lewis black off the rails tour review

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Lewis black goes ‘off the rails’ (and no one is surprised).

Lewis Black performs at WHBPAC on October 15. JOEY L./ACLU

When Lewis Black takes the stage this Sunday at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center as part of his “Off the Rails” tour, it’s possible some audience members “are gonna feel like I’ve insulted you on a level you never imagined.”

That’s the caution the comedian offers in his latest stand-up special “Tragically, I Need You” filmed in 2022, and released this past spring. Rage and outrage are his on-stage mien, and at 75, he hasn’t mellowed.

Black rants and rages, and tells audience members that, despite decades of F-bomb infused fulminations, “Never have I said anything on stage that has changed anything.”

His bile-laced bits have become part of the lexicon among my family and friends since he first flickered across our TV screens in the 1990s, holding forth in his “Back in Black” segment on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” Milk is not just milk in our Black-inspired vocabulary. It’s “moo cow f@#$ milk,” so dubbed after a hilarious tirade about soy almond, and oat milks that make ordinary milk feel bad about itself.

Moo cow f@#$ milk. That’s how we write it on the grocery list.

And, it’s one of the most family-friendly Blackisms.

“Oat milk, I thought they crossed the line. But now they’ve got cashew milk, macadamia milk. When they ask what I want in my coffee, I say ‘milk. Milk milk.” What’s extraordinary, he said during a recent interview, is since he did the joke about how big the milk section in the grocery store was, it’s gotten bigger. “And they don’t sell it in the small sizes. ‘Take home a gallon of almond milk.’ F#$% you!”

Black started out as a playwright, “I wrote plays till I was 40. And the reason I like to talk about this, is because I like to see the interest of the audience leave the room … I wrote a lot of plays, to the interest of nobody.”

Moving to stand-up he saw a similar style was working for other comics like Sam Kinison, and recalled, “When I started, I was told ‘You’re a little too angry.”

But it worked.

And it has, for going on 30 years.

Black achieved national recognition with his “Back in Black” segments that began to air in 1996. It became one of the most popular and longest running segments of the show, through hosts Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah. He crafted four specials for the “Comedy Central Presents” series, co-created “Last Laugh With Lewis Black” and presided over “Lewis Black’s the Root of All Evil.” His popular appearances on Comedy Central helped to win him Best Male Stand-Up at the American Comedy Awards in 2001. He filmed two specials for HBO, including “Black On Broadway” and “Red, White and Screwed.” The latter was nominated for an Emmy in 2007.In 2015, Black notably voiced the character “Anger” in the Academy Award winning film from Pixar, “Inside Out.”

The list of acclaimed specials and performances goes on and on and it’s irritating trying to detail it. Go look it up yourself.

Black’s manner strikes a chord with audiences, he said, “because it expresses frustration, a little anger, some rage and many of us carry that around. And what’s amazing to me is, there’s more of that around than when I started.”

“Tragically, I Need You,” and “Thanks for Risking Your Life” both carried sequestered audiences through the pandemic, “solitary confinement for 12 weeks.” Black speaks of his last in-person show, on March 13 in Michigan. He and lifelong friend Kathleen Madigan had been watching the developments as COVID-19 spread across the world. “We were the Fauci and Birx of the comedy community,” said Black, referencing doctors Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx who coordinated the U.S. government response to the pandemic. After that performance, he wondered if the old comic saw — “I killed ’em” — would actually come to life. Make that, death.

Black’s rants resonated with the audience when he started out and “in many ways it resonates more now; it’s really unbelievable.” In a recent episode of his “Rantcast,” he said the world gets crazier by the minute. And it does.

“The Republicans can’t figure out who’s the speaker, it’s ludicrous. It’s Civics 101!”

“I was listening to the president today and, you can’t hear him.” People say he’s too old, but for Black, “He’s gotta speak up!”

Black casts a jaundiced eye across the political spectrum — “Republicans are the party of no ideas, Democrats are the party of bad ideas.”

Biden and Trump both, he said, “They’re closing in on that age where, you begin to wonder if they’re tortoises that escaped the shell.”

While both “Tragically, I Need You” and “Thanks for Risking Your Life” focus on life during the pandemic pause, this time around, audiences can expect Black to point his laughter-evoking laser — and index finger — at new topics.

“I have a surprise announcement about Elvis,” he forecast. “It will stun them.”

“Where I’m trying to get the act to is: How am I supposed to make something funny that I already find funny and that they think is not funny, but it is funny? That’s really the thrust of the act,” he explained. “Banning books, artificial intelligence. We’ve got a two party system, that they’re basically defending their realities, not even ideas. REALITY. We don’t live in the same reality at all, and I know this because I took LSD.”

Speaking from California ahead of a performance in Escondido, Black noted, “Escondido means ‘hidden,’ so if we can find the place, it’ll be a good show.” Not a fan of the Golden State, he pointed to unbearable traffic. In fact he quit driving because he was experiencing road rage … as a passenger.

A rigorous tour schedule has put Black in front of audiences across the globe and brought him to local venues — he was a fixture at Monday night comedy shows at the Bay Street Theater years ago.

Throughout his travels, he says, he discovered the end of the universe. “It happens to be in the United States. And, oddly enough, it’s in Houston, Texas,” he told guffawing audiences in 2001. He left the club where he was performing and walked down the street, seeing a Starbucks. “And directly across the street from that Starbucks, in the same building of that Starbucks, was another Starbucks. At first I thought the sun was playing tricks with my eyes. There was a Starbucks across from a Starbucks. And that, my friends, is the end of the universe.”

Black rolls into the East End Universe on his “Off the Rails” tour on Sunday, October 15, at 8 p.m. He speaks, on a Facebook teaser, of preparing to perform at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. Hollering and gesturing as is his wonderful wont, he shouts, “There is no BEACH!”

Tickets are $176 to $210 (including fees) at whbpac.org. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center is at 76 Main Street, Westhampton Beach.

