a night with Mr T

a couple of weeks ago my good friend b. and i were hanging out drinking a few beers and bullshitting.  it's what we do.  he asked me if i wanted to see the comedian Christopher Titus.  i said hell yes.  i remember Titus eponymous sitcom from the early 2000s, co-starring stacy keach as the comedian's abusive, alcoholic father.  that's Titus stand-up act: the fuck up high school drop-out who survived a nightmare of a childhood.  i could, on a couple of levels relate.

but i forgot about our date.  the next few weeks are gonna be packed with activities.  holiday stuff, poetry stuff, family stuff.  did you know nick will be thirteen years old next week?  that blows my mind.  i recall my own thirteenth birthday like it was, almost, yesterday.  now i have a son who has reached such a remarkable age.  so i wasn't thinking about seeing Titus at the Crest Theater tonight.  until b. called this afternoon and reminded me of our date.

my yes stayed yes.  b. went online, purchased our tix, and said he'll pick me up at 7:00.

my neighborhood is well-known in Sac.  well, the well-known part of the neighborhood begins a few streets behind mine. this is the part of Sac that is called the Fab 40s.  the Fab 40s is full of mansions on tree-lined streets and is picture-perfect.  indeed, the neighborhood is prominently featured in the movie Lady Bird [2017].  and it really gussies itself up for the holiday season.  when b. and i were settling into our seats at the Crest anna texted me a photo of the 40s.  she and nick took a long walk in the neighborhood, and. man!, the traffic, both vehicle and foot, as well as horse-drawn carriages and party buses, are crazy.

i  don't know why i wrote the previous paragraph except so the holidays matter a great deal in these parts.  downtown Sac has really lit up the past year since the new Kings Golden 1 Arena opened.  traffic and activity has increased so when b. picked me up to go see Titus he had to contend with a shitload of people and stuff and going to and fro.

the Crest Theater has been around since the 1920s.  it has wonderful inlays and lighting.  it has survived misuse and neglect.  it has survived several administrations and changing tastes.  it has survived, period.  and i hadn't been inside the theater for several years.  the Trash Film Orgy -- now no more -- a paean to cheap exploitation movies and silliness, set up shop at the Crest.  b. tells me he, and c., saw a great performance by Thomas Dolby here at the Crest.  i've seen punk shows, films, and plays at the Crest.

now i've seen Christopher Titus at the Crest.  now Titus' themes run the gamut from a thinking, angry, white trash young man to an older thinking, white trash man.  his set includes a lot of current events and politics.  and this being the year that is the start of the end of civilization as we know it, Titus talked about last year's election, the current occupant in the oval office and the general mean [both in the average, and the asshole, definitions] of the US voter.

was he funny?  Titus had his moments.  the house sound was shitty.  Titus is such a fast talker that his words often blurred together.  both b. and i shrugged our shoulders when the rest of the audience was doubled up in laughter.  Titus did nail our crazy age when he talked about the willed stupidity of the average american.  how, in an age when we all carry nearly all of human knowledge in our pack pockets, and with just a couple of mouse clicks, or taps with our fingers, we can find out about nearly almost everything, including science, history, mathematics, art, geography, and -- gulp! -- facts, can we remain so purposely stupid.

that is a good question.  one that can't be answered by a few op-eds, or stand up comedy acts.  instead, b. and i set thru Titus' performance laughing when we could.  the audience skewed toward the older spectrum.  b. and i are both 50 and we weren't the oldest dudes in the audience.  we weren't the youngest either.  but it seems the audience got their money's worth.  Christopher Titus said his hero is George Carlin.  Carlin is one of my heroes too.  in fact, i think of George Carlin as a philosopher.

and yet, Carlin took a firm stance in the shit of things.  Stevens said, reality is the base, but it is only the base.  that is the base where all good comics start from too.  the base for Titus is looser ground.  our footing is not so sure.  Titus wants to please both sides of the conflict.  Carlin knew that you can't please both sides.  i don't blame Titus.  i would like to please all sides too.  but by doing so might mean the base is built on shaky ground.

at any rate, Titus does comedy as well as he can and he can be quite funny.  his sitcom was good.  when he talks about his dysfunctional childhood and family he is hilarious.  but topical, political, comedy?  i'll leave that for others to judge.

we left the theater in good spirits.  we drove around downtown and Old Sac to see the city dressed in its nighttime finest.  Old Sac is a tourist destination but it has a few clubs and restaurants.  this time of year it has a Christmas Light Show that is quite entertaining.  downtown is quite lively and the Golden 1 Arena is pretty at night.

but Midtown is where the night life lives.  we drove thru a few club sections, such as the L St corridor and Lavender Heights.  lots and lots of young, and youngish, people out on the town.  we were tourists in our own town driving among her streets.  and then it was time to go to our respective homes, and say goodnight.