It's not unusual for the local morning radio show to throw a comedy festival, but it is rare that they do it so well.
For the second year in a row 102.1 FM morning radio duo Kramp and Adler brought in three of the hottest acts in American comedy. This year's lineup included stand up veteran and red hot podcast host Marc Maron, Kristen Schaal of "Flight of the Concords" and Daily Show fame, and Eugene Mirman who voices Gene on the just renewed Fox cartoon "Bob's Burgers."
Where some comedy festivals make the mistake of thinking booking more comedians will make their fest funnier, Kramp and Adler opt to put together a small group of complimentary comedians for what amounts to one of the more excellent nights of standup you'll ever see while avoiding disasters like comedian Bill Burr's 2006 meltdown at the Opie & Anthony comedy fest where the combination of too many people and too many comedians resulted in a heckle fest.
Why Kramp and Adler's comedy shows work is they actually resemble comedy shows and not giant rock festivals, a format that doesn't lend itself too well to any comedy and especially the offbeat approach of Friday's comedians.
The duo also kept it short and sweet as the evenings MC's, accurately noting that the crowd was there for the comedians.
Mirman opened the night with a slow burning set that poked fun at creepy Facebook ads and Tea Party slogans and recalled witnessing a huge brawl outside a bar the last time he was in Milwaukee. He pulled someone from the audience for his closing bit in which he quizzed her about speed dating at length using the voice of an alien.
The nights best performance came from Schaal who's sugar sweet delivery juxtaposed nicely with bits that included reciting a poem about her taint, and performing sex acts with kitchen ware. Her sopping wet reenactment of the iconic "Flash Dance" dance sequence in which she repeatedly had Mirman douse her with water before running into the crowd high-fiving and dancing got people roaring.
Maron, who after a lengthy standup career and a stint on the defunct Air America radio network has experienced a later career resurgence on the heels of his excellent comedy podcast WTF, delivered a marathon set reworking some bits fans of the podcast may have heard during some of his opening monologues in his signature sprawling free form style.
Where Schaal and Mirman thrived on quirk, Maron's act is soaked in a manic intensity. Often delivering his jokes while perched like a hawk on his chair at the edge of the stage, Maron covered everything from his cats indifference to his run in with an internet stalker. His self-obsessed, neurotic rants suggested a street tough Woody Allen.
All three comedians joined Kramp and Adler on stage at the end of the show making for some nice residual laughs to wrap up a great night of comedy.
While his set threatened at times to outstay its welcome, a packed Turner Ballroom laughed through the end. Maron returned after his set and sat on the edge of the stage interacting with his fans and signing T-Shirts.
