From an early age, children are told not to judge books by their covers.
After seeing and hearing Lewis Black, children must be checking the basement for evidence of their parents' rampant drug use.
Black invited a crowd of students and Buffalonians to listen to him rant about whatever current events upset him the most Wednesday night at the Center for the Arts.
As he walked onstage, the crowd welcomed him with immediate applause and cheers.
"I haven't been to Buffalo in over 10 years. It's amazing you all remember me," Black said.
Starting off by getting his digs into Buffalo and its winters, Black then briefly explained what he dislikes about people on Halloween.
"If you're an adult and you wear a costume on Halloween - stop it!" Black said, his voice reaching screeching volumes. "The world is not gonna change because you sewed together a Dick Cheney costume!"
From his Halloween tirade, Black was able to go into his bit on candy corn, which has previously been seen on his Comedy Central special. However, without any sensors requiring him not to swear, Black was able to do the bit, along with his entire act, uncut.
"All of the candy corn in the world was made in 1912," he said.
Halloween jokes and weather bits aside, the focus of his act was the political state of America, and used Black's signature style of finding humor in the demise of the American economy. He tried his best to explain what has happened economically in the last few years, but after looking confused beyond control, Black gave a reason as to his inability to remember details.
"In college, I took economics at 8 a.m. in the morning. It's hard to fully grasp something with one bloodshot eye," he said.
He also broke down America's two political major political parties into very simple terms: "Democrats have no ideas, and Republicans have bad ideas," said Black.
The enjoyment and headache Black gets at watching the United States and its people work is amusing. He is able to take ridiculous situations and present them at their most nonsensical instant. He is still convinced that a Starbucks built directly across the street from another Starbucks is indeed the end of the universe.
Black is currently on tour with Dave Attell, star of Comedy Central's "Insomniac." However, due to a scheduling conflict, Attell was unable to perform at the UB show. Normally Attell would open for Black, but with no Attell in town, Black opened and closed the show, and kept the crowd laughing for a full 90 minutes.
Many students enjoyed Black's energy and anger.
"He's great, but he's going to have a heart attack someday. He just gets so mad," said Anne Malayny, a junior early childhood major.
For others, political humor may have been too much of the focus in his act.
"I'll take Jimmy Fallon any day," said junior civil engineer major Michael Finn.
Based the crowd's response, and Black's impressive set, his humor continues to allow fans to live cynically and happily, at least for a few days.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
