People often talk about standups having their own comedic “voice” and, for better or worse, there are a lot of very loud ones clamoring for attention. There are those specializing in angry ranting, zany impressions or just general in-your-face energy but, while there are plenty of great comedians who fall into those categories (see Lewis Black, Maria Bamford and Katt Williams respectively), it’s always refreshing to encounter one who draws you in instead of hitting you over the head, something Tig Notaro is rather adept at. While not as well-known as she should be, despite regular appearances on “Conan” and the effusive praises of everyone from Louis C.K. to Sarah Silverman, Notaro’s quiet, unassuming style has earned her a devoted following, which came out in full force for Thursday night’s show at the Turner Hall Ballroom.
Opening up the evening was Minnesota-born funnyman Kjell Bjorgen, whose 15 minutes were pretty broad for the most part, covering things like his difficult-to-pronounce Scandinavian name and all the darndest things that kids are so fond of saying, but were punctuated by unexpected, self-consciously offensive asides, like a seasonally appropriate (inappropriate?) bit about driving drunk at the expense of trick-or-treaters, which, somewhat counter-intuitively, were the corniest parts of his otherwise entertaining set.
Soon Notaro was introduced, her first few words drowned out by an enthusiastic cheer from the crowd, which took up almost all of the half cabaret/half theater-style seating. They quickly, instinctively, piped down and Notaro began by playfully testing their patience with a joke that avoided its own punchline in favor of dryly describing the unremarkable experience of working as a temp.
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It was a clever greeting, and what followed was equally as strong, imbuing both mundane situations, like visiting her family, and challenging, personal topics, including undergoing a double mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis, with an easygoing absurdism. As solid as the material is though, it’s Notaro’s straight-faced, soft-spoken delivery that most sets her apart, full as it is with small gestures and subtle vocal inflections, the latter particularly coming to life during an extended crowd work segment that explored the finer points of successfully employing the phrase “That’s what she said.” At just over an hour, the show was reasonably substantial, but easily could have been longer without anyone in attendance complaining. Notaro may not have the loudest voice among the current crop of standup comedians, but it’s certainly one of the strongest.
