If you like my comedy, you’ll probably like the comedy I like. So each day this month I’m going to share some sets I think are really great and explain why I like them so much. Here’s just some of the reasons I like this 2014 set from Ian Edwards:
• CONTRAST. Juxtapositions can not only drive home a point, if they’re original, they can be really funny. Ian does this multiple times in this set. He contrasts how much Bernie Madoff stole and how much others stole. And then there’s the juxtaposition between how Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassin treated MLK and Jesse Jackson. Five years later, I find myself thinking of this bit randomly and still laughing out loud.
• UNIQUE RACIAL COMMENTARY. Ian not only talks about racism against blacks, he also talks about how he looks at leaders in his own community. It’s a fun, original take you wouldn’t find from someone who didn’t have both a developed voice and an insightful outlook.
• PACING. A lot of good comics know how to keep the crowd off balance so they can’t anticipate when the punchline is coming. In this set, Ian has a rhythm to his speaking — speeding up, slowing down, pauses — that’s unpredictable and always gets me laughing.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do and follow Ian on Instagram: @ianedwardscomic