Russell Peters Outsourced CD

A standup of East Indian descent who lives in Canada, Russell Peters has been wowing audiences live and on the net, but his fanbase shrinks once you leave the Great White North, at least that's the way it was until 2006. The Outsourced CD and DVD is his big push South and while it's wonderful to see this talented man catch a big break, he runs the risk of being lumped in with the also rising Carlos Mencia, another "minority comedian" making waves in America using racial stereotypes freely, loosely, and abundantly. While both Peters and Mencia focus on the cultural divides in North America, their plan of attack is extremely different, with Peters being a loose, free-flowing combination of Carlin and Cosby who's rarely as aggressive as Mencia's juiced-up act. Peters is much more foul-mouthed, too, exploring the fringes of good taste like Carlin at his best. Cosby is brought to mind through Peters' effortless yet engaging delivery, plus a cast of characters with kids running around and bouncing off walls while their parents deal with frayed nerves and a never-ending quest for peace and order. The closing "Somebody Gonna Get a Hurt" -- where a young Peters gets some very bad advice on how to talk back to his parents -- is the best example of this, and the routine also provides the man's big catch phrase "somebody gonna get a hurt," which is to Peters what "well excuuuuuuse me!" is to Steve Martin. The performance as a whole almost plays like an off-Broadway one-man show with every routine working together, gradually strolling to a dramatic conclusion. Riffing on race the whole way through, Outsourced's focus is narrow, but it's hilarious and a great introduction to this talented comedian. ~ David Jeffries

Audio Mixer: Emily McDonnell.

Recording information: Warfield Theater, San Francisco, CA (01/14/2006).

Editors: Tomoyuki Asakawa; Dave Highby.

Photographer: Joe Toreno.