"We're in Theatre B!" became a loud but self-deprecating catch phrase in Chris Distefano's set. Though he's a muscly guy from New York, Distefano feels like a bit of a beaten down beta male. No one would drive him to his show that night, which was in one of the festival's least-central venues and up two flights of narrow stairs. The mother of his kid is always suspicious of him, and jealous. His dad insults him routinely. In short, life isn't easy.
Nonetheless, Distefano thrived under the weight. With all that in on his shoulders, plus a 9-year-old sitting in the second row and making everyone a little uncomfortable, Distefano was a pleasure to watch with his macho but never arrogant style.
Unfortunately, the same level of praise could not be said for Distefano's opener; though she was gorgeous, Von Decarlo wasn't very charismatic. Even though she made a disclaimer that she loves her kid and she worries about coming across negatively in her material, her set still felt more like an extensive trash-talking of her daughter than a series of thoughtfully funny observations.
Distefano's jokes about managing his problems were decently entertaining, but the best parts of his show came about from his ad libbing. Distefano's comparison of the tiny blackbox theatre to a classroom was funny, but then his crowd work with a guy that worked for Brazzers hit even harder. Discussing everything from porn marketing tactics to the porn script that the man was most proud of writing, Distefano's riffing was engaging and unapologetically dirty, which was especially impressive considering there was a child in the crowd.
Nonetheless, Distefano thrived under the weight. With all that in on his shoulders, plus a 9-year-old sitting in the second row and making everyone a little uncomfortable, Distefano was a pleasure to watch with his macho but never arrogant style.
Unfortunately, the same level of praise could not be said for Distefano's opener; though she was gorgeous, Von Decarlo wasn't very charismatic. Even though she made a disclaimer that she loves her kid and she worries about coming across negatively in her material, her set still felt more like an extensive trash-talking of her daughter than a series of thoughtfully funny observations.
Distefano's jokes about managing his problems were decently entertaining, but the best parts of his show came about from his ad libbing. Distefano's comparison of the tiny blackbox theatre to a classroom was funny, but then his crowd work with a guy that worked for Brazzers hit even harder. Discussing everything from porn marketing tactics to the porn script that the man was most proud of writing, Distefano's riffing was engaging and unapologetically dirty, which was especially impressive considering there was a child in the crowd.
