Ben Bailey at the Cohoes Music Hall 09/21/2023

Ben Bailey at the Cohoes Music Hall.

Ben Bailey is a big (like tall and big) man.  He is also a very funny man.

Most folks know him from Cash Cab – which ran for 15 years and is still a staple in the land of re-runs.  Being funny and keeping a hack license in NYC is, certainly, a great way to build material.  A bit more on Cash Cab in a bit.

There was a theme that ran through the show, and, as constant companion and I found out after the show, was supposed to be a set piece – things happened and it ran throughout the show.  He never got to his punchline and it was a great piece as a longer running bit.  The pro’s are always light on their feet.

Of course, there was that one audience member who thought they were funnier and was rather insistent the Ben use her stuff.  His rather stiff rebuke had the effect – that party left the building – for which he felt lousy later in the show.  The rest of us, perhaps not do much.  Well done Ben.

The themes were fun.  Names of towns further upstate are tougher to pronounce (even with our help apparently Watervliet is alien).  Travel is tiring – you sit for long periods of time, sometimes in different seats, and in the end, you are so tired from sitting that you need to sit and take a nap.

Ben Bailey and Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs) look kinda alike, and he is often mistaken for Mike.  The entire bit about Mike Rowe and the prospect of creating and selling Micro Mike Rowes was so well done……..fill in your blanks.

We learned something – that Cash Cab was a tougher gig than one might think, some of the people we root against on the show were the same people he wanted to see lose and that Cash Cab was a victim of Covid……somewhat to his relief.

The opener, Steven Donovan was a pleasant surprise.  None of us knew who he was but he was very good.  Perhaps his funniest bit revolved around the name Cohoes.  Apparently, he was pleased to know there is a city named for a co-op of hookers.

All in all, a very funny evening without the real serious stuff that we go to comedy shows to be distracted from.  And distraction is so needed these days.

A Review by Dick Beach.