Neil Hamburger Great Moments At Di Presa's Pizza House CD

The alter ego of the Australian-born alternative comedian Gregg Turkington, the greasy-haired, stained velvet jacket-wearing Neil Hamburger's style is timing-challenged, frequently offensive to those of a sensitive disposition, and often interrupted by noisy bouts of throat clearing, sometimes into his own drink. His sense of humor is an acquired taste, relying not so much on a joke being actually funny as on its being told at all. While he's far away from the comedy mainstream, and even from its more esoteric branches, Hamburger's personality is certainly distinctive, and enables him to take his act where others, perhaps with good reason, fear to tread. This set is part of a series of releases the comedian has been issuing on the Drag City label since the mid-1990s.
Stooping to new lows within the first-minute-and-a-half, Neil Hamburger attacks Madonna, Mick Jagger and Robin Williams with great zest. Unfortunately there's no one in the audience laughing. The disc doesn't focus on Hamburger's usual stand-up routine, but acts as tour guide behind the restaurant's history, interspersed with moments of Hamburger's stand-up over the tenure of his 13-year stint as resident comedian. It's nowhere near as funny as Hamburger's usual stand-up delivery, and there's too little of that going on here. Definitely for die-hard fans only. ~ Rob Theakston