Dave Hill started off his Bridgetown show Saturday night with the disclaimer that the name, The Dave Hill Experience, wasn’t his idea. “The name doesn’t exactly inspire confidence,” he said in his signature extreme deadpan. A highlight of Hill’s set was his version of the biblical fish and loaves story (“One of the Bible’s hottest jams”), whose prompting neither he nor most of the audience could remember as it came to an end. He also played guitar and sang a medley of classic songs, which turned into a commentary on Guitar Center’s aggressive commercials: “Guitar center—you find it anywhere else for less and we’ll fuck your grandmother.”
I thoroughly enjoyed every set (and got a lot of looks/smiles from surrounding audience members… I guess my laugh is loud), but Shalewa Sharpe’s was the most relatable to anyone navigating Tinder. Sharpe admitted to having just downloaded Tinder this year; she equated being a late adapter to arriving at a bar when they’re putting the stools on the bar top. Another hilarious observation: “My junk has been dressed for a black tie affair for the last 20-30 years,” she said. “And I keep ending up with these t-shirt dicks! I’m not doing it anymore. I’m not even fucking polo dicks anymore. A polo is just a t-shirt with an associate’s degree.”
I also enjoyed Carolyn Busa’s set about reaching her sexual peak and being completely unprepared for it. She said she’s learning to own her sexuality, but still hates the word ‘horny.’ “It doesn’t sound right coming from someone that says ‘Jeez Louise’ more than once a day,” she said.
Andrés Du Buchet delivered a Powerpoint presentation on the art of voiceover. He brought multiple audience members onstage to try their hands at gleefully bleak commercials he had written, one of which was a Burger King ad that ended with two minutes of groaning. To his credit, the dude from the audience made it about 30 seconds, which felt like forever.
Out of all the comedians at the show, I was most excited to see April Richardson. She talked about how her mom doesn’t consider her a “real” comedian, but she’s okay with it because her mom’s favorite comedians are Jeff Foxworthy and Steve Harvey. When Richardson had a show in her hometown, her mom didn’t come, saying, “You’re no Jeff Foxworthy.” Richardson rejected the audience’s pity, saying, “If my mom loved me I wouldn’t be here telling you jokes. Thanks, Donna!”
Last on the bill was Shane Mauss, whose entire set was about, no joke, Duck Dynasty: The Musical. “Why is that a thing?” he asked. “You have to understand the Venn diagram of people that like Duck Dynasty and people that like musicals. The circles do not touch.” I wish I could’ve seen the musical, but I’m sure his retelling of the experience—including accidentally insulting the director in the gift shop—was just as funny.