CD Review
Pete Holmes: Nice Try, The Devil
4 stars (out of 5)
The most frequently noted and obvious trait of Holmes, who will soon be following Conan on TBS’ late night, is his outward exuberance and jolliness which match that of Barney the friendly purple dinosaur, without exaggeration. Holmes’ spirit animal is a golden retriever on party drugs.
Nice Try, the Devil is an uninhibited encouragement to “cash happy checks,” which means to capitalize on the absurd phenomenon of breathing by embracing life’s prompts for silliness and not being so uptight all the time. Holmes puts the microscope on little moments that are hilarious when isolated, even before he goes to work. Relentless criticism of the dog’s skeletal structure and it’s incompatibility with the arms of humans is a good example of something one probably never took the time to laugh at, but Holmes exacerbates the peculiarity of these situations until they can never be the same again.
Officially, the most awkward group exercise on the planet is conducted. The audience is left with optional homework assignments designed to put the Holmsian jumper cables of outlandish delight directly to and electrify the boredom-wrought nipples of things like telemarketer calls; instructions are given of fun phrases to flippantly rave in the shower the next day. After a demonstration of homophone intensive yelling Holmes says “If that does not unlock the safe where you keep your joy maybe lube up the dial a little bit.” His jokes remind us to be open to comedy every day, not just when we take time to check out a comic.
Holmes has an awareness of the listener’s experience, commenting on the artistic aspect of listening, how the audience member assembles the images as he presents them. This consciousness and concern for the mutual experience allows him to land his jokes with a rare immediacy and connectivity.
