Inhabitants of Charlottesville may have been surprised to see a rather crude piece of art being driven through town last Monday morning, heading towards The Southern Café and Music Hall on the Downtown Mall. On the back of a flat-bed truck was a giant paper mache butt that comedian Kurt Braunohler drove all across America on his Lip Balm tour, purely for the sake of comedy, before gracing Charlottesville with the presence of his giant butt. After performing the very last show of his tour here, Braunohler said goodbye to his beloved paper mache buttocks that had traveled so far and left it at a dump somewhere in C’Ville where it probably will cause some head-scratching.
Braunohler is a comedian on the rise and has been featured in Time Out NY’s “50 Funniest New Yorkers.” He has appeared on talk shows such as “Jimmy Fallon,” “Conan” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” where he was well-received by critics. Braunohler has also made several appearances on Comedy Central and was the host of IFC’s comedy game show, “Bunk.”
However, Braunohler ditched the games and the drawing board at Comedy Central to give locals an hour of outrageous stand-up comedy at The Southern on Sept. 14. The atmosphere in the venue was electric as fans and comedy-lovers anticipated a night of escapist, therapeutic laughter. Braunohler came onstage to enthusiastic applause and with tangible energy. Braunohler hilariously recounted encounters ranged from his disastrous experience proposing to his wife on a hot air balloon — how could he have known they were her worst fear? — to the time he accidently killed three wild animals on what he called “a weird experimental 70s drive-thru zoo.”
Grim as it sounds, one of Braunohler’s most impressive comedic skills was his ability to progress from milder, relatable humor to dirty, dark and cringe-worthy humor towards the end of the show. He was able to warm up the crowd nicely at the beginning and feel out just how much dark and perverse humor he could use to elicit a response from the audience. It worked like a charm, and the audience howled at jokes that would make even Louis C.K. cringe.
On a more serious note, Braunohler transformed a night of laughter into a more serious platform for political discussion through incorporating jokes and observations about prevalent issues, including white privilege and police brutality. Using comedic talent, Braunohler highlighted issues that he finds important — something no one was expecting from the night.
Overall, Kurt Braunohler’s act more than fulfilled expectations. For fans of comedians who are able to cover a wide range of topics and apply an array comedic tactics, Kurt Braunohler should become a familiar name.
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