Andi Smith: Homeperm

by John Delery

OK, so you may not need to shower in Lysol after listening to Homeperm, but you may want to keep a spray bottle of boiled water nearby so you can at least sponge-bathe (with the rough side of the sponge or maybe even steel wool).

After all, you may feel more than dirty, you may feel downright Pig Pen grimy after convulsing in laughter at Andi Smith’s wickedly inappropriate and hilarious set at Go Bananas Comedy Club in Cincinnati.

Smith unloads with both barrels on harmless, defenseless and, best of all, altogether uncommon comedy targets (with the exception of our clueless commander-in-chief): like those “window-lickin” freaks� (a.k.a foster children) that her Mom evidently collects like hummels; West Virginia coal miners (to whom she plays harsh guidance counselor); paralyzed porn poobah Larry Flynt; cosmetic-conscious women who inflate their importance with breast implants; hyperactive, do-goodin’ cheerleaders and their equally fidgety, Gidgety sorority sisters; art school students (apparently crayon-wielding crazies); teenage moms and (cringe here) the blind!

Smith savages all her victims, for sure, but only with piercing insights instead of cleavers. (She sounds misanthropic but not murderously misanthropic.)

She sands the rough edge off the brutally honest jokes with a distinctive conversational delivery. It’s a combination of retro Roseanne sass and an almost apologetic oh-golly-goodness-did-I-say-that-so-sorry Midwestern discombobulation, probably the result of her upbringing in Wisconsin, the cheese capital of America, where, it seems, the cheddar is sharp and the comics are blunt.

The one negative: All the fun ends too soon. Even with three bonus tracks, the performance lasts only 35 minutes, though Smith certainly packs lots of laughs into that time frame. So just do what I did: listen to it twice’or more. Who knew someone so cynical could be so comical, too!

Listen to a track from Homeperm!

For more info on Andi, check out snowflakehead.com; to buy the album visit RooftopComedy or iTunes.