There are plenty of reasons why Lewis Black is excited to make his way back to Boston after so much time off the road. Above all else, though, he’s just looking forward to being in a city full of people even more bitter than he is, regardless of whether that bitterness is the result of the seemingly never-ending winter, or the fact that baseball season is in jeopardy.
Bringing his newest batch of material to Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre on Friday (March 11) as part of his Off The Rails tour, Black is picking up where his last special/album, Grammy-nominated Thanks For Risking Your Life, left off — but this time around, he’s delivering it from the perspective of someone focusing more on the little details of life indoors during the pandemic, rather than the “big picture” social insights that have brought him into the upper echelon of comedy over the course of his illustrious career.
While the extra down time may have you thinking he had a lot of time to sort out his thoughts, that’s not how Black operates. It never has been, and just as he’s done with every other special he’s presented to the world, the comedian and author is making his rounds to tell a story. It just so happens that this story, in particular, seemed to flow as soon as he started telling it to an audience.
“Where this show picks up is me talking about how I dealt with the pandemic. It’s basically about watching me unravel,” Black tells Vanyaland. “I do talk a little bit about what’s going on in the world, but it’s really about all of [the other stuff], and there may be other stuff coming, but it bookends well with the last one. Then I’m going to move on to the next one, which will be about what the hell I think is going on in the world with things like healthcare, and all the other nonsense that these idiots [talk about].”
Although he has a plan for what comes next, as his feisty streak certainly has not faded, Black is quick to acknowledge that he’s feeling a level of frustration that is even significant for him when it comes to the thought of having to come up with comedy, especially now in the context of what is happening with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to counteract the daily narratives presented by people like Tucker Carlson, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, and others that subscribe to all different parts of the political and social spectrum.
“It’s exhausting. I’m supposed to make a joke that’s going to make you laugh about how stupid has become stupider?’ says Black. “There was all this talk about how we’re gonna get back to the 1950s when things were better, then Russia is like ‘1950s? We’re gonna go back to the late 1930s’. Jesus Christ, who has the energy for that?”
Even with the time away from the stage, and all that has gone on in the world over the course of these last two years, it’s really business as usual for Black when it comes to his writing process. However, when it comes to the more technical aspects of putting this show together, Black admits that there is some rust to shake off, but it’s getting better by the day.
With the return of his post-show live cast The Rant Is Due, things are starting to feel normal on stage again, and most importantly, the ability to get the laughs is still there, like a muscle that responds immediately. It’s always been there — and Black can’t wait to flex that muscle in front of a Boston crowd again.
“It doesn’t feel different, really, because I’m someone who writes while in front of an audience, because that’s how I find things out [about the jokes]. That return has been really great, but in terms of performing, sometimes it’s thinking ‘how do I do this or that?’ or ‘how do I play the rhythms of the act?’ and we’re getting there. I’m feeling better and better about it,” says Black. “The bottom line is that it’s just great to be back up there [on stage.] One of the more major relationships in my life over the last few years has been with my audience.”
LEWIS BLACK :: Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m. :: Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St. in Boston :: Tickets are $45 to $140