However, it is the open dialogue and focus on cannabis that has awarded Doug’s efforts with adoring fans.

The “Stereotypical” Stoner

Many people, especially those that don’t understand cannabis culture, could and certainly do, write Doug off as a silly pothead (they probably use much worse terms) that shouldn’t be taken seriously. And they’re half right.

Doug, as with any other comedian, shouldn’t be taken seriously. He’s on stage telling jokes. You know that, so stop taking what he or any other comics say as gospel. Their job is to simply (or not so simply) make you laugh.

On the flip side, Doug is often looked at as “too high” by mainstream standards, and not taken as a serious comedian, regardless of the fact that he’s seriously hilarious.

The Upside to His Highness

Comedians have the often painstaking job of having to make a group of strangers laugh. A key factor to a successful comedy bit is finding humor in the nuances of everyday life and presenting it comically to a group of people whose sense of humor and levels of sensitivity are completely unknown.

In today’s climate of constant outrage, the job of a comedian has become even more difficult.

Doug has the ability to find the minute details within the fine nuances that can be attributed to his understanding of what is funny and his unrestrained dives into the deepest trenches of a topic to find the humor. The latter can probably be attributed to weed, but to what degree, only Doug Benson can tell you. Either way, Doug’s comedic lashings come in the form of funny stories and one-liners that will have you keeled over in pain.

Reading Tweets

One tactic that Doug likes to use is reading to a live audience the Tweets that he receives and then commenting on them. To some people this may seem lazy or “hack” but to a fan of Doug Benson, it’s something that they’ve come to enjoy. We all have our own commentary on the stupidity we see on Social Madea (that one’s for Doug’s real fans). But to have a professional comedian fill in the blanks for you, takes it all to another level.

Fans have become so used to the format that they now tweet before the show, tagging Benson, with something that is sometimes quite funny. He then uses them as a jumping off point for him to slay the entire audience, either giving the benefit to, or at the expense of the original tweeter.

Regardless of your point of view on cannabis and the culture that surrounds it, Doug Benson and the content of his comedy is bloody priceless. And if you are against weed and don’t like Doug’s comedy, take a puff and chill out. Who knows? You may actually develop a sense of humor.

We at Comics Alive! would like to raise a bowl to one of the greatest and funniest advocates for cannabis in the world today. Cheers to you, Doug Benson. Keep up the great work! 

Check out Doug’s podcast Doug Loves Movies

Getting Doug With High is a hilarious show on YouTube that sees Doug getting high and interviewing people.

Stand-up specials can be found on Spotify and iTunes (audio), and YouTube (video, and of course, audio)

Food, family, travel and more food make up a good percentage of what Jim Gaffigan likes to cover. You may think, “well that’s pretty limited”. If you do, you couldn’t be more wrong. He’s made a career out of clean and wholesome comedy that revolves heavily around the aforementioned topics. From his stand-up comedy to his movie appearances to his own television show, Jim Gaffigan is a comedian that multiple generations can appreciate.

Gaffigan became famous several years ago for some of his comedy bits that have gone viral including Hot Pocket and McDonald’s. While the topics and content of his jokes are objectively hilarious, there are other aspects of Gaffigan’s stand-up that take him from genius joke writer to one of the top stand-ups in the world.

Style

Gaffigan sets himself apart from other comedians through a very unique approach to his comedy. By using different voices to represent different personalities he’s able to tell jokes, add characters and then respond to what he has just said.

While Jim Gaffigan uses a slew of different voices, these are just some of our favorites here at Comics Alive!

His Regular Voice acts as a narrator that tells the stories and carries the set from one bit to the next. This is very much Jim’s normal speaking voice and tends to relax the audience quickly as it comes across as being very calm and natural.

High-Pitched Jim is a responder/tag personality. Usually used as a voice of affirmation for a statement Jim has just made. Used quite frequently, a great example is in the McDonald’s bit.

R.V.J: Ever have too many McDonald’s fries? 

H.P.J: Of course not! There’s never enough.

The Shocked Whispering Female Audience Member is another fan favorite. This voice represents the audience member’s reaction. Whether outraged or underwhelmed, she always has some form of commentary.

