(dobiemaxwell.com) After a lifetime in the comedy biz, Midwestern
stand-up veteran Dobie Maxwell has released his second ever (and first not sold
at truckstops) album, and there a few notable elements to it. The first is that
Maxwell, while not a young, edgy, Comedy Central blah blah blah kid, has some
serious chops. His decades of comedy experience have helped Maxwell develop his
sad sack/hard luck stage persona, Mr. Lucky, which he more poetically calls “The
Dented Can,” as in, his less-than-perfect background makes him damaged and less
desirable to some, but the soggy green beans inside him are just as delicious
as those in the non-dented cans on the full-price shelf. Because the act of
standing up in front of a sometimes skeptical, usually inebriated room of
yokels and begging them for laughs involves so much vulnerability, desperation,
and chance of failure, almost all standup comedy has an undercoat of melancholy
and damage, and it’s a real testament to Maxwell that he can combine honest
revelations about his challenging childhood and well-honed professional skills
to make the old lovable loser character distinct and his own. Another notable
thing about this album is that Maxwell is apparently a huge P-Funk fan, though his
comedy is not exactly funk adjacent. This is expressed with the P-Funk parody
album title, and artwork by Funkadelic gatefold genius Pedro Bell. Even if
that’s just a footnote, it’s a big foot that’s pretty notable. Of final
notability, Maxwell supplements this live set with a faux radio interview with
WGN deejay Jerry Agar, and best yet, following the footsteps of Eddie Murphy,
Neil Hamburger and so many others, he has a bonus musical track, though his
theme song is more folky than pop radio oriented.
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