‘Last Comic Standing’ review: Ian Bagg, Joe List, Ryan Conner compete to make top ten
As we start to near the end of this round of “Last Comic Standing,” we do so with perspective now on the field of ten comics that have been assembled: They’re rather good. Sure, we did lose two comics we really like in Amy Miller and Shakir Standley, but we’re not going to quibble with too many of the people ultimately chosen. There are more men the women in the top ten (seven to three), but there have been seasons where the ratio is even worse. Also, we have some diversity in there not just in terms of background, but also comedy style. It’s a good group, and while we do have a favorite going into the next round (Clayton English, whose last set was absolutely brilliant), there’s still plenty of time for anyone to take it.
Still aboard? Then let’s rank the five comics who are joining Clayton, Andy Erickson, Sheng Wang, Francisco Ramos, and Taylor Tomlinson in the next stage of the competition.
5. Michael Palascak – He is a solid comic, and don’t want anyone to think otherwise. That said, the jokes tonight were not particularly memorable to us, and out of the guys who made it through, he is probably the first one that we are going to forget about. The thing about his delivery, though, is that it’s so natural; with the right set and the right crowd, he could easily make it pretty far if someone else has a rough night.
4. Ryan Conner – Ryan is consistently funny, and since he’s got such a unique / crazy story about his family, we don’t mind hearing all about it. It’s almost unfortunate that we got so much of this back in the first episode, and that Norm MacDonald claimed that he had some of the best comedy he’d heard in the past five years. (Norm had too much KFC before judging and it sent him straight into hyperbole-mode.) He probably had too high a bar to match going into tonight, but we’re happy he is moving on.
3. Joe List – We actually thought there was really great feedback from the judges on Joe, since he’s vulnerable without looking completely pathetic, and he’s got a style about his that is easy to relate to. He’s like your comedy buddy! He’s one of the people we’d be the most shocked to leave the top ten early; we’ve never felt that he has had the funniest set overall, but has consistently delivered with the material that he has brought.
2. Dominique – The final two advancing comics to us really stepped their game up tonight. We’re not actually sure that Dominique’s material really stands out that much, but she delivered it with such punch and confidence! You believed every single thing that she said, and then laughed at it! We feel like we got so much a better sense of who she is tonight than we did the first time around, and we’re so happy for it.
1. Ian Bagg – Ultimately, the same goes here with Ian. While he didn’t necessarily go into full crowd-work mode, he was just so effortlessly funny. He’s one of those guys with a rare gift of just going on stage and having a conversation; it never felt like he was putting on a show, or that he was really trying that hard to impress. He’s almost the antithesis of some of those prevalent modern-day neurotic comics, and it’s a style that feels refreshing today.
Who did you enjoy on Wednesday night’s show? Share in the comments.