The West Coast Report August 11th, 2004 - Jim Norton @ The SF Punchline

The anticipation was over and the day we had been waiting for had finally arrived. Jim Norton had come to town for the weekend and we decided to go to both of his late night shows. It was a great lineup that included Louie Katz and Larry “Bubbles” Brown.

I’m sure some of you are familiar with Louie Katz by now. We’ve mentioned him a bit on the site. He’s one of our favorite local comics; so very funny and an all around wonderful guy. The crowd was responding to him well and he looked like he was having a great time up there which made for a fabulous set. I’ll have a little more to say about his set as you read on.

Larry “Bubbles” Brown was up next. Why he's called Bubbles is a mystery to me. Larry’s a local guy as well and was very entertaining. Every now and then he would let out his very own sound effect, which I am assuming is said to officially end a joke. Picture a grown man ending almost every joke with his head tilted back belting out the phrase “Mawww”. He sounded like a cartoon character. I don’t know how the hell to explain this in words; you really do have to experience it for yourself. It was funny to hear it a couple of times at the beginning of his set, but not throughout his entire 20 minutes. Other than that kooky little phrase, the guy is a riot.

Friday show: As “Bubbles” was leaving the stage, I turned around to see our very own li’l Jimmy Norton restlessly waiting in the wings. As soon as he walked up, I noticed his Got Mule? T-shirt, and I liked that very much. His opening joke was concentrated on his weak chin. He told the audience to take a good look at it and in case they were wondering, he was indeed clear of any type of chin cancer and explained that he just had a very weak chin. He did crack a smile as the crowd was laughing and that’s rare for him to do, but it was cute. The audience loved it and the show officially began.

The majority of his set consisted of new bits with a few old ones. He was telling tales of how he met 50 Cent at an airport and botched his name by calling him “50 Cents”. He was clearly annoying the guy, but wouldn’t leave him alone until he had gotten a picture with him. There’s also the time he met the guys from KISS. He had a friend that knew the band, so she invited him backstage to meet them and take a picture. One of the guys from the band (forgive me for not knowing anyone except for Gene Simmons) stood in back of Jim and wrapped his arm across his chest for the picture. I guess Norton thought this was a good time to show his appreciation towards the guy, so he ever so gently leaned his head against his bicep; very homo erotic. I remember seeing this picture on his website and it is funny to see the look on his face, but the way he explains it is priceless. Also, he went on the usual self-hatred rant which is always amusing and never gets old.

Saturday show: Louie and “Bubbles” did pretty much the same act, obviously, so I can’t write anything new about their sets. The crowd’s reaction to Louie that night is something I can speak of.

The audience was a bit reserved, which really annoyed me because Louie’s sets are always solid and he deserved a better reaction from them. There was a soft chuckle here and there, as if they were frightened to laugh, but nothing worthwhile. Louie called them out on it and they just gazed at him in silence. I was sure that his bit on inside racial jokes would get them, but it didn’t. Douche bags…all of them.

Norton changed his act a bit by talking about his buddy Patrice and their recent trip to Rio. For those of you who hadn’t heard, Norton had taken a trip to Rio a few weeks back with Patrice O’Neal and Bob Kelly. He did a five minute bit on Patrice and the duffle bag that he brought with him filled with glass dildos. It’s such a fantastic story, but too long to write here. Check out Jim’s blog for the details. http://www.jimnorton.blogspot.com/

Jim is wonderful when he’s onstage and doesn’t really get affected by people who aren’t into his set. On this night, however, he was a bit enraged with the audience. After one of his bits, I can’t remember which one, the crowd really didn’t respond well to it and they started to groan and he was livid. He said something along the lines of “Don’t give me that groaning shit! All I wanna hear is a laugh, or just stare at me. I’ll accept either, just don’t groan. I don’t wanna hear that shit!” I could tell he was infuriated with them because he was fiercely pointing his finger at the crowd and he must have said “shit” numerous times.

After the Friday and Saturday shows, we had the privilege of driving him back to his hotel. He offered to sit in the back seat and my nephew’s car seat was back there as well. We told him we were sorry and to excuse the car seat in which he replied “That’s ok. Excuse my erection.” Then we all shared a laugh and went on our way.

I love watching Norton onstage. He has such a confident stance and is a true professional. He constantly bashes himself, but he’s a good egg nonetheless. He’s one of the nicest and most genuine comics I’ve ever met. He may have a kinky fetish or two, but hell, that’s what makes him so gosh darn special.

 
 -Natalie