First, allow a slight detour to vent about the abysmal parking at the Tacoma Dome. The offramp from the 5 labeled Tacoma Dome? Closed. Why? Who knows... The signs directing you to the detour? Flashing lights, slow enough that you pass the intersection before seeing the arrow light up. One panic attack and a quick round of Chinese Fire Drill later, we're driving across a bridge... away from the dome... taking a long circuitous route to a parking garage. Once we finally file in, we're routed to another entrance... of the same garage. Really?! At a cost of $20, you'd think the walk to the dome wouldn't be an uphill mile... but you'd be wrong because it was. After the show, a 45-minute wait because people don't know how to exit a parking structure. You suck, Tacoma Dome.
Ok, that wasn't a slight detour... but holy hell what crappy parking. To one of the best shows I've ever seen. For those not familiar with Jeff Dunham, he's a comedic ventriloquist with an array of puppets he makes himself. There's Walter, the cranky old man who hates his wife; Achmed, the dead terrorist; Bubba J, the redneck; Jose, the jalapeno... on a stick; and Peanut... who is purple and laughs like a hyena. (Just google Peanut Jeff Dunham... I can't describe him properly).
Bella and I had actually caught some of his latest special, Controlled Chaos, the one for which he's currently touring. But last night, we were treated to a ton of his new material. Some he claimed had been written "on the bus" that day. All of it was fantastic and had us in hysterics. That doesn't include a few "Tacoma smells" jokes that were clearly ad-libbed... He was also coming up with new material on the spot... At various points, each puppet yelled off stage for Jeff's assistant, Darnell?, to "write that down!", which itself became a running joke all night...
Easily the best part, however, was watching him crack himself up at his new material... and not be able to continue. He'd recover enough to have the current puppet hassle him for screwing up the routine, but that would just crack him up more. It brings to mind one of my favorite SNL moments where Phil Hartman as Frankenstein loses his composure and has to stomp off set to avoid ruining the scene by cracking up (which apparently doesn't exist on the web). When a comedian thinks something's so funny that they can't keep a straight face... that's good stuff right there. And last night was full of it, making the night truly unique and memorable.
A (let's be honest, probably verbose) addendum: I called Jeff Dunham a comedic ventriloquist. For all I know, he may take issue with that, labeling himself a comedian whose act is mostly ventriloquism. I wouldn't quibble with that as he's funny as hell and having seen him once, will jump at the chance to do so again. But there's a point in every show, and in last night's case the end of the show, where he does what I can only describe as a ventriloquistic solo. Read on...
Last night, he closed with Peanut on his right and Jose on his left. This big finish also included a puppet... for Peanut(!!), who'd decided he was also going to be a ventriloquist. So, he's got three puppets and has written the dialog in such a way that each puppet says a word or two before another speaks right after the last. Four voices (including his own)... at the same time... makes you a ventriloquist. And a really f***ing good one.
A big NCMSW? thank you to Jeff Dunham for an amazing show.
