Last week I mentioned a performance by AIR as part of David Bowie’s Highline Festival. Saturday night was the conclusion of the charity festival; it was also the highlight with the first North American performance by Ricky Gervais. If you don’t know who Ricky Gervais is yet, I feel sorry for you. He’s best known for The Office, which was a BBC smash, and is often considered the best comedy of the decade. The Office has been so successful that remakes have been made in the US, Quebec, France, and Germany, with a slightly less direct remake being aired in Norway. He is also known for Extras, which is currently in between seasons on HBO. Gervais is also one of three people behind the most successful podcast in the history of podcasting. Gervais has also written a number of children’s books as part of a series titled Flanimals. Enough about his history.
The show took place at what was formerly called The Theatre at MSG, but as of last week is now called WaMu Theatre. That name really rolls of the tongue. There wasn’t a full opener, but around 8 pm Gervais came over the PA and announced “Ladies and Gentlemen… David Bowie.” At which point Bowie came out to perform the song he performed* on the last season of Extras. The crowd loved it. Bowie left the stage and then introduced Ricky Gervais.
Ricky Gervais came out to perform for about 70 minutes. His topics included making fun of Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, victims of Pol Pot, Anne Frank, teenage cancer victims, bestiality, homosexual incest and others I cannot recall. The show was about as far from being politically correct as is humanly possible. I love every minute of it. Ricky has a very casual style of stand up. He would often mumble and interact with the audience. He definitely came across as an everyday asshole. I can only hope he returns to America for more performances in the future.
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