Comedy CD Review: Eugene Mirman's "En Garde, Society"

In case you've missed it, there's a comedy revolution brewing in New York right now. Comics like Todd Barry, Demitri Martin, and Aziz Ansari have been drawing huge audiences of hipsters and regular folk alike with satire that owes far more to the silliness and irony of Steve Martin and Eddie Izzard than to the lowbrow Comedy Central/Def Comedy Jam nonsense that's infested comedy clubs for a decade.

Among the brightest lights of the scene is Eugene Mirman, a Russian immigrant from Brooklyn who hosts the extremely popular "Invite Them Up" night in New York and also tours with indie rock bands like The Shins and Modest Mouse as an opener. Eugene's new CD "En Garde, Society!", while not perfect, gives a great glimpse into what's going on in comedy in 2006. The disc is heavy on observational humor gleaned not from the supermarket (a la Seinfeld), but from the Internet, dive bars, world travels, and politics. There's a definite generation gap that Eugene has found, as he reads emails he'd like to send, compares George W. to Chuck Norris, and wonders aloud about why "France is totally gay". The humor is unforced and very casual, and to some, it may even sound thrown together. But the jokes are sharp, especially when they point out sad truths like the extra charges for painkillers at Planned Parenthood and what that might actually mean to a teenaged decision maker: "On one hand, I won't remember my abortion, but on the other, I really want to go to Papa John's!"

Mirman's humor may be too random or biting for some, but his asides on racism, the burdens of Christian teens, Europe's derision of the US, and accidentally insulting KISS all feel very much like the best Saturday night party conversation you've ever had. Unfortunately, the comedy portion of the disc is only 35 minutes long or so, and the final 10 minutes of the disc features a skit and a not-so-funny song that end "En Garde, Society!" with a thud. Those quibbles aside, check this out, or Mirman's first CD "The Absurd Nightclub...". You may discover that it's OK to like comedy again.

Watch Austinist later today for a Eugene Mirman giveaway courtesy of Sub Pop Records.

Downland a Eugene Mirman standup MP3 here.

Photo via Sub Pop. More news on the New York comedy scene at The Apiary. We also recommend Eugene's buddy Aziz Anzari's "Shittiest Mixtape" video as an example of what's up in NYC right now.