Shovelhead presents Boston comedians

Hello ... Shovelhead member Greg Johnson, A&S '03, hosted a night of stand-up comedy last Friday in Fulton 511, which he called "the Vegas of BC." He was joined by FNX morning show host Kenny Z, and comics LaMont Price and Tony Moschetto.

As one would imagine on a college campus, the themes were vulgar, ranging from masturbation to large-breasted women. The already drunk crowd (and some were still drinking heavily) loved the other comedians, yet anxiously awaited Greg Johnson, "the person we all came to see," as Misetta put it. And Johnson did not disappoint, even though he needs to perfect his act.

The night started with a skit recycled from the fall Shovelhead show, a television commercial for a "Freshman Myths" CD, featuring Johnson as the host. This skit, wildly popular during the fall show, once again brought the crowd to a roar, especially when Johnson admitted, "uhh ... I forgot my lines."

Kenny Z, the night's host, then came onstage, giving the crowd his brand of painfully vulgar humor. He went straight for the lowest common denominator, with his preoccupation with masturbation and the vagina. This humor was in fact, however gross and stomach-turning, very funny.

When a microphone malfunction broke his rhythm and timing, Kenny Z became noticeably upset. This microphone kept acting up well into the night, and had to be turned off completely, so that the comics had to rely on their voice alone. This malfunction was very unfair to the comics.

Next was African-American comic LaMont Price. He did not waste any time in informing us that he was black, as his racial humor was not inventive whatsoever. While he did have a couple of truly hilarious jokes, like his distrust of Aquaman, he was by far the least-liked comedian of the night. He took forever to set up his punch lines, which more often than not registered only a few laughs. He then completely lost the audience with a series of nasty homeless jokes and then followed that with a pointless gay dog joke that seemed to ramble aimlessly. He spent the rest of the night belly-laughing loudly offstage, diverting attention from the other comedians.

Tony Moschetto, who has been on Comedy Central and has his own local cable show, followed Price. He was microphone-free, leaving his hands open for more important activity, such as drinking Busch Light onstage. He was lewd and crude, yet always a professional and well-planned act. His most disgusting, but also the funniest joke, centered on his sexual obsession with breakfast. But the crowd couldn't wait for the next and final act of finalist at the Boston comedy festival, Greg Johnson.

Johnson had the benefit of localizing his humor much more than the others. His most effective repeated joke was the extension of happy hour at Mary Ann's into happy hours in a voice mimicking drunken girls - that in and of itself was a joke. Other highlights include his use of the expression "pork sword," and an examination of the use of emphasis on the word "fun." Heights columnist Johnson threatened to poke fun at the newspaper, but decided against it. Johnson also took the opportunity to show the audience his bulging and hairy belly, which recalled the numerous times during the fall show where he ended up shirtless.

On the whole, Johnson needs to perfect his routine and get his material down cold. He needed to reference a cheat sheet, which is understandable, considering the age of the comedian. He was very effective, and could get a laugh solely from his charisma. He filled the stage, pacing from end to end. Even though Johnson was in his element in Fulton 511, there is no doubt that he has the talent to have similar sucess in a larger venue outside the welcoming confines on BC. Finally, what separated him from the other comedians was the sense that he was truly excited to be there, as he laughed along with the crowd.

While he may seem self-satisfied on stage by laughing at himself, he more than makes up for it with his energetic delivery. After his performance, the audience wished him well with a send-off of applause.