The Italian New Yorker is a personal favorite of this Jim Gaffigan fan. Simply put, it represents the arrogant and douchey side of men.

The Every Man Comic

Why is Jim Gaffigan so likable? Jim Gaffigan is completely relatable for nearly everyone; men, women, old and young. He talks about everything and successfully avoids being even remotely offensive. From his style and content to his physical appearance, Jim Gaffigan is representative of the average citizen, while being 1000 times funnier than anyone you know.

Let’s raise a hot pocket to Jim Gaffigan and the side-splitting comedy gold he consistently unleashes on the masses!

Many of Jim’s stand-up specials can be found on Netflix.

Jim’s newest special Quality Time is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Comics Alive! is not about playing favorites, but Dave Chappelle is arguably the greatest comedian of all time. That’s not just our opinion either. Many people, comedians included, would completely agree that Chappelle is the G.O.A.T.

Dave Chappelle started on the scene when he was 14 years old and he’s been putting audiences through severe abdomen pain ever since. He is so good that even after telling Comedy Central to shove 50 million dollars up their asses, going on hiatus, having countless rumors surrounding his decision and whereabouts, and playing a handful of small shows over a number of years, he was able to bounce back as if nothing ever happened.

What we ended up with though, is another story. The Dave Chappelle we know now is a different person and performer than the one we used to know. They are both hilarious, with the differences manifesting themselves in a few ways.

Old Chappelle

Back in the day Dave Chappelle would tell funny drug stories that were playful and lighthearted. While it may have been fueled by an eagerness to fit in or win the crowd, the content and delivery was top-of-the-line and the jokes were something in which everyone could find the humor. His voice had a high pitch to it and his gangly non-threatening body type made everyone feel at ease, as if they were all in on the joke together.

Killin’ Them Softly and For What It’s Worth are still two of the very best stand-up specials ever. They are so well written and performed by Chappelle that they hold weight even today and alone could solidify his position as one of the best comedians ever.

New Chappelle

When it comes to comedy, Dave Chappelle has changed in some ways and in others he has not. He still has hilarious stories and still dominates through superior content and delivery. His bits deliver comedy gold throughout the entire setup right into the punchline. Then when you’ve gone temporarily blind and deaf from laughing so hard, he’ll add a tag that’ll have you curling into the fetal position.

What has changed though, is Dave Chappelle himself. Not just in his impressive physique or somehow deeper, raspier voice, but a far more experienced Chappelle has developed a level of cynicism and seriousness due to Hollywood’s treatment of him and other funny people. His topics range from playful to intense, but the biggest change has come from Chappelle’s attitude. He seems to longer give a fuck what the crowd or the critics think. His jokes are funny, people laugh, and ultimately that’s what comics get paid for.

He Hasn’t Changed as Much as the Audience

One of the biggest complaints we hear from comedians today, is that the audience has changed. More so on the fringe and the complainers. The internet does a lot of great things for comedy (check out the Andrew Schulz article here) but it has also given voices to people that we didn’t have to listen to years ago. Today’s “woke” culture does everything it can to find some form of hatred or discrimination in everything, even if it doesn’t exist.

For Dave Chappelle, this new revelation of outrageous outrage means something very different to him than it does to many other comics. It has not stopped him or slowed him down. In fact, Chappelle seems to be fueled by the immature behavior of those that want to call people out for old opinions, jokes, mishaps, being insensitive to others, or even worse – woke people that are offended on behalf of others. By all accounts Dave Chappelle seems to be a very friendly and caring person, but when it comes to comedy, he couldn’t care less if your feelings are hurt and he shouldn’t because he’s just telling jokes.

In the most recent special, Sticks and Stones, Chappelle addresses this idiocy and calls out the entire crowd and everyone watching at home. He does a technically terrible but delightfully accurate impression of all the people that jump on board with cancelling a famous person for something they may or may not have done many years prior. One can only hope the irony was not lost on the crowd and that the majority understand while they may not be the ones crying out, if they automatically agree without using their critical thinking skills, they could very well be perpetuating unnecessary social justice.

Regardless of the political or social climate, Dave Chappelle is a virtually unsinkable ship. He reminds us why we need to unplug from the dregs of social media and the news and just enjoy good comedy for what it is – entertainment.

