David Cross has said it every time in the past, but yet again, in the future, it’s true: He’s had a lot of fun with his new special. But what separates this one from the bunch is that he’s still finding new territory to explore with it.
Releasing his latest one-hour recording I’m From The Future on Saturday (February 12) through his own website officialdavidcross.com, Cross is bringing his eighth special to the masses straight from the source. While the method of self-distribution certainly has its challenges, Cross is excited to have executed such a quick turnaround on the project, having only recorded it in November 2021. But the reasoning for such a quick push to get the material on there was also shared by the Mr. Show star’s desire to keep the subject matter as fresh and timely as possible, which made that challenge of self-distribution one-hundred percent worth it, on top of having full creative control.
With a set that harbors characteristically pulverizing takes on topics of the day — more specifically, the pandemic — it was a very natural evolution for this slate of material leading to its final form, and there’s not much that has Cross hung up with the final product. However, he does wish he could’ve brought it around the country a bit more.
“First of all, I’m very happy with it,” Cross tells Vanyaland. “Second of all, it’s like a lot of other things of the time, and I’ll always look at it with a little bit of sadness or disappointment that I had to cancel the tour that I was going to do this set on until fucking COVID got in the way. With this set in particular, I will alway regret not being able to go out to some of the more rural, less liberal-leaning places and do this set. That would’ve been really interesting. Doing this set in Florida? That would have been a dream.”
While canceling a tour is by far the toughest decision he’s had to make in terms of his comedy career, Cross knew it was the right thing to do as COVID-19 cases continued to surge in a lot of the areas he was set to travel to. But, with a place like the Bell House in his neighborhood, the ability to cement this slate of material remained, so he took the opportunity.
That factor alone could be why it seems like Cross is exuding enjoyment on a different level in this hour, at least when it comes to being on stage. He’s been able to hold his own in theaters for years, but there’s just something about a more intimate setting that gives him that extra umph, even if it was an unintentional detour.
“I’m going to guess a big part of that is because I was in a smaller space, as opposed to a theater,” says Cross. “The last three or four specials I’ve done have been in theaters, and I like them. They’re good, and I’ve enjoyed playing theaters, but it’s different when I’m playing a music venue and I’m closer to the audience, and the audience is closer to me. It’s just a different energy, and that might be part of why it just kind of subconsciously comes out that way.”
With everything that’s been going on, both in Cross’ mind and the world around us, he’s quick to acknowledge just how cathartic it was to be able to get up on stage, speak his truth, and work through his frustrations with the response to the pandemic and other topics, not least of which surrounded the decision to have his beloved dog, Ollie Red Sox, put down.
While it helped him in his own ways, Cross is hoping the new hour can also serve as not only a snapshot of the times, but also a bit of the same remedy for viewers as well. “I hope this gives people an hour and change of just being happy,” he adds, “and laughing amongst all the shit that we’re going through.”