Hannibal Buress - Animal Furnace

Hannibal has been maximizing his potential lately, touring at a frantic pace while still curating a weekly comedy night at the Brooklyn Knitting Factory. Last year's My Name Is Hannibal did a lot to get him out there on a grander scale and by the looks of Animal Furnace, we may have a new heir to the Chappelle/Rock throne.

Less pickle juice humor, but food still plays a big role in the proceeding, as do travel and dating crazy ladies. That's really just the tip of the iceberg, as cancer walks, passive robberies and Montreal and Edinburgh also figure prominently in the proceedings. There really isn't anything un-funny about Animal Furnace. Those currently possessing of working ear and eye parts should avail themselves of this link and get it with the quickness.

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Norm Macdonald - Me Doing Standup CD/DVD

There is always much celebration when anything Norm-related appears on the radar. There is, of course, the new Sports Show With Norm Macdonald. The eight show arc was pretty top-notch, hopefully to be renewed for another season. There is also the formidable Twitter presence to be enjoyed. Know that only Mssrs. Macdonald and/or Jon Wurster would suck me into that vortex of ridiculousness and that those two (ok, and Todd Barry) are worth the trip.

Comedy Central dropped a new standup special from Norm called Me Doing Standup (during a green initiative that urged people to turn off all electrical devicery) and have now dropped a CD and DVD version of the set, no doubt to mollify the tree-hugging masses. The cd is good, but you know you really want the DVD. That adds about 10 minutes, plus the Back To Norm special from a couple years back, his roasting of Bob Saget and some animated featurette. No one possessing of a working neurological system should be without Me Doing Standup. Get it here.

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Big Jay Oakerson - An American Storyteller

I stumbled upon Big Jay Oakerson through his Comedy Central special. He was sort of a super-sized Dave Attell, with a great delivery and similar tastes in sexual and scatological humor. I was pretty obsessed with that special, but lost it in a string of cable box failures and figured I'd have to charge it to the game.

Then I found An American Storyteller. Upon some investimagation, I was red-faced to realize that it had been released over a year ago. Doh! An American Storyteller is a comedy record not to be be missed. Or played in front of those with more sensitive tastes, as our dear Jay covers a number of topics that would cause the more modest people in our midst to have a hemorrhage. An American Storyteller is stem to stern hilarious, but be forewarned. There is a point towards the end of the set where Oakerson realizes that he's purveyed easily a half-hour of filth in front of a 15 year old girl that has to be heard to be believed. Frankly, it would almost seem like a plant for purposes of the recording (ala the infamous Mitch Hedberg special), but it no way makes An American Storyteller any less of a must-buy. Buy it here. The Oakerson web presence is here.

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John Mulaney - The Top Part

John Mulaney is a local guy. A product of the New York City comedy scene and the SNL writers pool, I had seen him on late night TV a couple times and was pleased to find that Comedy Central had thrown him a bone and put The Top Part out. His bio mentions stints on The Comedians Of Comedy Tour with Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn and opening dates for Mike Birbiglia and there couldn't be a better description of the comedic cross-pollenation Mulaney puts out. He's got the edge of the C.o.C set and the everyman aw-shucksness of Birbiglia. I'd check it out and get ahead of the game, as I see big things for Mulaney in the future.

The Top Part should do a lot in getting him some notice. Mulaney doesn't work especially blue, nor does he really talk about sex or politics, so you can give this to your parents or more straight-laced friends. The Law & Order bit is worth the price of admission, enough that you can forgive his horrible website logo. The other bits about late night subway travel, Donald Trump and organ donation are pretty great, too. Doubters or those desiring of visual stimulation can see video clips of the material at the official John Mulaney site here. I didn't poke around too far, but I assume you can get The Top Part there, too.

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Kevin Avery - Hardcore

Kevin Ayers is a San Francisco based comedy guy who regularly opens for guys like Dave Chappelle and David Allan Grier. As you might surmise by the company he keeps, Avery is not especially hardcore, but pretty funny nonetheless. If that's your thing, look past the 'savoryavery' and pick up a copy through his Myspace here.

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Lewis Black - Anticipation

I like Lewis Black. Before The Daily Show turned into The McNeil Lehrer Report, I used to tune in pretty regularly especially to see him. Incidentally, whatever happened to Dave Attell's recurring Ugly American character?. The return of that bit might almost sway me back, that or Jon Stewart's imminent move to the late night tv. Black's been releasing records and doing stand-up for much longer than he's been successful, but luckily his thinking man's Kinison personae has caught on in recent years. He certainly deserves it, and I can certainly relate to his raging incredulity. Anticipation won't win him any more new fans, but it damn sure isn't going to lose him any either. Trust me: If you like Lew, you'll like this. However, it's important to point out that it won't make you even close to being as politically astute as your pretentious knee-jerk ass thinks you are. Have a nice day and buy Anticipation here