Comics Alive! would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Dave Chappelle for all of the great comedy he’s put out over the years from the specials, to Chappelle’s Show, to his roles in movies. You’ve been a massive contribution to our appreciation of comedy. Cheers!

Check out Sticks & Stones and Dave Chappelle’s other comedy specials on Netflix.

Chappelle’s Show is available on Crave and individual sketches are available on YouTube.

Here’s one of Chappelle’s Show’s highest rated sketches and to many, the funniest sketch ever: https://www.snotr.com/video/3726/Dave_Chappelle

Chris Rock has had a great career of making us laugh for almost three decades. His work spans the likes of Saturday Night Live, film, his own talk show, a sitcom based on his younger years, and a number of stand-up comedy specials. At Comics Alive! we like to focus on stand-up, especially in cases where we feel that it showcases the very best a comedian has to offer.

Comedians often enjoy telling hard truths. Some find it difficult, and others find it rather easy. For Chris Rock, he finds a way to do it, make us laugh, and have us all begging for more. Rock has never had an issue with saying exactly what he means in a way that we can all understand. While he’s often controversial in what he talks about, he is not necessarily wrong in his observations.

Hard Truths

Black People vs. Ni**az (Bring the Pain – 1996)

This bit was a hard pill for many to swallow, especially in the early days of development. Trying to differentiate between two groups of the same culture without coming across as a complete monster and condemning the entire group is difficult to say the least.

What Rock was successful at with this bit was creating comedy around the differences between those that are considered normal, everyday representatives of a race and the ones that make a “bad name” for said group. The same could apply to White People vs. Trailer Trash for instance.

In essence, Rock is simply pointing out that the ignorance of not just the latter group but of those on the outside looking in, would be wrong to lump everyone together.

We NEED Bullies (Tamborine – 2018)

In yet another hard truth that most bleeding hearts can’t begin to fathom, Chris Rock points out how society has led to the ability for bullies such as Donald Trump to become president. And to do so without even an inkling of a logical policy or realistic promise to his constituents.

In our softened world, where everyone gets a participation trophy, and shaming someone is more shameful than anything else, a door that was locked with hugs and empathy was kicked clean off its hinges. A stage full of bureaucrats that happily waited their turn to spew out talking points couldn’t deal with an aggressive man from the business world that was more than willing to steamroll the competition.

People tend to forget that Trump easily won the Republican Primary and the General Election by being what most of us have not had to deal with since we were children – a big fat, loud mouthed bully. And those running against him forgot that the only thing that can take down a bully is his victims joining forces to take him down together.

My fear, as is the same with Rock, is that as we continue the charade that everyone is your friend, enemies don’t exist, and bullying and intimidation will cease if we just tell it to go away will result in the same outcome that we saw manifesting in the 2016 Presidential Election.

These are only two of the dozens, possibly hundreds of examples of Chris Rock’s true genius however, Comics Alive! strongly recommends watching all of Rock’s stand-up specials in order to truly understand exactly what makes him a comedy legend.

A few more great examples of Chris Rock’s genius:

Money’s in the Medicine – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7P4iFg048k

People Wanna Get High – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXxwOiOX0HM

Big Pharma – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQABSUtqoMc

Dead Frog also has a short list of some of his best quotes

https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/jokes/chris-rock

Comedians are by far some of the most clever people in our modern society. They make insightful observations, call us out on our shortcomings, and point out truths that we rarely want to admit to.

In Dave Chappelle’s, 2000 Killin’ Them Softly stand-up special, he riffs about Sesame Street for a few minutes. In the bit, he makes some observations that are only possible as an adult and if you are blessed with the ability to truly dissect a situation and read into its context.

He starts off by bringing to our attention how the characters bash Oscar the Grouch to his face, something we are told as children not to do to someone. Then he points out that Snuffy has the symptoms of a heroin addict, Cookie Monster’s crackhead-like obsession with those tasty little baked discs is extremely unhealthy, and the Count looks, sounds, and dresses like a pimp.

Within the short bit about everyone’s favourite, once loveable but now seemingly darker cast of characters, he drops a line that gets a minimal response from the otherwise lively crowd:

“Sesame Street is a terrible place. I wouldn’t go there if I knew the way.”

