The second round of the Last Comic Standing semi-finals aired on Monday night, and five more contestants made it through to the next round. Thankfully, I agreed with the results this week much more than I did last week, which means save for a few mystery choices we’ve got a great top ten on our hands.
Next we saw Jerry Rocha, and again I wasn’t impressed. Why did I keep feeling like I’d heard people’s jokes before? Guy Torry followed, and apparently a lot of us know him from his movie roles and TV shows. Who? His mom? Yeah, I checked out his IMDB page and it was lengthy, but I wouldn’t say he’s very recognizable – they all looked like bit parts. Once again, the material felt old to me – and being excited about having a black president is no reason to make jokes about it. Also, he was very argumentative with the judges. Maybe that’s why they avoid criticizing sets.
I was rooting for Jacob Sirof because I dug his fedora and funky glasses. Unfortunately, I found his set disappointing. It wasn’t even that the material was old, it just wasn’t that funnier. He was funnier interacting with the judges than he was in his set. Nikki Glaser had some edgy and funny material about teen pregnancy and abortions, and I like edgy material. I found her a refreshing change from a lot of the comics we’d already seen. Taylor Williamson followed Nikki, and he had a cool, awkward way of delivering jokes that I kind of enjoyed.
I thought one of the funniest comics of the night was Mike Vecchione. The Catholic jokes had me cracking up, and I loved the segway he made when he said that instead of saying “Peace be with you” at church he says “Welcome to fight club”, then said he thought his dad was teaching him to box as a kid and then realized his dad was just beating him. Kurt Metzger was funny, as was Laurie Kilmartin, though I didn’t find Kilmartin very memorable.
One of my favorites of the night was Tommy Johnigan, who’d made it to the finals before. His bit comparing having a baby to building a shed was hilarious and fresh. Another of my favorites was Maronzio Vance. I loved his material and his delivery. This episode was really packed with a lot of funny comics – not only was James Adomian’s set funny, but the impressions he did were fantastic as well. Not only were they spot on, but they were actually funny.
Personally, I really liked Carmen Lynch. I’m sure she’s not everyone’s cup of tea, because her material is kind of dark and her delivery is awkward, but I dig her. The same goes for Brian McKim – he’s kind of weird, but he’s grown on me and now I really like him. I even like his glasses.
So who made it through? Some of the groups seemed especially packed with talent, and I knew I’d be disappointed no matter what. First James Adomian made it through, and I thought he deserved it. His set was great. Next Roy Wood Jr. moved on, which meant that Kurt Metzger and Carmen Lynch were sent packing. That was bittersweet, I liked them all. From the third group Laurie Kilmartin went through, which was a surprise. The fourth group was the hardest – both Tommy Johnigan and Brian McKim were in it, which meant one or both of them would be sent home. Tommy Johnigan made it through, and while I was happy for him and thought he deserved it I wished it didn’t have to mean that McKim was out. Finally, only Mike Vecchione and Maronzio Vance were left. I was disappointed, again, because they were two of my favorites. I wanted to see them both go through. Vance ended up making it to the next round, and I think he’ll be a great addition to the top ten.
What did you think of this episode of Last Comic Standing? Is your favorite in the top ten?