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Lewis Black goes ‘Off The Rails’ with a new story to tell

There are plenty of reasons why Lewis Black is excited to make his way back to Boston after so much time off the road. Above all else, though, he’s just looking forward to being in a city full of people even more bitter than he is, regardless of whether that bitterness is the result of the seemingly never-ending winter, or the fact that baseball season is in jeopardy.

Bringing his newest batch of material to Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre on Friday (March 11) as part of his Off The Rails tour, Black is picking up where his last special/album, Grammy-nominated Thanks For Risking Your Life, left off — but this time around, he’s delivering it from the perspective of someone focusing more on the little details of life indoors during the pandemic, rather than the “big picture” social insights that have brought him into the upper echelon of comedy over the course of his illustrious career.

While the extra down time may have you thinking he had a lot of time to sort out his thoughts, that’s not how Black operates. It never has been, and just as he’s done with every other special he’s presented to the world, the comedian and author is making his rounds to tell a story. It just so happens that this story, in particular, seemed to flow as soon as he started telling it to an audience. 

“Where this show picks up is me talking about how I dealt with the pandemic. It’s basically about watching me unravel,” Black tells Vanyaland . “I do talk a little bit about what’s going on in the world, but it’s really about all of [the other stuff], and there may be other stuff coming, but it bookends well with the last one. Then I’m going to move on to the next one, which will be about what the hell I think is going on in the world with things like healthcare, and all the other nonsense that these idiots [talk about].”

Although he has a plan for what comes next, as his feisty streak certainly has not faded, Black is quick to acknowledge that he’s feeling a level of frustration that is even significant for him when it comes to the thought of having to come up with comedy, especially now in the context of what is happening with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to counteract the daily narratives presented by people like Tucker Carlson, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, and others that subscribe to all different parts of the political and social spectrum.

“It’s exhausting. I’m supposed to make a joke that’s going to make you laugh about how stupid has become stupider?’ says Black. “There was all this talk about how we’re gonna get back to the 1950s when things were better, then Russia is like ‘1950s? We’re gonna go back to the late 1930s’. Jesus Christ, who has the energy for that?”

Even with the time away from the stage, and all that has gone on in the world over the course of these last two years, it’s really business as usual for Black when it comes to his writing process. However, when it comes to the more technical aspects of putting this show together, Black admits that there is some rust to shake off, but it’s getting better by the day.

With the return of his post-show live cast The Rant Is Due , things are starting to feel normal on stage again, and most importantly, the ability to get the laughs is still there, like a muscle that responds immediately. It’s always been there — and Black can’t wait to flex that muscle in front of a Boston crowd again.

“It doesn’t feel different, really, because I’m someone who writes while in front of an audience, because that’s how I find things out [about the jokes]. That return has been really great, but in terms of performing, sometimes it’s thinking ‘how do I do this or that?’ or ‘how do I play the rhythms of the act?’ and we’re getting there. I’m feeling better and better about it,” says Black. “The bottom line is that it’s just great to be back up there [on stage.] One of the more major relationships in my life over the last few years has been with my audience.”

LEWIS BLACK :: Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m. :: Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St. in Boston :: Tickets are $45 to $140

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Lewis Black is still angry, but he’s happy to see you

The comedian Lewis Black did not handle the COVID-19 pandemic well. He’ll explain why in a performance Friday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

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It’s important to be honest, and the stand-up comedian Lewis Black really “didn’t do well” during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, by his own account.

You remember: those early days of isolation starting in 2020, when people stayed away from each other, life migrated indoors, and America got really, really weird. A lot of people are ready to forget and move on.

But Black, a longtime contributor on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” — so well known for his grouchy persona that he voiced the flame-headed character Anger in Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out” — isn’t ready to move on.

Black’s new hourlong stand-up comedy special, “Tragically, I Need You,” now streaming on YouTube and available via CD and streaming audio , has seized on our return to (relative) normalcy as the right time to reflect on how poorly we all did when the virus hit.

The New York-based comedian recently spoke about what the pandemic taught him about people and about his own creative process, which he hones on the road with his Off the Rails tour , which arrives Friday in Escondido, and his popular “Rantcast” podcast . Black is also returning soon as Anger in “Inside Out 2.”

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: What did you do during the pandemic?

A: I basically spent most of the time trying not to die. I was told from the very beginning that I had an underlying condition. The whole thing was a recipe for disaster. How much do you really (need to) scrub your vegetables and fruits and stuff that’s coming into the apartment with Clorox? I thought my reaction was, quite simply, funny. My reaction was, “Here’s what an idiot does in response to a major pandemic.” I ended up going out on stage and starting to talk about it and people were laughing. I write in front of the audience.

Q: You used to be a playwright for a long time, and writing can be incredibly lonely, but your creative process as a comedian is very social.

A: It was 500 days between performances (after the pandemic began). It was the fastest that I ever went from starting to work on a new special to when the new special was done; it was probably eight months. The people who were showing up to see me, the audience coming out, related to it. Nobody knew what to do (about the pandemic), and they were acting like they knew what to do.

Q: I noticed you didn’t use Trump’s name in the special.

A: His name is used too much. I’ve never heard ex-presidents’ names used that much. Ever. The joke that I said is that I didn’t say his name because his ears perked up. They say his name — and I’m from New York — and nine out of 10 New Yorkers have a problem with him and think he’s a criminal.

Q: In your public writing process, I’m wondering if you found your audiences reacted much differently, or more, or less, to material about Trump versus material about, say, the pandemic.

A: All I had to do is talk about it a little, and somebody in the audience would get upset on levels that I had not seen since, literally, I (was) learning to become a stand-up. I’ve gone after both sides my entire life, and now you’re upset?

Q: It sounded like you were reading a lot during the pandemic. Did you actually have any successful reading experiences, or was it all kind of like fever?

A: My brain couldn’t remain focused. I would start reading and then my brain would go “We’re all going to die!” about every two or three paragraphs. I mean, it really was spun out. I’m still just getting back to reading, finally.

Q: COVID drinking, too, was that a thing?