Why is this line so clever? If you refer to the thousands of times you’ve probably watched the show and sang the theme song, you’ll realize that the entire tune is simply asking for directions to this magical place.

Are you singing it right now? It’s perfectly natural if you are.

The line is considered a throwaway by the audience and plenty of other viewers over the last 20 years. However, it is a testament to the level of detail that only true masters of their craft put into their work.

The complete Killin’ Them Softly special can be seen here

The Sesame Street bit can be seen here

Nick Kroll is a shooting star. From the stage to television to film, he is well on his way to the top of Hollywood. While he does have some serious acting chops and a few dramatic roles, for the sake of being true to Comics Alive! we will stick strictly to comedy. 

I first became a fan of Nick when he played Ruxin on The League, a semi-scripted and beautifully ad-libbed show about a group of friends in a fantasy football league. Don’t get too excited though, it’s an 8-man league (childs play!). Ruxin, a sharp witted corporate attorney with a penchant for tinkering with his lineup and accusing the world of collusion, was just a minor deviation from the real Nick Kroll in comparison to some of the other eccentric roles he’s played. 

Kroll Show

Sketch comedy has never seen such interconnected characters and story lines.

A litany of oddball personas showed Kroll’s range as a diverse and dynamic actor that can submerge himself into any character, bring them to life, and even make you love the most ridiculous of them. His creations include the super douche ghost bouncer, Bobby Bottleservice, Liz, the obnoxious yet somehow likable publicist and co-owner of PubLIZity, Ref Jeff who’s just looking to lock down some plans, shy Mikey from Wheels, Ontario, and so many more. 

Accompanied by other great comedic actors such as John Mulaney, Jenny Slate, Jason Mantzoukas, and Jon Daly just to name a few, Kroll Show was three seasons of evolving storylines and character development. When it ended, I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed, but little did I know that Nick was just getting warmed up.

Live Performances

Performing live as a stand-up or even a single character can be challenging, but for Nick Kroll the challenge was accepted and then blown out of the water. Thank You Very Cool was Nick’s take on the stand-up comedy special. However, instead of simply stepping out on stage and telling jokes, he performed as four different characters from Kroll Show as well as himself. The special was breathtakingly hilarious and the way he was able to slip into character and never falter was truly impressive.

Two very lovable Kroll Show characters, Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland (charmed I sure) saw their own success with a live spin-off called Oh, Hello on Broadway. The show is no longer active but one performance featuring Steve Martin, which aired on Netflix, was perfectly imperfect. The scripted performance was only heightened by the peppering of improvisation, and the success and acclaim it received solidified Nick Kroll and John Mulaney as a comedy duo that many future funnymen and women will study and aspire to.

Big Mouth

I can’t say enough good things about this show. It’s possibly the funniest thing on TV today (Netflix actually).

The animated story of Nick Birch and best friend Andrew Glouberman loosely chronicles Nick and real life friend and co-creator, Andrew Goldberg’s childhood and adolescence. Along with a slew of characters, the show visits everything teens and pre-teens go through from puberty and sexual urges to drug and alcohol use.

Big Mouth is more relevant than any other show or anything to do with what it’s like to grow up as a normal middle class kid. It takes all the quirks, awkwardness, and emotions and personifies them using characters like Maurice, the Hormone Monster. The approach provides a coherent and relatable representation of exactly what goes on in the minds of adolescents without having to resort to voice overs or odd gimmicks.

I recommend everyone with kids watch Big Mouth and talk to them about what they may be going through. If you don’t have kids, watch it anyway. You can thank me later!

Cheers to Nick Kroll, all the laughs, and to a long and prosperous career in comedy. 

Big Mouth can be found on Netflix

Thank You Very Cool can be found on Crave

Kroll Show is available on Crave and iTunes

Check out this funny clip of Nick talking about his experience at Burning Man on the Joe Rogan Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kIzzj03cRI

Full Episode of Nick on JRE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEKvPzZLq7A&t=5998s

Anthony Jeselnik’s comedy can be summed up in one word – Ruthless! His style, content, delivery, misdirection, and “punch-in-face-lines” require a far greater explanation. Actually, they don’t need to be explained at all, simply an open mind and an understanding that he’s just kidding around. Just watch his specials, his TV show The Jeselnik Offensive, or simply any interview he’s ever had to endure.

