Black Humor

I felt a little angry last night so I decided to go for a dose of “Back in Black”, and I wasn’t blasting the AC/DC classic. I saw comedian/Daily Show contributor Lewis Black, promoting his book Nothing’s Sacred, at Barnes & Noble in Chelsea. Packed with around 250 people, they couldn’t have chosen a worse Barnes & Noble for the reading; at one point, Black commented, “Thanks, everybody, for coming to test Barnes & Noble’s air conditioning… The last time I did this about a year ago, there were 100 people here and it was a lot more comfortable, so this whole popularity thing has its drawbacks.”

Black was his usual acerbic self. He apologized for not being able to speak longer, as those “corporate pricks” had to make sure everyone got their book signed. After the reading, Black took questions like, what gets you most upset? “I can’t listen to the president speak anymore because it’s just not good for my body,” he responded. Asked if he’d write another book, he said, “Simon & Schuster wants me to write a book about religion. I’m pretty sure this is the one that’s gonna get me killed. From what faction I don’t know–it’ll probably be Jews for Jesus.”

If you ever have a chance to hear Black speak, do it, since you get to see a broader range of comedy instead of just political satire. I’ll let him explain the difference: “I only like to talk about politics 20% of the time, because I think when people leave my shows they go, ‘Oh that was funny. Let me go kill myself now.’”