A: I was pretty good with that. I (gave myself) like two glasses of wine. Which my shrink said — when I said, “That’s got me a touch worried” — he said, “Better than lithium.” The glasses of wine are probably better than any of the antidepressants you can take. And it worked! What I did do is I binge-watched, I binge-watched a ton of TV. And part of the reason I binge-watched, besides the distraction level, is the fact that I’ve waited my whole life for TV to be that type of mature and be that smart and have that level of acting, that level of writing.

Q: You mentioned that you went 500 days without touring. You’re back on the road. How often are you normally in front of an audience?

A: Anywhere between 100 and 150 times a year.

Q: So you’re not exaggerating when you said that the audience is your primary relationship.

A: Part of the reason I didn’t find myself in a relationship was by the time I made it as a comic, I was touring my brains out. I was selfish about the fact that I wanted to do these things. When I was writing plays, I wasn’t gonna then try to figure out how to make a living, raise children.

Q: How old are you now?

Q: By the way, I just read that your mom died. I’m really sorry to hear that.

A: Yeah, that was tough. But you gotta remember, she was 104.

Q: Your dad was really old, too, right?

A: My dad was 101.

Q: Oh, my God. What are they doing over there in your family?

A: It’s pretty crazy I have an underlying condition, considering both my parents died of natural causes in their sleep without pain.

Q: Have you noticed any difference in the audiences from before and after the pandemic?

A: Initially, there was a lot more excitement. For anyone who has a following, no matter what size, most people were really excited to see you again. These people have been indoors way too long. That was kind of amazing, how much they craved performance as much as we needed to perform.

Q: You’ve also started podcasting too.

A: I call it “Rantcast,” but we hadn’t been able to do it during this run of the tour because it was really, literally like doing two shows.

Q: Well you know, with AI now, you can just get your voice turned into a computer voice and have the computer do the screaming for you.

A: When they said you can now have your mother and father with you forever, I was like, wow — that’s, phew, I don’t know.

Q: Yeah, would you actually want that?

A: No. There’s got to be something that really gave you comfort for you to want to hear that voice again — in the sense of, oh, “I really would need to hear that.” My mother would be, “What’s the matter with you? Why are you wearing that shirt? Why did you get a haircut before the show? You never get a haircut before the show. You do it three days before the show!”

Lewis Black: Off the Rails

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido

Tickets: $35-$65

Phone: (800) 988-4253

Online: artcenter.org

Pearce writes for The Los Angeles Times.

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'My job is to scream, OK?' How Lewis Black found comic gold in raging against the machine

Lewis Black isn't really that angry. He just realized at a certain point that he was at his funniest when he was angriest. 

So he became the King of Rant, responding to a world gone mad and the hypocrisy of those who think they're ruling it in apoplectic, finger-waving diatribes.

To brilliant comedic effect. 

"If I was acting like that all the time, I'd be dead," he says. "I'd be dead ."

And then, of course, because he's Lewis Black, he laughs.

That darkly comic sense of humor proved a perfect fit for "The Daily Show," where his rants rose to national prominence in the '90s, leading to comedy specials on HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime, as he hit the road, averaging 200 shows a year.

Lewis Black brings his Off the Rails Tour to Phoenix

He's back in Phoenix with his Off the Rails Tour on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Like every show he's done in recent years, the night will end with a livestream called The Rant Is Due, in which he reads the audience's written rants. 

Those rants are featured on a podcast called Lewis Black's Rantcast, available at lewisblack.com and on his YouTube channel .

In a recent phone call, Black was candid and reflective as he shared his thoughts on ranting for comic effect as the world grows dumber by the hour.

He was also really funny, often slipping into character, from the withering yet clearly playful sarcasm of his response to a simple "How are you?" 

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'Every day is just more and more joy'

Question: How are you?

Answer: Oh, delightful. Every day is just more and more joy. Much less anxiety. We're doing so much better as a people.

I really didn't want to worry about nuclear war in my lifetime. But apparently, we have to worry about all the things, again, that I worried about as a child, which is great. Because now I'm an adult, and I can worry better.

Q: Do you remember how to crawl under your desk in the event of a nuclear attack?

A: Exactly. The same instructions in a sense that we were given when the pandemic hit.

Q: How does it feel to be back on the road after lockdown?

A: Very good. And I'd like to believe, like a lot of other people seem to, that it's passed. That everything's in order. It'll be like the flu now. I'd like to believe that. But I don't (laughs).

Q: Are you still being somewhat cautious?

A: I'm still a little cautious. I'm between brains. And that's what drives me nuts. Part of my brain is still in the pandemic. The other part's thinking everything's great. So there's this constant argument.

I'm carrying a mask around on my wrist. I do put it on when I'm inside with people, but I do it about 75% of the time. 

People go, "Why do you do that?" Because I had to cancel a ton of shows. And I don't want to be the person who has to cancel again. I don't want to get sick.

Q: Was it hard not doing shows?

A: It was horrible because it had been my life in a lot of ways. I had a primary relationship and it was with the audience. So it was like being divorced or in a trial separation. And I didn't do well, as people don't when they lose a significant other.

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'Did Kurt Vonnegut write this ...?'

Q: How cathartic is this for you? 

A: It's a release. I literally get to get rid of a ton of stuff each day when I'm on stage.

People think, "He likes to talk about political stuff." Well, no, I like to talk about the way politics affects us socially. When I'm yelling, a lot of the time, it's certainly about whatever the idiots are doing.

But some of it might have to do with the fact that I was on the phone for an hour trying to get through to someone to get a prescription and had to listen to a mechanical voice over and over and over again.

We came through the timeframe when we had to learn patience. Now we've come out of the timeframe and we're less patient. It's unbelievable. We're dumb as oxen. And I put myself in that category.

Q: I know you said it's not all politics, but I'm assuming the current political climate has been especially inspiring.

A: It's hard to satirize what's already satiric. You read the front page of the paper, you think. "Did Kurt Vonnegut write this (expletive)?"

