Following a sumptuous repast at the Souplantation, my friend Carolyn and I went to see one of the funniest men on this planet, Billy Connolly. It was his closing night of a brief stand at the Brentwood Theater in Westwood and the place was packed with celebrities. If Billy hadn't shown up for some reason, half the folks in the audience — which included John Lithgow, Eddie Izzard and Ricky Jay — were probably qualified to get up on stage and perform in his stead.
Fortunately, Mr. Connolly was there. He came out around 8:05 and talked until about 10:20, careening madly from topic to topic with A.D.D. delivery. He'd start Anecdote #1 and stop halfway through to discourse on the completely unrelated Topic A. This would remind him of Anecdote #2 which he'd start and get most of the way through before he was suddenly reminded of Anecdote #3, whereupon he'd stop #2 (which he never would finish) and tell #3, then rattle on for a while about Topic B, then go back and finish Anecdote #1, which would lead into Anecdote #4 and Topics C, D and E, interrupted by additional thoughts on A. By halfway through, people were not only howling at the anecdotes and topics, they were laughing at the sheer speed with which he jumped from one to another.
It's difficult to tell you what all he talked about. He discussed Los Angeles and weird people in his native Scotland. He told a story about a dwarf on a bus and another one about a dog howling on a movie set. He discussed drug use, his career as a musician, a couple of cars he used to own, religion, obnoxious people, women who vomited on him and a great many other issues of vital concern. What he talked about didn't matter a whole heap. It was just enormous fun being with him for that spell of time.
I don't know where he's appearing next but if it's anywhere near you, get a ticket. And if you can stop at the Souplantation on the way there and have the Creamy Tomato Soup, so much the better. A great evening.