In just the last few weeks, the number 28 has brought an abundant amount of joy to the city of Boston. But even something as joyous as the Yankees melting down in search of their 28th World Series win couldn’t be trumped by titanic comedy talents that ascended on the city to participate in the 28th edition of Comics Come Home.
Descending upon the TD Garden on Saturday night (November 2), Denis Leary — along with his trusty gang of side-splitting comedians, as well as the show’s backing band The Enablers — returned home for another year of filling the house in support of the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care. Having been around for so long as still the longest-running benefit comedy show in the country, the general makeup of the night felt as familiar as ever, and perhaps predictable in the best way, but that didn’t take away from the sheer dominance that was displayed on stage, set after set.
Of course, it’s still quite lame to transcribe jokes that someone else told, so in the spirit of remaining as spoiler-free as we can possibly get while also spreading the gospel of the man who has accomplished everything from writing a hit song about how much of an asshole he is to voicing a saber-toothed tiger in the Ice Age franchise and everything in between, the show’s general temperature was as playful as it’s always been, which was somewhat surprising given how deeply entrenched we are in election season. Even with the occasional politically charged jab from every spot on the spectrum, the vibe was kept in check as the CCH crew showed up strong for another year, and made it so the loudest thing in the room was Lenny Clarke’s shirt.
Before welcoming a power-packed lineup to the stage, Leary assumed his rightful position as ring leader following an opening preamble from Neely and his wife, Paulina, and wasted no time dishing out punchlines at break-neck speed as he always does during his annual intro song parody, which was set to the tune of The Rolling Stones classic “Brown Sugar.”
Now, unless you’ve lived under a rock, Leary’s ability to bring some of the biggest names in comedy to the city in the name of a good cause has been widely noted. But what is arguably not talked about enough is how he pieces that lineup together every year to create one cohesive stream of hilarity that acts as a relay race from start to finish, and the honor of kicking things off this year was bestowed upon Bridgewater native Alec Flynn.
Whether it was the undeniable relatability and genuine charisma of the former St. Anselm hockey player, or the stern-yet-lovable mom vibes of Zarna Garg, the momentum of the first two sets paved the way for Lenny Clarke’s return and had the crowd primed by the time the decorated war on drugs “veteran” (he was in the trenches for the drugs) tore into his set with his telltale boisterous demeanor and all-around gratefulness for just being there after a number of health scares over the last few years.
Sam Morril brought the Garden to a delightfully dark place, with groans echoing through the rafters and only (probably) being muffled by the newest addition to the Celtics’ growing collection of championship banners. Lil’ Rel Howery made his CCH return after seven years with a set devoted almost entirely to the joys and not-so-joyous aspects of fatherhood, and Ronny Chieng, being the evening’s beacon of understandable frustration with the Baby Boomer generation, let it all out to the point of exasperation. It was a perspective and approach we’ve come to know love from Chieng, but it’s a true feat to be the most rage-filled comic on a lineup that also includes Bill Burr, even as we’ve also come to find that the Canton native has taken a bit of a different approach to his comedy over these past few years – but that’s not to say he didn’t absolutely murder, because that’s just what ol’ Billy Boston Garden does, man.
Taking aim at a litany of social and political happenings, complete with his elbow leaning on the mic stand as he got more comfortable staring down the crowd and shooting from the hip, Burr relished in his ever-present ability to be both loved and loathed by his audience, and the crowd ate it up every time he took a beat to allow the collective feeling to flow through the building.
Being able to take the stage and wield that amount of comedic force isn’t something that’s new for Burr, obviously. What was truly a sight to be seen, though, was how fan favorite Robert Kelly returned to the stage to close the night out. Following Burr’s titanic offering would most likely have some folks shaking in their boots, but not Kelly. The “Mehfuh” native commanded the stage from the jump and kept the night on track for an uproarious finale as he dove head-first into his experience of getting “the stomach surgery” and the reactions he received as a result of it. Kelly’s entire set popped with a legendary LPM rate, and reached its eruptive conclusion once he started dry heaving as he doled out the deets on just how horrific it is to watch a childbirth up close. In the spirit of Martin Scorsese: “Absolute cinema!”
Once Kelly relinquished his dominance for the night, Leary returned to end things the way he always does, and creeped into a rendition of his classic one-hit wonder “Asshole” to put one final exclamation point on yet another solid night on Causeway Street.
Who knows what the future holds for Comics Come Home as the show approaches its 30-year milestone? There are already quite a few familiarities we can count on, year after year, but none remain more unwavering than the fact it truly is all about the laughs – and working to kick cancer’s ass.