And people won't like this, especially out there, but get a grip folks. In New York City, everyone knew for a long time that our former leader was cooking the books, OK? Nine out of 10 New Yorkers didn't want him to be the president of the United States. Got it?

There was a reason. Because we lived with him. And now it's coming to pass that they caught him. Those of us in the city have been waiting a long time, because we're the ones who had to suffer.

Q: Are there topics you're finding especially inspiring at the moment?

A: I finished my last special in May and then had two months off. I'm not one of those people who sits around and writes every day. I write when I'm working. So I stopped. And I shouldn't have. 

But one of our great failures as a people — one of the reasons that we're not as great as we know we should be — is because we do everything at the last minute.

It's been how many years dealing with climate change? And now we're going, "Oh yeah, let's do something." "Oh yeah, let's deal with immigration." We've got two sides that argue about immigration who both have let everything fall to (expletive). 

Why? Because they didn't deal with it. Now they're going, "I can't believe." Well, because you didn't do it. Now do it.

We respond to a crisis the way a student will respond to having a final exam the next day. Take a little speed, stay up all night and study.

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'I'm certainly not joyless'

Q: When something outrageous happens while you're off for two or three weeks, are you ever like, "It would be great to be joking about this right now"?

A: Nah. I'm not crazy. People go, "Boy, a lot of this stuff has a shelf life." But it doesn't have a shelf life. It literally hangs around like a stink for quite a time. In three weeks, people are gonna still respond the way they would have responded the day of.

And I'm slow in terms of kind of coming up with stuff. I'm slower than most people. I really need the audience to get to the point where I figure out where the funny is.

Q: I read a recent interview where they started a sentence with "While Lewis Black may seem like a joyless human being ..." which struck me as really funny because you seem to be having a great time.  

A: (Laughs) Yeah, I do. I'm certainly not joyless. I saw that. It was funny.

Q: Do you find that there's a perception of you as being angrier than you actually are?

A: There is a sense of that. But I think my audience, which is really smart, gets it. 

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'My job is to scream, OK?'

Q: Does reality ever get so crazy or depressing that it's hard to find the humor in it?

A: My latest special was about how I dealt with the pandemic, which was not good. I did not think there was much satiric about it until I got some distance.

Because I thought it was appalling. The way that people acted, the way people were, the whole thing. There was a half-assed form of leadership on both sides. Instead of creating division, they should've come together and figured it out. 

I just felt like, "C'mon guys. Can we stop fighting for five minutes? We've got a real problem on our hands" (laughs).

I always thought, since I was 9 or whatever, that if there was an alien invasion, from all the movies I watched and just the thoughts I had about the world, that we would all come together and fight the aliens.

That's what we had. An alien invasion. And we didn't come together.

My job is to scream, OK? I do it in a public space for people who like to hear someone scream. That's the deal. You don't do it at each other.

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On lightening up: 'It's a joke, schmuck'

Q: Speaking of divisiveness and anger, have you seen a change in audiences with people yelling back at you?

A: No. Just before the shutdown, I was getting a bit of that. And now I talk about it from the beginning. I just basically go, "I'm not playing this game anymore."

There are more people in the audience than before who, you can say something and it'll pierce them. They'll be like, "I can't believe you attacked my basic beliefs. God!" It's a joke, schmuck.

I have to explain, "We haven't been out together for a while and if you don't get how a comedy show works, there's a lot of stuff that's gonna be coming out of my mouth and it could be a long night for you."

Q: There's been a lot of talk about the increased sensitivity of the times and the impact that could have on comedy. Do you think there's any truth to people saying pretty soon we won't be able to joke about anything?

A: No. Because people want to laugh. It's the same thing with politics. There's 15% at one edge and 15% at the other edge.

There's a left-wing group that says, "You're not supposed to say this" and there's a right-wing group saying things at times that are just way over the line. And they have things you're not supposed to say to them.

That's gonna pass because 70% of the people out there still get what comedy is. And once again, we continue to respond to the minority.

So just stop it. OK? They're not in charge. The woke are not in charge. The other side is not in charge. So make your comments and then shut the (expletive) up.

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Sam Kinison's 'level of rage was spectacular'

Q: Could you talk about how you developed your approach to comedy?

A: I lived around Washington, so that had an effect. And it took a long time to figure out, but what I did figure out was that I'm funniest when I'm angry. That was the key to it. And everything else followed.

It took a long time to figure it out because it's not a lot of people who choose to do that. So there weren't a lot of role models. Even after Sam Kinison broke.

He was phenomenal. I mean, his level of rage was spectacular. I thought, "Oh, good. They'll get it now." And it still took time. Because I had to figure out how to do it my way. And that takes time.

Partly because I wasn't doing it for a living. I was doing it for fun. I didn't really go on the road until I was 40. I was writing plays.

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The story behind The Rant Is Due

Q: Tell me about The Rant Is Due part of the show.

A: That's the part I'm really pleased with. I think it's unique. I've kind of been surprised that we haven't gotten more attention from it. For about five or six years, after every show, I read rants that are written by the audience.

It started with a Q&A. My tour manager figured out a way they could text me through an iPad. So we started doing that. And it kind of evolved. It was my version of a TV show. A primitive television show.

It evolved into folks getting off their chest what was pissing them off. And I began to read those. It was really great to be able to do that.

Q: I read an interview where you said you'll keep touring as long as you're still learning something. What kind of things are you learning?

A: I've always felt I have to be more insane than what I see. And I've really been pushed to the limit. So it's kind of fascinating to me to find the leverage point on making this (expletive) that really gets less and less funny, funnier.

And as long as I can continue to do that ...

Because during the course of my life, each passing year, it has gotten less and less funny. It's like, seriously? You're gonna reverse the ruling that gave women rights over their bodies?

You're gonna send us back to having to fight for voting rights? Really? We're gonna go back to that period? Are you kidding me? So it's finding what makes that funny. That's what keeps me going. And if I don't find it, then that'll be that.

It's also just what can I do in terms of my performance? What makes it better? Five years ago, it was discovering The Rant Is Due. But I think I'll be transitioning out of doing this. I'll continue to work, but it may not be in this fashion. But that's a few years away. 

