Bobbie Reviews Janeane Garofalo and Patton Oswalt at the Troubadour

On Sunday, June 24, I saw Janeane Garofalo and Patton Oswalt co-headline the Troubadour in West Hollywood on the promotional tour for their new animated movie Ratatouille. They are two of my favorite standup comics. I had seen Janeane live in Atlanta at the Punchline about a decade ago, but had never seen Patton live. The very hip and very funny Michelle Biloon opened up, along with two other openers that were so poor, I gave up trying to find out who they were on Google. They will escape being called poor by name in this review due to my ADD. They may not have been considered poor if they opened up for Dane Cook, but they were a bad fit for this show.

Michelle Biloon was a perfect match, however. From Austin, TX, Biloon is smart and edgy like her home town. She has an especially great bit about Hezbollah that is not to be missed! If you like Janeane and Patton, you should check out Michelle Biloon at www.biloon.com or http://www.myspace.com/michellebiloon.

Let me just say that as much as I LOVE Janeane and Patton, and loved the show, I will never go see comedy at the Troubadour again. Why? Because it’s not designed for comedy! It’s designed for moshing, or at the very least, head banging. When we bought the tickets online (which amounted to about $43 each after charges), I feared that there would be no place to sit in the Troubadour, having been there in the past to see bands. My husband felt sure that they would bring out tables or at least chairs for this event. But, when we arrived at the Troubadour, we discovered that I was correct. For $43 we had to stand for about 2 ½ hours in a very packed, hot room. Getting anything to drink at the bar was an impossibility, and of course, there was no food to be had. Yes, it is true that I am old (39). However, how old are the fans of Janeane and Patton? We are old enough to want our creature comforts. And, I don’t mean the Ratatouille fans.

I’m sure picking the Troubadour was a calculated move on the part of Janeane and Patton, being that it is so hip and gritty. I, however, am capable of being hip and gritty while seated and being served by waitresses. I can hate George Bush and the misogynistic American culture in air conditioning and clean restrooms. I am funny that way. I beg you Janeane and Patton, play a comedy club!




I thought Janeane was awesome. She is all tatted up now, and looked very cool, but really, really thin. I almost feel betrayed by how skinny she has become. She has practically built a career around pleading that women should not have to be stick thin, and now she is. You work in radio Janeane, why turn your back on us now? Am I taking this too personally?

That aside, her set was great. As usual, she goes on stage with a notepad full of ideas, riffing, jazz style, sharing thoughts she has on George Bush, the war, ADD, Wachovia, whatever. I love fearless comics who have no worries about being Dixie Chicked either because they really have no fear or they preach to their own choir, so there is little chance of a backlash. Zero chance of a Republican uprising at a Janeane Garofalo and Patton Oswalt concert. Even if the Republicans paid $43 for tickets, they would have left the minute they found out there were no chairs.

I love that Janeane is so free-flowing; however, I have often wondered what some of her ideas would sound like it they were given the chance to really fully formulate. She seems to be in a constant state of producing new ideas, new premises, but never seems to revisit those ideas to flush them out and take them to the next level. Whenever I watch old reruns of Janeane sets, I am often shocked at how much of what I remember of a particular bit was the attachment of my own thoughts. The bits are always shorter and smaller than I remember. Maybe her intention was to lead us to our own conclusions, but judging from Janeane’s humorous anger over the ending of the Sopranos, I’m guessing not!

Janeane Garafalo’s contribution to standup comedy cannot be questioned, as far as I am concerned. She has spoken loudly and unabashedly about women’s issues, political issues, and American life and culture in general. She said women don’t have to look a certain way, don’t have to act a certain way, and comedy doesn’t have to be a certain way. She empowered women while loosening up the art of standup. As a female standup comic, I was influenced by her immensely.



Patton closed the show, although it appeared as though they probably switch back and forth throughout the tour. They are both headliners, but Patton’s style seems to fit the closing spot best. It is so tight, it would be difficult to follow, especially by a loose, all- over- the- place style. Patton really is a comic’s comic. Not to say that he is not also an audience’s comic, but his subtle skills are so admirable that he earns a lot of props from his peers. I have always really liked Patton, but seeing him live solidified his place in my mind as an excellent craftsman.

The thing that stood out the most was how quick Patton is on his feet. He did a lot of talking to the audience, and he came up with some very funny lines off the cuff. He seemed completely comfortable talking to drunk, screaming idiots, who made no sense at all and kept leading the conversation into one tangent after another. Patton never missed a beat. He would go to crazy land, riff on the crazy person for a while, and jump back into his act without a care. There’s no way he smokes pot. I could never do that.

Patton’s subject matter included his wife pressuring him to have a baby. He said, “But we had an agreement. We were going to have an invisible baby and call it 10 hours of sleep a night.” He also talked about doing press for Ratatouille, and having to curb his cynicism and sarcasm when speaking to children. As you can imagine, he was virtually rendered speechless

Patton has taken the best of what comics like Janeane, Andy Kindler, and Zach Galifianakis do and tightened it up into well crafted set-up/punches that are virtually bullet-proof. His premises are very alternative, sometimes bizarre, but his structure is old school all the way. I am a sucker for a good punch line and Patton delivers it every time. Patton is maybe a little like Elvis in that respect. He took something that was incredible and raw and made it a little more palatable for the masses. In doing that, he not only produced a hell of an act, but he turns people on to even grittier alternative comedy in the process. I encourage you Patton to take it to the next level and bring alternative, hip comedy to places with chairs! If anyone can do it, Patton can.


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