By April MacIntyre Mar 10, 2008, 19:41 GMT
Comic Tommy Tiernan is an up and comer in the United States, already a massive star in his native Ireland, where he has broken all Irish box office records over and again.
Tiernan already has two brilliant sets under his belt on The Letterman Show in New York. His performances have paved continued success in several American cities, including Chicago where his upcoming Comedy Central special, “Something Mental” was taped.
His observations of human nature and all its faults and foibles are well-served by his disarmingly open and nimble delivery. The energetic comedian's show is a no miss for stand up comedy lovers in the English-speaking world.
All of this can be discovered in Tiernan’s scheduled CD and DVD release “Something Mental” from Image Entertainment hitting the shelves March 11, and his televised Chicago performance of “Something Mental” scheduled March 14 on Comedy Central.
Like many Irishmen, he is a virtuoso with existential insights and bandying about a version of the printable “Feck” word that can act as noun, adjective, interjection, exclamation, or intransitive, transitive or phrasal verb.
Tiernan's path to comedy happened in the mid 1990’s in Ireland, a fertile hothouse for comedy. He was 26, “I had no career, I wasn’t being pursued and stand up suited me, I didn’t care about the money, I chose it,” Tiernan told me from his New York hotel.
From his beginnings in Galway’s GPO and Dublin’s Comedy Cellar to an early win of the ‘So You Think You’re Funny” UK Best Newcomer Award, Tommy’s reputation and popularity got him to eventually to Canada, where his sold out stand up and positive word of mouth filtered down to the States.
“I was smuggled in with some Mexicans,” quipped Tiernan. “Seriously I had a big curiosity factor and desire to come to the US, the home of stand up, and of Lenny Bruce - my Navajo grandfather.”
In “Something Mental” Tommy immediately issues a caveat to his Chi-town audience about his frequent, malleable usage of the word “f*ck” in all its glorious connotations for a hard-pressed Irishman.
When talking about his distress at the unwieldy grammatical maze of the English language, he vents his frustration of speaking a language “that doesn’t suite my soul.” Tiernan exhorts, “I’m condemned to speak in another man’s tongue, the English language is a brick wall between me and you and F*ck is my chisel!”
Tiernan’s rapid fire stream of consciousness is a ballet of the biggies: Sex, Religion, and Family, all painted in with his own experiences and observational musings.
Other than his iconic mentor, Lenny Bruce, Tiernan tells me he draws much inspiration from the late Bill Hicks, Mitch Hedberg to the modern masters like Patton Oswalt, Dave Atell and Dom Irrera. “Jackie Mason too, and even Chris Rock recently came through the UK, and he was great.”
Tiernan’s own cousin also toured with him, “Eleanor Tiernan, she s fantastic,” and he also had kind words for another female Irish comic, Deirdre O’Kane.
I asked Tommy which American comics were popular in Dublin’s robust comedy circuit. “Rich Hall, Dom (Irrera) does well, and Doug Stanhope too.”
The Comedy Central show “Something Mental” features Tiernan spilling his guts on what makes him mental about unchecked toxic optimism, America, women, children and life in general.
I asked Tommy what made him mental about Europeans.
“Europeans are arrogant and unfriendly, the continental Europeans you meet have this continual sense of superiority – but they’re entitled to it as well. I was recently in Italy and France and its gorgeous, what their cultures have created.”
And what about the United Kingdom?
“I’m not a big fan of England, it’s been raped by politeness, they’re the eunuchs of the civilized world [Laughs] . The Scots are almost Irish, they’re great, like protestant Irish and I can get by with that…”
The United States?
Other than his noted overly-caffeinated fueled “more aggressive pursuit of happiness” American tendencies, “I like being here; there really is a sense of overwhelming optimism and positive energy.”
“I can do without the sense of a constant declaration of being the “greatest country in the world, that’s a Republican thing.”
American comedy club experiences also got a bit of Tiernan’s tongue.
“I couldn’t believe the lack of respect for the comedian in some of NYC’s comedy clubs. Waitresses and customers talked, walked, shouted and clattered their way through performance after performance it was as if the performer was on the TV and not live in the room beside them.
I realize now this is a cultural habit rather than a personal slight but still at the time I couldn’t help myself shouting ‘Hey, f*ck you, you sub-literate, taco munching, diabetic lump of sh*t. These are jokes will someone please take them seriously. I didn’t travel all the way across the Atlantic to be ignored. I came here to be laughed at.’ “added Tiernan.
Tiernan is hopeful his Comedy Central special will open him up to a wider American audience. “I have 37 children back home in Ireland, so this seems like the best way to get it out there, versus being on the road all the time.”
But his wish list for performing live in the US included some cities he has yet to work: “I would love to come to Seattle and Boston, which is the 33rd county of Ireland.”
“Irish people are very loyal supporters to each other, but I want to play to Hispanic crowds, black crowds, and Jewish crowds too.
Tommy is working out new material in his new Irish tour, “Bovinity.”
“If you look up Bovinity in an urban dictionary it really means a reckless pursuit of fun, it’s a very Irish show, I’m not sure if this one will translate over here but we’ll see.”
“Something Mental” on Comedy Central Friday, March 14.Grade: A
Tommy’s CD and DVD will be available March 11 from Image Entertainment.
Tommy’s Irish Tour Dates
March 2008• 27 Vicar Street, Dublin +353 (0)1 4545533• 28 Vicar Street, Dublin +353 (0)1 4545533• 29 Vicar Street, Dublin +353 (0)1 4545533• 30 Vicar Street, Dublin +353 (0)1 4545533
April 2008• 3 Tullamore Court Hotel, Offaly 0818 719 300• 5 Dun Mhuire Theatre, Wexford 0818 719 300• 6 Dun Mhuire Theatre, Wexford 0818 719 300• 17 Carlton Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe 0818 719 300• 19 INEC, Killarney 0818 719 300• 20 INEC, Killarney 0818 719 300• 24 Slieve Russell Hotel, Cavan 0818 719 300
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