Lewis Black's Phoenix show

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1.

Where:  Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix.

Admission:  $49.50-$79.50

Details:  602-267-1600,  celebritytheatre.com .

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley .

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Lewis Black has no complaints about getting off the road

There are few things you can count on in life. Death. Taxes. And Lewis Black eventually playing a theater near you, no matter where you live. Black, known for his rants on “The Daily Show” and as the voice of Anger in Pixar’s “Inside Out” franchise, has kept a grueling touring schedule for 35 years. This year, he’s giving it one last push with his “Goodbye Yeller Brick Road, The Final Tour.” He plays the Wilbur Friday and again in September before he finally takes some time to relax and pursue other projects.

That doesn’t mean he won’t do a few theaters again sometime in the future, or that he won’t pop up as a guest on someone else’s tour. It does mean that his days as a road dog, spending most of his time traveling and touring, are done. “I’m gonna do less shows,” he says. “A lot less shows. More than likely what will occur is, a number of times a year I’ll hopefully do ‘The Rant Is Due’ as kind of a live show in many places.”

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In his “Daily Show” editorials , onstage, and in his “Rantcast” podcast, Black has made a career out of ranting about everything from politics to the weather. On the latter topic, he once joked about experiencing five seasons in four days during a February in Boston. “It was 30, it was 60, it was 90, it was 12,” he yelled. “On the last day, there was thunder, lightning, and snow — together. And I hadn’t done drugs.”

The “Rant Is Due” segment is a portion of his show in which he reads rants sent to him by audience members. A book based on those rants is just one of the projects he’s thinking of once the tour ends. His alma mater, the University of North Carolina, has a collection of his writings, including books and plays he hasn’t read in years, and he plans to comb them for ideas.

“I want to go through this stuff, and start figuring out if there’s another short book,” he says. “It’s like a book you pick up on the way to the airport. And by the time the plane lands, you’re done reading what people are bitching about. I’d love to get the best of what was written in to me and get that out there and then sell it for charity.”

A comedian with too much idle time can be a problem. Not so for Black, according to longtime friend and fellow comic Kathleen Madigan. The big difference is that Black has a lot of talents he hasn’t had time to employ. “There’s a million other things Lewis has always wanted to do,” she says. “Versus other comics, I would say, ‘Uh-oh, this won’t be good if they quit the road. It’s been too long. They don’t know what else to do.’ But Lewis, I think it’s just gonna be a little weird transition there for a hot minute. And then I think he’ll be fine with it.”

Black was hoping last year’s stand-up special, “Tragically, I Need You,” would wind up on one of the bigger streaming platforms. When he had to post it to YouTube, he knew something had shifted in his career. He started in traditional media, first as a playwright then, in his late 30s, as a stand-up comedian. He doesn’t feel comfortable in a social media environment.

“If we’re on YouTube, then the day is done,” he says. “That’s where we’ve gone in my lifetime, from an industrial age, I call it, to a technological age. I’m the end of the industrial age. And I’m not really that great at the technological age. It’s time to go back to things I really still want to do, which is write. If I’m lucky, get some acting in. To see if ‘Inside Out’ [might] generate some more voice-over work, which I’d like to have.”

Although Pixar is a marketing juggernaut, and there will be plenty of small red Anger dolls that bear a passing resemblance to Black in stores, he doesn’t get a cut of that. But he does have his own merchandising on his website , including an “Anger Button” and a “Profane Keychain,” both of which produce Black’s shouts at the push of a button. Those things help him pay the team that manages his online presence; anything left over goes to charity, he says. Black is amazed the items sell, and laughs just talking about them.

“It is really spectacular,” he says. “And we sell them in bundles. I mean, would I have thought that the anger button and the keychain, that you’d want both? Are you serious?”

In the meantime, the current tour continues through September, with more dates to be added and eventually, he hopes, another taping of a special. Part of what Black will be talking about onstage on this tour is coming to grips with how a comedian can satirize a reality that is already ridiculous. What can he say onstage to top the headlines? “If you read anywhere that any state would say that frozen embryos are children, if you read it in a book, you’d laugh,” he says. “You read it as a headline and you go, ‘What?’”

Black has signed a contract to keep ranting on “The Daily Show” for most of the next two years. The show’s current format has revolving hosts, and Black will get his turn later this year. “I get to sit in the seat,” he says, taking a swipe at himself. “So that’ll be fun. It’ll probably be sometime in the middle of August when there’s a complete drought.”

LEWIS BLACK: GOODBYE YELLER BRICK ROAD, THE FINAL TOUR

At the Wilbur. March 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. $49-$89. thewilbur.com

Nick A. Zaino III can be reached at [email protected] .

Comedian Lewis Black ready to rant that we’ve gone ‘Off the Rails’ at Warner Theatre

Jason Fraley | [email protected]

May 3, 2022, 12:31 AM

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Hear our full conversation on my podcast “Beyond the Fame.”

His comedy rants are perfectly suited to help us all vent about the past few years.

Lewis Black explodes with hilarious anger at Warner Theatre on Friday and Saturday.

“I was in solitary confinement for almost 12 weeks and it really took a toll,” Black told WTOP. “I lost my mind. As I say to the audience, ‘You’ve only been with me for 20 minutes, imagine what it’s been like to be with me for literally 12 weeks?’ … I was pointing a finger at myself, screaming. Your brain can only entertain itself so much then it comes after you.”

The tour is fittingly called “Off the Rails,” which describes the state of our nation.

“We’re completely off the rails, we’re not even on the rails, the train went off the rails, now we’re driving on grass and the wheels are spinning around,” Black said. “I mean who comes through a pandemic and at the end of the pandemic, it’s more crazy than it was in the midst of the pandemic? We’re fighting over stuff that is just completely ludicrous.”

