Bill Burr brings his socially-blunt and sometimes offensive comedy to the Warnors Theatre on Tuesday night, but remember, it’s only offensive if you don’t know or understand the context of his humor.
Burr has been touted by many in the comedy world as “The next Louis C.K.” While it’s hard to see parallels between the two very current comics, Burr definitely is making a big name for himself.
His last Netflix special called “I’m Sorry You Feel That Way,” tackled topics like homophobia, owning a gun, religion, domestic violence and older white celebrities getting in trouble for things they’ve said.
“Are you seriously shocked that some redneck with a beard down to his d— sitting in a boat in the middle of a swamp shooting varmints … what did you think he thought, that he had some progressive ideas on same-sex marriage? Didn’t he think exactly what you thought he thought?”
Burr has been in stand-up comedy for a long time, but this is his first time performing in Fresno.
[dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”horizontal-curve-bottom” width=”200px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Bill Burr Career Highlights
-Chapelle’s Show
-Breaking Bad
[/dropshadowbox]
“This year I’ve kind of expanded where I’ve been touring … it’s not often that 23 years into the game where you can get excited like ‘oh I’ve never been there’,” Burr said in an interview. “Sometimes people who tour make the mistake of thinking that if I’m going to go to Northern California I’ll go to San Francisco and that’s it. And they don’t think that there’s all this cool stuff to see out there.”
Burr hosts a podcast called “The Monday Morning Podcast,” but doesn’t bother marketing it to the public.
“I don’t market it. It’s the same way I market myself as a comedian, I’ve never really market it myself as far as like ‘his comedy is like this meets that’, Burr said. “I’ve always felt that word of mouth, you go out and make people laugh … I got into this mindset early on where if I was doing a show at a club and only 18 people were there, I was going to destroy those 18 people and have them bring 18 people.”
One of the things you have to realize about Burr’s comedy is that if you don’t get it you don’t get it. In the past, Burr has used words like fag in his comedy to illustrate “how stupid homophobia is.” If you ignore the context of its usage, all you might hear is the derogatory word.
He hates manufactured outrage in society. The concept that if you say something someone doesn’t like, you owe them an apology or suffer the consequences.
Trevor Noah, the comedian taking over “The Daily Show” from Jon Stewart, came under fire for some tweets some found offensive.
“They had to go back five years on his f—— Twitter account to find something offensive — you wouldn’t have to go back five minutes on mine, Burr said. “Considering that California is running out of water, I think that’s a bigger story than someone telling dick jokes.”
[dropshadowbox align=”left” effect=”horizontal-curve-both” width=”265px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Bill Burr on Netflix
-Let it Go (2010)
-You People are all the Same (2012)
-I’m Sorry You Feel That Way (2014)
-F is for Family (Coming 2015) [/dropshadowbox]
Some people may remember Burr from years ago as a featured performing on one of the biggest shows on television. One of his first jobs in television was on “The Chappelle Show.”
It was incredible to be a part of something like that, and to have it blow up like that was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever been a part of,” Burr said. “Dave Chappelle was, of course, an awesome, unbelievably — I mean the guy is a genius, how often do you get to work with a genius?”
“It was everything you thought it would be. It was just this ridiculous creative freedom, this ridiculous level of awesome material to work with and just the excitement of being around somebody you knew was great,” Burr said. “It was my first time being around true greatness when I worked with Dave Chappelle on that show.”
Burr also appeared on “Breaking Bad.”
“When I got that gig, ‘Breaking Bad’ was my favorite show. It was beyond surreal to be watching something for three seasons and then suddenly be on the show for an episode interacting with characters that you were emotionally invested with — it was like I got sucked into my television.”
“I got a little bit of a movie career like all this acting work that I’ve been getting and the fact that people don’t mock at me playing a serious well now is all because of Vince Gilligan and the writers on ‘Breaking Bad’,” Burr said.
Burr’s career aspirations remain solely in stand-up comedy and any acting work is just a “bonus.” He currently has three specials on Netflix, and his show in Fresno is one of many to hone the content of his next special.
He can be heard on his podcast Monday mornings and in the new edition he added this year called “The Thursday Afternoon Edition of the Monday Morning Podcast, Just Before Friday.”
Check Burr out Tuesday night at Warnors Theatre to see cutting edge comedy, or simply check out his other ventures online.
EXPLICIT VIDEO (NSFW)
Bill Burr’s “I’m Sorry You Fell That Way”
Bill Burr Live
[divider]
- Tuesday, June 23, 7:30 p.m.
- Warnors Theatre
- Tickets: $35-$45
- BillBurr.com, Warnors Theatre
