Digital CD Review
Andrew Ginsburg, Pumping Irony
2 stars (out of 5)
Andrew Ginsburg’s routine in Pumping Irony begins with a tangible nervousness that grates on the ears. Having never heard a routine by him before, it sounded abrasive and reminiscent of a less practiced Jerry Seinfeld. Ginsburg’s intense inflection and pitch belies the effort he puts forth in this routine by trying, too forcefully, to drive his punch lines home. Without ease in front of the crowd, Ginsburg is trying to convince the audience of his humor, rather than inform them.
Utilizing the Jewish stereotype, Ginsburg plays on it with outspoken fervor, and reminds me of my grandmother at some points (although she is Italian, but the shrillness is the same). This may be a tool to create a more conversational tone, but instead Ginsburg sounds like an old miser in the doctor’s waiting room, complaining to anyone within a seven-foot radius. This grumpy persona works with some comedians (George Carlin and Lewis Black, for instance), but for a young, attractive, BU graduate, it simply comes off as irritating.
As the routine progresses, there are glimpses of candid delivery, like when Ginsburg harps on the discomfort of using condoms. This can be because he is either so overcome with the disdain for condoms that it pushes him into sounding less theatrical, or he’s finally beginning to get comfortable on the stage. It is frustrating when he then returns to his robotic Seinfeld-voice; this takes away from how funny the routine could actually be, especially if it sounded less practiced and more natural. Despite the aforementioned, Ginsburg’s ability to bluntly point out the obvious to his audience gives his humor an edge that is appealing to the crowd. His routine is classic in that way, but his delivery leaves room for much improvement.
