Todd Barry: Medium Energy

by Christopher Q. Murphy

You couldn’t write a more mundane character. With his tone caught somewhere between self-effacing and disgruntled, but never any more than humdrum, Todd Barry is a model of mediocrity: half-balding, slight build, slouched shoulders and the most annoyed monotone this side of Steven Wright. Yeah, it sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen but this disc - newly re-released on Comedy Central Records is, by far, one of the funniest discs of the year.

From the get-go, you know exactly what you’re in for, as Barry, who sounds almost as if it’s a chore to even show up to the gig, let alone get on stage, opens with, “I’m gonna be doing a mixture of really old shit that I’m tired of, spiced up with a few things that are too new to be performed – but I’ll do them anyway.” While half of the audience let’s out a hearty laugh (already in on the joke), you can almost imagine the other half squirming in their seats, not quite sure what to make of the sullen man.

If you’re new to Barry, it takes a while to warm up to his tone and his take on things most comics wouldn’t bother with: how much “fruit sucks,” the difference in quality between Sanyo and Sony answering machine speakers and why the first chair viola playing with Guns N’ Roses at the Grammys needs sheet music while Slash doesn’t. The set on this disc is a veritable list of things Barry does and doesn’t like and luckily he brings his own unique brand of cynicism to each topic.

Barry breathes in sarcasm. Every sentence is muttered under his breath, giving extra zing to the running commentary he does on his own act: “Wow, I don’t think the fruit joke has even gone over this big” and “You were worried about that one and then, oh shit, you wound up applauding.” But don’t call him aloof– even if he does poke fun at an ex-audience member lodging a complaint with him being “too monotone.”