CD Review
Keith Lowell Jensen: Elf Orgy
3 stars (out of 5)
Keith Lowell Jensen’s comedy has a relaxed pace that lets his ideas float out and do their work by themselves. This set has much to do with being a father and is matured with the zen-like attitude some parents attain when dealing with a child, so Lowell doesn’t cry over spilled milk, nor does he cry over the insane world filled with places that “should be called Murder Park.” He methodically carves through his experiences maintaining his distance from the hysterical front line of taking everything in America 100 percent seriously.
Elf Orgy, as the title suggests, is not exclusively about parenting. Jensen provides a border to border evaluation of Oregon, during which he states “Portland is my Mecca, I bow to it five times a day when I hear the NPR call signs.” Because of his laid-back attitude and metropolitan allegiance the absurd people and road signs he encounters seem that much more ridiculous.
Perhaps Lowell’s method of coaxing the audience towards his docile place of perception leaves the listener hoping for a little more firepower. The set very well may be formed entirely from the personal happenstance of his life which perhaps leaves us wanting something more dramatic.
Much of Jensen’s opinions on parenting have to do with his liberal world view and well, basic humanity. When recounting a conversation he had with someone that thought he should be hitting his kid, he said “Let’s raise one generation with the crazy notion that they can solve problems with words and if shit doesn’t get drastically better than I give up and you can beat the fuck out of the next batch.” This is the type of insight you can expect if you give Elf Orgy a spin.