Dark Comedy
Anthony is all about dark comedy; things people tend to think in their own twisted minds but would never dream of saying out loud. From masturbating school janitors to dropping babies, Anthony is a master at creating comedy out of absolutely horrific situations and premises. His deadpan delivery only serves to accentuate his style of dark and twisted comedy. It’s not quite for everyone, but for the people that are open to the absurd, Anthony Jeselnik’s dark humor makes him one of the best comedians working today. 

Delivery and Misdirection
The ability to lead a listener down one path, only to turn a corner into something completely unexpected is a skill very few comics learn to master. In Anthony’s case, this misdirection is entwined in every joke. Just when you think you know what he’s going to say you will find yourself continually outsmarted. After a while listeners just have to give in and allow Anthony to take them on his journey.

Punchlines
Always sharp and perfectly articulated, Anthony’s punchlines are some of the best in comedy history and the deadpan delivery makes their sting that much more intense. Since his style is based mostly on short jokes (slightly more than a one-liner) he has a litany of punchlines in every set. The approach gives him both the challenge of having to come up with more punchlines than the average comedian, and the luxury of delivering them more often and since he’s so damn funny, also being rewarded with laughter more often.

According to Joe Rogan and a number of other comics, Anthony Jeselnik is known to be one of the nicest and most genuine guys in comedy. Here at Comics Alive! we can neither deny nor confirm that statement, but we like to think it’s true.

Cheers to Anthony, all of his great work, and many more years of dark and twisted thoughts to come!

You can find Anthony’s comedy specials, Thoughts and Prayers and Fire in the Maternity Ward on Netflix.

Check out one of the most controversial clips from The Jeselnik Offensive here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLQBfmnQhG4

His Podcast The Jeselnik & Rosenthal Vanity Project can be found anywhere you listen to podcasts.

The first time you hear Mark Normand perform stand-up, you’ll probably think to yourself, “Why the hell is this guy speaking like a 1940’s sportscaster? Is that really his voice? Is he playing a character?” The answer is I don’t know, yes it is, and kind of, because Mark Normand himself is a character.

Introduced to me through the Joe Rogan Experience, Mark Normand had me laughing throughout the entire podcast. He spoke of his insane childhood in New Orleans, moving to New York to pursue a career in comedy, and the ups and downs of heavy drinking.

Mark’s style is interesting to say the least. He has a variety of one-liners, stories, and random obscenities. He speaks openly about everyone, (Jews!) sometimes to the point where he feels obligated to remind listeners that these are just jokes, and not to take them seriously. His laugh-along demeanor makes it that much easier to laugh at the absurd, comical, and ingenious jokes. Mark is just having a great time and wants everyone else to have a great time too.

Mark regularly appears on late night talk shows, doing five minute sets; something many comedians hate doing. But Mark’s comfort in the uncomfortable allows him to take his jokes, which are not conducive to the stringent guidelines of mainstream TV shows, and rework them to fit what the executives will allow. To Mark, it’s a rewarding endeavor, one that he openly admits is a verification that he belongs in the stand-up comedy world.

Sometimes Mark Normand’s quirky personality and unexpected remarks can catch talk show hosts and interviewers off guard, as they are not usually subjected to guest like him. He is especially lethal on morning shows, which produces some of his best work. The hosts tend to not do much homework on their guests, so Mark can easily answer their silly questions however he wants and throw them completely off their game.

Mark has two comedy specials, Still Got It and Don’t be Yourself. Both highlight his unique style and delivery as well as giving viewers/listeners a healthy dose of the topics and content that he likes to bring to the table. 

For an even more in-depth look at Mark Normand’s style check out Tuesdays with Stories!, a podcast co-hosted by Mark and fellow comedian Joe List. Filled with off-the-cuff comments, trivial rants, and all sorts of insane hilarity, TwS! provides a weekly long-form helping of the Mark Normand comedy stew.  

You can find Mark Normand’s comedy on YouTube and streaming platforms like Spotify.

Tuesdays with Stories! is available on Soundcloud, Apple, and several other podcast streaming sources. 

