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Stewart Huff |
His new album, I Don’t Think I Believe Us, is a fitting portrait of his work. This album doesn’t go for easy laughs or one-liners. There are entire tracks on this album where the audience doesn’t laugh a single time. However, they’re still fully engaged as Huff muses on topics such as truck stops, abortion, and the pornographic value of National Geographic. He focuses on deconstructing the world that the audience arrived from, pulling everything apart and helping them examine it before sending them back out again, hopefully as more critical-thinking and compassionate people.
I had the opportunity to open for Huff for a weekend last year in the city where I came from, which was a privilege I had absolutely no business receiving. Before that weekend, I had no idea who he was. Being a house comic, I was already developing a pretty good ego with a generous side of detached cynicism. So I did my 8 minutes of my trying-so-hard-to-be-campy one-liners, then ceded the stage to Huff. The next hour of material, most of which appears on this album, absolutely blew my fucking mind.
Not only was it smart and witty, but it wasn’t masturbatory in any way. Stewart Huff isn’t up there for himself so much as he’s trying to promote a dialogue between himself and the audience. He wants to lead you toward an epiphany, not forcing anything down your throat but making a logically sound case to become a better, less judgmental person. You WANT to be better after listening to Stewart Huff. That’s his magic.
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David Rader |
Contributing Writer
David Rader
Stewart Huff has been performing all over Chicago this week, with outstanding shows at venues like 100 Proof Comedy and Stand Up Stand Up. You can get his outstanding album on iTunes now