Stephen Lynch, 3 Balloons

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Stephen Lynch, 3 Balloons

POSTED: Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Comedy Album Review

Twice is once too much.

Stephen Lynch

3 Balloons

(What Are)

There's a pretty well-known rule in the world of musical comedy: Never put a joke in the chorus. Because choruses get repeated and jokes are rarely funny on the second go-round. Stephen Lynch breaks the rule a couple times on 3 Balloons and it's really annoying. Titties. Heh. We got it the first time. I saw Lynch open for Mitch Hedberg a few years ago; his schtick is simple and often effective in concert: angelic vocals, blissful troubadour acoustic guitar and surprisingly ornate and lewd lyrics. It's the kind of stuff that makes girls so oh you're so horrible with your odes to unkempt naughty bits ("Medieval Bush") and ugly S.O.s "You (Prettier Than)." Sober and alone, I'm having trouble getting into Lynch's silliness. He's got four "Dear Diary" songs (wherein a narrator describing a wonderful day turns out to be some doomed historical figure, Marvin Gaye, Anne Frank, etc.), but he never quite puts the sweat and smarts into it the way, say, Jonathan Coulton does. 3 Balloons was a little amusing the first time through, but I don't see any reason to own it.

Not Stephen Lynch

Posted 2009-03-25 20:45:34

For the record, Stephen did not open for Mitch Hedberg; it was a co-headline tour and they alternated who opened and who closed.  For example, at Town Hall in NYC, which was a 2-show night, Mitch closed the early show and opened the late one.

Brian Howard

Posted 2009-03-26 00:50:28

For the record, Lynch did, indeed, open for Hedberg in the Philly show referenced above. I know. I was there. Tower Theater. But hey, it's always classy to split hairs about whether your guy or the dead guy had top billing.

herbsherman

Posted 2009-03-29 12:33:36

While it isn't as solidly funny as 'The Craig Machine", I still enjoyed it. Especially the Dear Diary traacks. He doesn't pull any comedic punches in an effort for wider appeal and you have to respect that. Is "3 Baloons' alittle uneven? Yeah, but what musician you really like isn't guilty of the same thing.

Jess

Posted 2009-03-30 13:32:28

I can agree that this cd is lacking compared to others.  There are a few songs I skip over, which is unfortunate... but when it comes to his live show, everything seems to come out more hilarious and different.  I think live cds are the way to go with comedians... even musicians.

Boombastic

Posted 2009-04-03 19:27:01

Not his best effort. I enjoy his stuff but I agree and see no reason to own this.

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