He remains incensed by the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

“People saying it didn’t happen! Calling it regular tourists coming to see the place!” Black said. “We had a two-party system that initially was dealing with different points of view about the same reality. … We are now living in two separate realities. We’re arguing over what reality is. You can’t do that. I did that on an LSD trip and you learn a big lesson.”

Born in D.C. in 1948, Black grew up in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland.

“I was born and raised around Washington,” Black said. “One of the reasons I left is that the local news is national news. I would have been in front of Congress every day basically barking on all fours at these people and probably nipping at their heels. I just couldn’t handle watching that close what goes on there on a daily basis. I beat ’em to the punch.”

After a year at the University of Maryland in College Park, he decided that he could no longer live with his parents. So, he transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study playwriting, followed by his Master of Fine Arts at the School of Drama at Yale University in 1977.

“The plan was to be a playwright,” Black said. “I wrote a lot of plays. … [Anton] Chekhov I loved, [Samuel] Beckett I loved, [Harold] Pinter I loved, Sam Shepard I loved. … One of my first favorites was by John Osborne aptly enough called ‘Look Back in Anger’ … and Herb Gardner’s ‘A Thousand Clowns,’ which was a model for me for a long time.”

He began dabbling in standup at the West Bank Cafe in New York City.

“Downstairs was a 100-seat bar, a theater and a small little stage,” Black said. “I would open for every show. I’d been doing standup on and off, but I was doing it for fun. I got a kick out of it. It was a way I could write some stuff and get it up there without having to write a play. … It just took off. People liked the stand-up more than they liked the plays.”

Eventually, he made the shift to comedy full time around age 40.

“I had this play I thought would be the one to break through, but it was a miserable experience I had in Houston,” Black said. “I ended up working at a comedy club in Houston and they offered me a gig for the same amount of money that I made as a playwright. I’d be working there one week as opposed to spending two years writing a play.”

TV audiences got to know him from “Back in Black” segments on “The Daily Show.”

“The explosion of cable television is when they discovered, ‘Oh, politics is funny! Social satire is funny,'” Black said. “The reason we became the ones to look toward is … the fact that news was becoming satiric. Somebody would come on, they’d say something, then deny saying it, then we’d show them a tape of them saying it, joke’s over, let’s move on.”

He continues to appear on “The Daily Show” even after Jon Stewart’s departure.

“I’m doing them until they realize I’m still there and go, ‘Wait a minute?'” Black said. “I’ve been doing it for 25 years ago. I started with [Craig] Kilborn and I’m still doing it with Trevor [Noah]. I’ve enjoyed working with all of them. They bring me in when they want me. … They never auditioned me to be in that chair. … Just do it as a courtesy.”

Next up is the Warner Theatre, where he’ll hone his upcoming TV special.

“The Warner is sort of the final tune-up, so folks will be seeing it,” Black said. “I’m really pleased about doing the final tune-up there, because the special ‘Red, White & Screwed’ was great that we shot there. I’ve loved the Warner, I’ve loved working on that stage and I think that may have been my best special, so going back there to work on this is great.”

Stick around after the routine for his bonus live feed “The Rant is Due.”

“After I finish my show, I come back on stage,” Black said. “Go to LewisBlack.com , you can basically hear some of the Rant Cast. I ask that the audience writes in, they can ask a question, but I’m really looking for their comments about living in D.C. … I’ll pick the ones that come out of that area and it’ll be a live feed that goes throughout the world.”

This summer, he’ll even return to playwriting at  Bowie Community Theatre in Maryland.

“It’s called ‘One Slight Hitch’ and it’s being done there in July,” Black said. “It takes place in the ’80s about this woman who has to choose between getting married or a career. If you didn’t know my name was on it, you wouldn’t know that I wrote it. It’s a romantic comedy.”

Hailed by The Washington Post for “his savantlike ability to name every Best Picture winner in history," Jason Fraley began at WTOP as Morning Drive Writer in 2008, film critic in 2011 and Entertainment Editor in 2014, providing daily arts coverage on-air and online.

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Lewis Black 'Off The Rails' coming to Hoyt Sherman Place in 2022

Lewis Black returns to Des Moines; if there are any complaints, consider sending them to the comedian . There's a chance he'll read them on stage.

On Feb. 10, comedian Lewis Black brings his "Off The Rails" tour to Des Moines' Hoyt Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave. The national tour kicks off in January and runs through early May.

Tickets for the Des Moines show go on sale at 11 a.m. Friday, with prices ranging from $49.50-$69.50, and can be purchased through  Ticketmaster.com  or in person at the Hoyt Sherman Box Office.

Black started his career as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s, becoming famous for his comedic rants, and  went on to win two Grammy Awards for his material. His career also includes film and television appearances on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and in Pixar's "Inside Out."

More: New trailer for Kurt Warner movie released. See Zachary Levi as Iowa native in 'American Underdog'

More recently, he launched "Lewis Black's Rantcast," a podcast that started in July 2020 and aired more than 50 episodes. Similar to his live comedy, Black reads through listener-submitted rants and talks about current events.

In October, Black canceled a Nashville performance for "NONOTCOVID!" health reasons , according to a statement from the comedian.

Black previously appeared at Hoyt Sherman Place in September of 2016  as well as  January of 2020 . More information about his forthcoming visit can be found via  hoytsherman.org .

More: Your 2021 Des Moines holiday guide: What to do and where to go for Thanksgiving and Christmas

Isaac Hamlet covers arts, entertainment and culture at the Des Moines Register. Reach him at ihamlet@ gannett.com or (319) 600-2124, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet .

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Lewis Black — Off The Rails Tour 2023

November 10, 2023, kalamazoo state theatre  .

What To Know Before Attending The Show

• All bags and purses must be under 8″ x 5″ x 2″ –  Click for more details

Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM

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Legendary award-winning comedian Lewis Black makes his triumphant return to the Kalamazoo State Theatre on Friday, November 10, 2023, as part of his  Off The Rails  tour.

