Laughter is the cure for many woes and there is nothing quite like a good stand-up comedy show. One of the brightest stand-up comics over the past two decades has been New York’s own Dave Attell. Born in Queens, but growing up in Rockville Centre, Attell is familiar with the Long Island comedy scene. Known for his raunchy stylings, Attell has never held anything back and his talents have been recognized by Entertainment Weekly Magazine naming him one of the “25 Funniest People in America.” Having made multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Howard Stern Show, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart among others, perhaps his most accomplished work was Comedy Central’s Insomniac with Dave Attell and The Gong Show with Dave Attell. While finding success on television helped Attell break into the mainstream, fans are still fortunate to catch the comedian in his element with stand-up gigs around North America and Friday November 21st he came home to Long Island to take on The Paramount in Huntington with his Comedy Underground show. Bringing along a list of comics to join him for the evening including Russ Meneve, Mike Vecchione, Luis J. Gomez and Jay Oakerson, it was sure to be an evening of laughter that would bring the weekend in with a bang.
As spectators took their sets on the floor, Attell hit the stage first to warm up the crowd with random jokes, covering a few topics such as the Halloween to get the mood relaxed and loose. Playing the role of MC for the night, Attell first introduce Russ Meneve. Meneve was born in Hawthorne, New Jersey but now resides in New York. He has appeared on Comedy Central Presents as well as making his rounds on late night shows. When not on stage, Meneve has worked with Tom Shillue and Ted Alexandro to successfully form The New York Comedians Coalition featuring over three comics based out of New York working to negotiate better rates for comics at several clubs in the city. He has even been listed by New York as one of “The Ten Funniest New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of” list.
Hitting the stage at the Paramount, Meneve had everyone laughing, covering topics such as his dog, cell phone earpieces, and oral sex in an electric wheelchair. Warming up the crowd, he invited Attell back onto the stage, to which Attell asked Russ a few questions to help the crowd get to know him. These questions ranged from harmless such as where he grew up and resides now to incredibly personal like what his favorite brand of lube. Certainly fun, Meneve proved why he is a comic fans should get to know.
Attell went on to introduce the next comic, Mike Vecchione. Vecchione was born in Youngstown, Ohio before moving to Florida, Pennsylvania and in 2003 New York City. Vecchione would go on to win the 2010 People’s Choice Award at the New York Comedy Festival and was a semi-finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. He has also been seen on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has had his own Comedy Central special.
Vecchione would come to the stage and immediately grabbed hold of the audience with his brand of humor. Talking about how he would never make it as a police officer, despite looking like one, he would go on to joke about the police in general. Joining him back on stage at the end of his set, Attell asked Vecchione the same line of questions he had Meneve. Feeding off one another, the two joked back and forth before Vecchione left the stage and Luis J. Gomez was invited up.
One third of the popular podcast, Legion of Skanks, Gomez is no stranger to comedy. Keeping busy, Gomez performs nightly at various clubs throughout New York City. He has appeared on MTV2’s hit series Guy Code and also been a contestant on Last Comic Standing. When not working on comedy, Gomez is also an avid MMA fan, creating a podcast on the Riotcast Network, Hammerfisting.
The crowd was completely revved up by the time Gomez came to the stage and he immediately went into why he wore a hat. With it, he looked young and youthful, without it… not so much. Going on to talk about his baby boy and pedophilia before talking about why it is better to live life without getting stabbed, Gomez had everyone’s attention. As Attell rejoined the stage, the two comedians worked the audience and got to know the room a lot better. Spending a little more time conversing with the audience, Attell called up the next comedian, Big Jay Oakerson.
Growing up in Philadelphia, PA, Oakerson left college to pursue comedy. Interestingly enough, while finding his way in comedy, he worked as a chauffeur/bouncer, strippers, escorts, and at children’s birthdays to make money. He has been seen on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and Comedy Central Presents. Alongside Gomez, he is part of the Legion of Skanks podcast and his comedy has found him opening Jägermeister Korn tour and Rock Star Energy Drink’s Mayhem Festival.
Oakerson worked the crowd up with a few quick lines then quickly drove it home with the meat of his material. He would go on to talk about how much he loves bush on women, before going into the different types of bush between the races, and talked about hypothetical sex with a male friend. From beginning to end, Oakerson had the crowd in the palm of his hand, which might be a place they would not want to touch. Oakerson would be joined by Attell who first ask the questions he asked the previous comics before inviting all the comics on the stage. With all of the comics on stage, it was time to really get to know the crowd some more. Asking about jobs, drinks of choice, who is dating who, the crowd became the focal point of the comics, which no stone was left unturned. As a last minute surprise, the group had a cake brought on stage to wish Vecchione a happy birthday with the audience singing along.
Overall, each comic a part of Dave Attell’s Comedy Underground show at The Paramount were funny as hell. Their comedy is not however for the faint of heart, but for those looking for a more late night feel and not something completely sterile, it would be in their best interest to see these comics live.
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