Heidecker and Hamburger disappoint at Starlight

Taking the time out to watch Tim Heidecker and Neil Hamburger was the only joke on my Thursday night.

Prior to the event, I had done some research on both comedians and kept an open mind on my way to the venue — giving them the benefit of the doubt of being better live. Upon reaching the venue, I found myself waiting for some time before the show even began.

In order to make time go a little faster, eavesdropping was a viable solution. I also did this to get a gauge for the crowd in the dark, smoky room. Overall, it seemed to be a pretty laidback atmosphere of recent university graduates sprinkled with married couples. As for topics of conversation, none seemed to be about the comedians themselves.

Eventually, the show began, the crowd seemed a little tipsy and I desperately wished I was too. Over the two hours that followed, I would have rather written a physics exam than have sat and listened to nonsensical “jokes.”

First on stage was Tim Heidecker, stumbling out and intentionally dropping the mic as if he were trying to catch water.

The act began with Heidecker making shallow jokes about Waterloo, Canada and the names of audience members. What else is new? In the latter half of the show, he went over marital problems, which really only felt like a way for him to vent out his frustrations. Also, an uncreative way to swear.

As for the crowd, I was sitting right beside the real MVPs: the hecklers.

Drunkenly echoing Heidecker, this added some entertainment value to the show. For the most part of the evening, Heidecker’s only reaction to this was unsurprisingly yelling an uncreative combination of profanity.

Barely smirking, I was really hoping the second act would be a little better. I was sadly mistaken.

For the second act, Neil Hamburger graced the audience with his “knock knock” jokes. Yes, you read that correctly. A show intended for a crowd over 19 years of age incorporated “knock knock” jokes.

The majority of Hamburger’s content seemed like teenage angst — jokes directed towards the same people in the entertainment industry. In a nutshell, the act found ways to insult the same four people through the same set up:

“Why did Ozzy Osbourne bite the head off a chicken? Because his wife was a bad cook.”

The evening eventually came to an end and approximately 70 per cent of the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves, but I had a hard time wrapping my head around people paying $30 for a ticket. Leaving the event with barely a chuckle, I was happy to have ended my night with a slice of pizza.

https://twitter.com/timheidecker/status/706130932982550528