Bill Burr will bring his brand of raunchy and reckless stand-up comedy to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton tonight. After selling out Carnegie Hall on Nov. 11, Burr received the Comedian of the Year award at the Boston Comedy Festival, whose previous recipients include Denis Leary and Lewis Black. Burr recently returned with rave reviews from his second theater tour of Europe.
Burr, a Canton, Mass. native and Emerson College attendee, has made a name for himself as one of the premiere contemporary comedians, perfecting a style balanced between dark comedy and observational humor. Burr’s subject matter frequently includes dating and human sexuality, race relations, political correctness and professional sports. Often referred to by contemporaries as a “comedian’s comedian,” his style is based around a grounded sense of irreverence. On his website biography, he is quoted as saying, “I enjoy annoying people who are doing things that I feel aren’t that important. I relate to dictators. I don’t agree with what they do. But I get it.”
Burr is one of the harder working comedians in the industry, and regularly performs over 300 shows annually. He has released two hour-long stand-up specials, “Why Do I Do This?” in 2008 and “Let It Go” in 2010, both of which premiered in primetime on Comedy Central. He has performed on “The Late Show with Dave Letterman,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and was the first stand-up comedian to perform on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”
Burr hosts a podcast every week simply titled “The Monday Morning Podcast.” He has been producing the hour-long podcast since 2007. The show, which has over 200 installments, is centered on Burr’s uncensored and completely off-the-cuff rants about his personal experiences. Notable topics in the recent past have included Walt Disney, Nazis, Oakland Raiders fans and atheists.
Burr often interacts with other comedians through their respective podcasts and radio shows, as well. He has appeared on Adam Carolla’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, WTF with Marc Maron and Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist podcast. Burr was also the first guest on Tom Green’s podcast.
Burr is known for his frequent guest appearances on The Opie & Anthony Show on XM satellite radio, and he often fills in if their third member – fellow comedian Jim Norton – is absent. Like many other comedians associated with The Opie & Anthony Show, Burr was a voice actor in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto IV, voicing the minor character Jason Michaels.
Burr has also appeared numerous times in various television spots across his career. He had a short but notable string of appearances in various sketches during the second season of the hit “Chappelle’s Show” on Comedy Central in 2004. Burr subsequently embarked on the “I’m Rich Biatch” tour with fellow Chappelle’s Show cast mates Donnell Rawlings and Charlie Murphy. Burr also acted in two episodes of this year’s season of the hit AMC show “Breaking Bad” playing the character Kuby. In 2010, Burr appeared in the Steve Carell and Tiny Fey comedy “Date Night” as Detective Walsh.
Burr is also an avid sports fan, and often shows his affection for New England sports teams while showing his comedic disdain for other teams during his routine. He regularly discusses sports in his podcast, and as a Bruins fan he blogs for NHL.com from time to time.
Burr’s comedy show will begin around 8 p.m., but the doors will be open earlier. Comedian Doug Saulnier will be a supporting act. Tickets are still available online and at the door for $35 and $25.
Dave Coffey can be reached at [email protected].