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Security Information: All patrons are subject to search, pat down, and wanding.  The following items are not allowed in the venue: guns, knives, lasers, tasers, mace, glass items, cameras, selfie sticks, outside food or beverage, no bags over the dimensions of 8 inches wide by 5 inches tall with a width of 2 inches,  and other items that may challenge public safety.  You can view our full list by visiting our  frequently asked questions here

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Bill clinton and barack obama join joe biden for blockbuster radio city fundraiser; protesters interrupt presidents’ q&a — update, comedian lewis black to retire from touring; dates for final run ‘goodbye yeller brick road’ unveiled.

By Matt Grobar

Matt Grobar

Senior Film Reporter

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EXCLUSIVE: After 35-plus years as a touring stand-up comedian, Lewis Black is preparing to park his tour bus for good.

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Going forward, as Black moves away from doing hundreds of live shows a year, he will for the most part devote his time to the writing of a new play and book, as well as an expansion of his podcast, Rantcast . But while his time on the road is nearly over, the 75-year-old comic does expect to continue performing on stage “from time to time.”

The comedian told Deadline that he’s been letting folks know about his impending retirement for a while now, though no one believed he was serious. He joked that if anyone asks why he would retire from touring, this would be “after years of being asked” why he would ever have entertained such an “exhausting” pursuit in the first place.

Black also spoke about the “great joy” he’s taken from touring and the “world of possibilities” it’s opened for him over the years. “I thought the road would go on forever, well I was wrong about that. And the fact is as hard as the road maybe to be on, it’s harder to leave it,” he said. “I am only retiring from touring. It’s time for me to explore other avenues such as writing, reading your rants, and pitching tv shows that will be rejected. (Which is why I know they are good.) More importantly I can finally give my Fantasy Football team the focus and time it truly needs. And maybe, just maybe I can become the professional golfer I was born to be.”

As someone whose touring career took off in his 40s, who began his career as a playwright, he “never expected” to have cultivated such an accomplished career in this arena, referring to his tour bus and “a sense of discipline” in his lifestyle as the factors most key to his longevity.

Perhaps the best part of touring, for Black, has been getting to see the U.S. like few people ever do, which was always a goal. Some of the best years, for the comic, came upon his introduction to The Daily Show , when he routinely found himself performing for people of all ages.

In looking back at his years touring a “spectacular” assortment of venues, Black only wishes he had filmed more of his life on the road — “not so much to get it out to everybody,” he says, “but just to have a record of it.”

In a tease of the material to be heard on his final tour, Black jokes that it will be life changing. “I think, finally, I’ll demonstrate my ability to cure a variety of diseases. That’s really the transition I’m going through,” he says. “As many Americans seem to have done, I’m moving on from just being a comic to being a healer, and that’s the big surprise, when I show up in their town and set up at an airport and do 50 to a hundred healings, and then fly out the next day.”

While he initially intended to wrap up his stand-up career with two specials, including one “psychotically titled Lewis Black’s Greatest Hits ,” he’s now just planning to put together one centered around his last tour, in which he will further reflect on life “in satirical times.” In addition to the aforementioned, upcoming projects for Black will hopefully include a travel show that he will host, showcasing his favorite places in the U.S.

A two-time Grammy winner and six-time nominee known for his trademark style of comedic yelling and finger pointing, Black’s goal in his career has for the most part been to make people laugh at life’s hypocrisies and the insanity he sees in the world. Thus far surpassing 1.3 million views on YouTube, his most recent special, Tragically, I Need You , explores topics including his ways of coping with the pandemic, his frustrations with the evolving world, and of course his thoughts about the chaos of America these last few years.

In addition to numerous specials for HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime, and Epix, Black has released eight critically acclaimed comedy albums, including Grammy winners The Carnegie Hall Performance and Stark Raving Black . He’s the longest-running contributor on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show , having been with the show from the beginning, and has also published three bestsellers and 40+ plays, seeing his work performed throughout the country.

Also an actor soon to heard reprising his role as Anger in Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 , Black’s other feature credits include Universal’s Accepted co-starring Blake Lively and Justin Long, Man of the Year opposite Robin Williams, and Paul Feig’s children’s Christmas movie, Unaccompanied Minors , for Warner Bros. He’s also previouslyn been seen on shows like Madoff , The Big Bang Theory , and The Root of All Evil , which he hosted for Comedy Central.

Black’s ongoing podcast, Rantcast , sees him give voice to rants written by fans from around the world. The comic is repped by Benjamin Brewer and UTA.

LEWIS BLACK: OFF THE RAILS TOUR 2023

*bold denotes newly added dates on sale November 17

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Lewis Black: Off The Rails at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts

Lewis Black: Off The Rails

Comedian and social critic Lewis Black is renowned for his hilariously angry face and simulated mental breakdowns. At his quick-witted live shows, Black skewers the absurdities of history, religion, and politics with impassioned rants that are as funny as they are eye-opening. Whether he's feigning befuddlement with current social trends or making light of pop culture's bloated landscape.

Thru - Mar 25, 2023

Show Type: Comedy

Box Office: 847-673-6300

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• Mar 14, 2023
• My Off The Rails Tour Kicks Off Mar 24!

My Off The Rails Tour kicks off on March 24. Got your tickets yet? Fan Club seats are within the first 10 rows !

Not a Fan Club Member yet? Not a problem. Just put a Membership in your cart first, then the tickets you want to buy.

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Comedy Legend Lewis Black Brings His “Off the Rails” Tour to the Kravis Center on December 9 Tickets on sale March 25 at 10 am

WEST PALM BEACH, FL (March 21, 2022) Comedian Lewis Black has announced summer and fall dates for his Off The Rails Tour which includes the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on December 9, 2022 at 8pm . Tickets are on sale for Kravis Center donors starting at 10am on March 23 , and available to the general public beginning Friday, March 25 at 10am via the Official Kravis Center website, kravis.org .

Black says, “If you have to ask why I am calling this the Off The Rails Tour , then we are truly off the rails.”

ABOUT LEWIS BLACK: Black, known as the King of Rant, uses his trademark style of comedic yelling and animated finger pointing to skewer anyone and anything that gets under his skin. His comedic brilliance lies in his ability to make people laugh at the absurdities of life, with topics that include current events, social media, politics and anything that exposes the hypocrisy and madness he sees in the world.