Follow him on Twitter for a daily dose of the Mark Normand treatment: https://twitter.com/marknorm

And check out our favourite clip of Mark from morning show, New Day Cleveland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkpR-dOxDog

Is he angry? I don’t know. Is he serious? Not sure about that one either. Is he funny? To absolutely mind-blowing extents. 

Bill Burr has been in the comedy scene since 1992. He’s appeared on every podcast worth noting, been on and destroyed a litany of morning shows, acted in movies and on TV, stars in his own animated series F is for Family, and has put out 10 specials/albums to date. His resume is as impressive as his ability to win, lose and win back an audience.

His style is not as cynical as legends like Bill Hicks or George Carlin, but his frustration at the absurdity of today’s world certainly is. Often, I’ll watch one of his specials and my wife will say, “He sounds just like you.” Which he does. Except Bill has the ability to make it funny and palatable for audiences.

Bill’s stand-up touches on many facets of his life including his dog, his wife, his daughter, extended family, and branches out to things like the #metoo movement, and cultural and racial differences. Normally a pasty, bald (used to be a redhead), white male would receive all kinds of flack for even mentioning the latter subjects. However, Bill Burr is so outraged by the outrage that it implodes the whole idea, all while making valid points about how we’ve gone too far in some instances.

Bill doesn’t like to hold back and he shouldn’t. Part of what he does is say the things that we’re all thinking and then he’ll turn around and point out that we’ve made it weird. He can often be heard mid-set saying, “Look how awkward it got in here!” That’s because as he tells it like it is, most people begin to cringe since they themselves are too afraid to ever say or do something that goes against social norms, no matter how ridiculous those norms might be. Not Bill. He loves ribbing the audience and pointing out their own hypocrisy.

Bill is a much needed treasure in the world of comedy, and even more necessary as the world at large becomes increasingly more politically correct.

Cheers to Bill and all of his accomplishments thus far!

Bill Burr’s comedic styling can be found pretty much everywhere and his new special, Paper Tiger is streaming on Netflix now!

Joe Rogan has been in the comedy scene for over 30 years. Starting out of Boston, he’s risen to immeasurable fame within the industry. It’s not just his comedy that has gotten him to this point, but a collection of endeavors that all have one thing in common – talking.

Joe is an orator and renaissance man. He may refer to himself as a “chimp” or a “dummy” but it is precisely that type of self criticism and lack of hubris that makes him so appealing to so many. His jobs include stand up comedy (of course), commentary for the UFC, and host of the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), one of the most popular podcasts available today.

I first saw Joe as the host of Fear Factor, which basically had him convincing people on TV to eat bull penises, lock themselves in glass cases with insects or snakes, or do death defying stunts that most viewers wouldn’t even attempt to fathom. At the time I had no idea that Joe Rogan was a stand up comedian.

It wasn’t until I saw a DVD copy of Joe Rogan: Live at a local music store that I realized what his true career was. I got it home popped it in and was blown away by his style and the content of the set. He spoke (more so yelled) about all kinds of absurdity, but it was his courage to dive into these weird topics and come out on the other side with something absolutely hilarious that provided an instantaneous appreciation for the comedic style and unapologetic nature of the content. It truly was out there.

I have since watched his other specials, seen him live, and have been an avid listener of JRE to get my daily dose of all things Joe Rogan. His drive and fearlessness has earned him incredible success at a level that grants him the ability to effectively promote other comedians. To date he’s helped many up-and-coming young comics to get the recognition they deserve. He’s established new podcasts for other comedians that wouldn’t have done it without his help and continued to entertain and educate his listeners on the inner workings of comedy.

When it comes to stand-up, the only time Joe is cynical, pessimistic, negative or whatever you want to call it, is when he’s doing his best to discredit hacks, joke thieves, “woke” journalists with an agenda, or to shed light on how selfish some of the industry pros were, back when he started.

One of the only advocates for the industry as a whole, Joe Rogan fights for what he believes in, which is his family, friends, and the right for all of us to enjoy great comedy!

Joe Rogan’s comedy specials can be found on Netflix and YouTube and the Joe Rogan Experience can be found anywhere you’d listen to podcasts.