Mitch Hedberg rarely ever made the top ten in people’s lists of best-known comedians, but those who had experienced any of his performances could always walk away with ten lines that needed to be shared amongst friends. Tragically, this voice was lost all too soon back in March 2005 when Hedberg passed away at the age of 37. But fortunately, we all get one more chance to experience the late Mitch Hedberg in all of his half-baked glory with the recent live album release, “Do You Believe In Gosh?”, which was originally recorded two months before his passing at the Improv in Ontario, California.
First-time listeners might want to write his material off as Steven Wright sounding stoned, but there’s a lot more depth to Hedberg than that. Hedberg’s style is chockful of short bits and one-liners (“I’m sick of ‘Soup of the Day’; it’s time we made a decision!”), often dabbling in amusing wordplay, bizarre non-sequitors (like in “The Improv Fairy Tale”) and clever observations that consistently catch the audience off-guard and always laughing. Noted for his stage fright and honesty, Hedberg regularly made jokes out of his own failed jokes, and playfully messed around with members of his audience. The fact that he would own up to bad stuff and interact with his audience only made him more endearing (“You guys know what I’m talking about? [pause] I don’t.”).
But what is most interesting about this particular album is the setting in which it was recorded. Given the understanding that it is a posthumous album, it’s worthwhile to note that the producers (one of whom was Lynn Shawcroft, Hedberg’s widow) didn’t offer the best recording from some perfect audience, which most comedy albums tend to be like. Here, certain audience members are involved from time to time, playfully heckling in between the jokes (the “Phil’ track is a fun example of this). And Hedberg is not one to just tune people out or make weak “I had your mother” jokes; he actually invites response only to drown the target out with more of his own brilliant repertoire. So though the whole effort may come across as unpolished, that fact only accenuates the hilarity.
I’m deeply appreciative for this honest aspect to the album, but what’s even better is to have witness Hedberg’s final evolution as a comedian, something most of us had not been privy to before. With his first album, “Strategic Grill Locations”, Hedberg starts off slowly, even a bit timidly, but builds it up to a terrific performance. In the second album, “Mitch All Together”, he is bolder, louder and swifter in his delivery. With “Do You Believe in Gosh?”, Hedberg’s confident voice seemed to have finally reached that point where he felt his jokes were as gold as that Improv “M” he claimed he stole. Everything works; the funny jokes are side-splitting, the bad jokes are covered by his own unique self-deprecation, and the frequent asides glue it all together for an enjoyable though bittersweet experience.
My Review: 5 out of 5
