Last evening, I journeyed with two buddies of mine — Alan Burnett and Gordon Kent — to the city of Cerritos, which is located about thirty miles south of Los Angeles.
First stop was an outlet of the Five Guys hamburger chain. As I've mentioned here, these places are popular in the East and South but almost non-existent (so far) in California. There are three in the state, one of which is on a Naval Base that is not accessible to the general public. But they serve the best "fast food" burgers I've ever had and the best french fries of any kind, so when I'm in any city that has 'em, that's where I head. Alan, Gordon and I were going to see Lewis Black at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and, knowing there was a Five Guys about four miles from there, I persuaded my friends that was the place to dine.
They agreed with my opinion of the hamburgers and especially of the fries. Five Guys uses fresh potatoes at each of its locations and fries them in peanut oil. They're so good, I can't understand why every restaurant doesn't do that. When you taste one, you just know that's the way a french-fried potato is supposed to be.
Then it was over to the Performing Center. As usual, comedian John Bowman had the thankless task of opening before an audience that hadn't come to sit through an opening act. He easily won the crowd over by talking about, among other things, the fact that he wouldn't get paid unless he did his twenty minutes…so we were stuck. He also did a great impression of Lewis Black.
The genuine article then took stage and held a full house captive for about 75 minutes, all of which was new to me. Topics included the economy, why he thinks marijuana should be legalized, why he thinks anyone who supports either the Democratic or Republican party is an idiot, what it's like to follow Vince Gill on stage, Sarah Palin, Lew's parents, and what his (my) generation is leaving for the next one in line. None of it was particularly quotable but all of it was either funny or too painfully true to be funny.
Black's delivery is, of course, half the show. Someone else delivering the same lines wouldn't have the same impact, in part because Black sounds so sincerely indignant about it all. He has a way of connecting with the audience, getting us all on the same wavelength of outrage and cynicism to the extent where the audience starts laughing at the setups, never mind where he's going. If you've never seen the guy in person and you get the chance, don't let it pass you by. I try to go every time he's in Southern California — especially when he's near a Five Guys.