Went to see Eddie Izzard at the Orpheum in Boston last night.
We wanted to grab some food before hand, I didn’t expect it would be so hard to find in Boston. Most of the places were either boarded up or completely packed with people. We finally picked (and by “picked”, I mean “settled on out of desperation”) a generic place called the Hub Pub, which had decent but unremarkable food, but at least was relatively empty and quiet upstairs.
After food, we walked over to the Orpheum. It’s old, and not really in a good way. The paint is peeling, the sound system is not great, and the seats have zero legroom. Our seats were not very good, either – I spent the whole show on the edge of my seat, leaning forward and to one side to peer at Izzard between the heads of the people in front of me.
The show, however, was fantastic. The combination of not-stellar audio and Eddie Izzard’s delivery occasionally made me miss a line or two, but it was a great show nonetheless. He has a rambling, stream of consciousness style to his show, branching off into asides and then eventually jumping back to the main thread. Kinda like a funnier, British version of Robin Williams. But where Robin Williams sometimes seems out of control, Eddie Izzard’s mannerisms and delivery give him the feel of a very funny guy who is slightly drunk or slightly high, trying to tell you something at a party. My face hurt a little from all the laughing.
This morning, I made this quick sketch based on one of his jokes during the show. He has a complicated lead-up to a bad pun, and when the audience groans, he’s like “fuck off – you people are saying to yourselves, ‘oh: God, Creme-Brullee, Badgers – I’ve heard *that* one a thousand times!'” Brilliant stuff.
Perhaps tonight when I get home, I’ll make a proper version of the design, and put it on VistaPrint or CafePress as actual merchandise.