A GRAMMY Award-winning stand-up, LEWIS BLACK performs more than 200 nights annually, to sold-out audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. He is one of a few performers to sell out multiple renowned theaters, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City Center, the Main Stage at the Mirage in Las Vegas and a sold-out Broadway run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City.

LEWIS BLACK does a live streaming show called THE RANT IS DUE at the end of each of his standup performances. This show is written by the audience watching throughout the world and also by the audience in the area of each show. With so much to get off their chests, people use Lewis’ platform to rant about what is on their minds. These rants are now also available on his podcast, Lewis Black’s Rantcast .

LEWIS BLACK continues as the longest running contributor to THE DAILY SHOW on Comedy Central. He has had comedy specials on HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime and Epix. In 2001, he won Best Male Stand-Up at the American Comedy Awards. His newest special, which is currently nominated for a GRAMMY Award, Thanks for Risking Your Life , was his last live performance before the COVID lockdown. He has released twelve comedy albums, including the 2007 GRAMMY Award-winning The Carnegie Hall Performance . He won his second GRAMMY Award for his album Stark Raving Black and has published three bestselling books: Nothing’s Sacred (Simon & Schuster, 2005), Me of Little Faith (Riverhead Books, 2008) and I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas (Riverhead Books, 2010). In 2012, he performed eight sell-out shows at Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, as well as did one of his two HBO Specials BLACK ON BROADWAY. In 2015, Black notably voiced the character “Anger” in the Academy Award-winning film from Pixar, INSIDE OUT .

For more information visit: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

Lewis Black: Off The Rails rolls in to the Kravis Center Friday, December 9, 2022 at 8pm . Tickets are on sale for Kravis Center donors starting Wednesday, March 23 at 10am , and for the general public on Friday, March 25 at 10am through the Official Kravis Center Website, kravis.org. Those wishing to purchase via phone may call the Kravis Center Box Office at 561.832.7469 during the regular business hours of Monday through Saturday, 12pm to 5pm. For information about becoming a Kravis Center donor, please visit kravis.org/membership or call 561.651.4320.

For the latest health and safety information, please visit kravis.org/ healthsafety .

About the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts: The Kravis Center is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. The Center’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality, by offering comprehensive arts education programs—serving nearly 3 million schoolchildren since its inception; by providing a Palm Beach County home for local and regional arts organizations to showcase their work; and by providing an economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County. For information, please visit kravis.org .

Directions & Parking

The Kravis Center is located near downtown West Palm Beach and is easily accessible via I-95 and the Turnpike. Complimentary self-parking and paid valet parking is available.

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Lewis Black- Off The Rails Tour

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Lewis Black — Off The Rails Tour 2023

• This event has passed.

Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM

Legendary award-winning comedian Lewis Black makes his triumphant return to the Kalamazoo State Theatre on Friday, November 10, 2023, as part of his Off The Rails tour.

About Lewis Black:

Today, Lewis is one of the most respected comics in the industry and is known as the King of Rant, using his trademark style of comedic yelling and finger pointing to expose the absurdities of life. His comedic brilliance makes people laugh at life’s hypocrisies and the insanity he sees in the world. Adding a unique element to the end of his shows each night, Black delivers audience–written rants which have been submitted from fans around the world. He has done over 400 live streaming shows titled; THE RANT IS DUE. These rants are available on his podcast, Rant Cast.

Black is the longest–running contributor on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and you can see him guest hosting June 20th, 21st, and 22nd.

His stand–up specials have appeared on HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime and Epix. His latest special, Thanks for Risking Your Life (2020) was nominated for a Grammy. The comedian has released eight critically acclaimed comedy albums including the 2007 Grammy Award–Winner, The Carnegie Hall Performance. He won his second Grammy in 2011 for his album, Stark Raving Black, and has a total of 6 Grammys nominations. He has published three bestsellers: Nothing’s Sacred (Simon & Schuster, 2005), Me of Little Faith (Riverhead Books, 2008) and I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas (Riverhead Books, 2010).

Black notably voiced the character “Anger” in the Pixar Academy Award–winning film, Inside Out and will be reclaiming his role in the movie’s upcoming sequel this year. His other notable films include Universal’s Accepted co–starring Jonah Hill, Blake Lively and Justin Long, and also Man Of The Year opposite Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney and Jeff Goldblum.

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Florence Pugh Posts Video Tour of Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts’ Set, Shows Off Yelena’s New Combat-Ready Suit and More: ‘They’re Shooting’ Right Now

By Zack Sharf

Digital News Director

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Florence Pugh is back in Marvel movie mode and shared to Instagram a first look set video from the Atlanta studio where “ Thunderbolts ” is now in production. The tentpole will mark Pugh’s latest appearance as the assassin Yelena Belova, a role she debuted as in “Black Widow” and reprised on the Disney+ series “Hawkeye.” The set video includes a first look at one of Yelena’s combat-ready suits in the film. Pugh is also sporting some blue eyeliner.

Pugh panned to some of the structures being built on the “Thunderbolts” set and eventually ran into director Jake Schreier. Previously, Schreier directed 2012’s “Robot and Frank” and 2015’s “Paper Towns,” and he’s made several music videos for artists like Kanye West, Selena Gomez, Chance the Rapper, Baby Keem, Benny Blanco, Francis and the Lights, Cashmere Cat and more. He’s also directed episodes of HBO Max’s “Minx,” FX’s “The Premise” and Showtime’s “Kidding.”

“I don’t even think you’re supposed to be doing this,” Schreier playfully told Pugh, who panned to one of the playback monitors that reveals a first official look at Yelena Belova armed and dangerous in the movie.

“Someone is going to come rugby tackle me,” Pugh joked.

“Thunderbolts” is currently on Disney’s release calendar for May 2, 2025. Watch Pugh’s set video in the Instagram post below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Florence Pugh (@florencepugh)

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