Hot Pockets and Social Commentary

Patrick and I recently went to see Jim Gaffigan at the Paramount downtown. We parked at his office and walked the couple blocks down Congress to the theatre. All the trees were wrapped in white Christmas lights, all the galleries were open, and street musicians were out in force. It really made me happy to be living in Austin. We've been so focused on settling in at our jobs and buying the house, we forgot we live in one of the most awesome cities in the country.

The show was great (besides the $10 jack and coke I bought at the bar. Holy Crap!) Jim had an opening act (whose name I promptly forgot) that did quite a few jokes poking fun at religious conservatism. The crowd was a good mix of basically every age and background (like Austin in general) but it seemed like he got a great response from everyone. Jim came on and brought the house down. His timing is spot on and his character voices are hilarious. He also did a little extended take of his Hot Pocket routine from previous specials I've seen on t.v. I (along with everyone else) died laughing. Giggles are pretty infectious when you hear him sing "HoOot POckET!"


Patrick and I went out to eat at a great little Greek restaurant after the show called the Athenian. While we were waiting for our food, we were talking about the show and the crowd's reaction. Some of the opening act guy's jokes poked fun at creationism (which, really, aint that hard) and the conservative's view on education and how our country seemed like the religious backwater of westernized cultures. The crowd really responded to those jokes much more than some of his others. It made me marvel at how people were more apt to accept social commentary about taboo subjects if it was comedy. Its difficult to bring up some of the topics in open conversation that are easily razzed in jokes. I wonder if our easy acceptance of comics poking fun at sensitive subject manner is a move toward popular acceptance that such radical ideals are more often than not, ridiculous.

Of course, this coming from a crowd that rolled when a comic sang the Hot Pocket jingle... it might be a passing fancy.