Rating: 5/5

Three-Word Summary: Bring the funny

Stand-up comedy is always funnier in person.

It’s probably a combination of directly feeling the comedic timing and being surrounded by thousands of other laughing people.

What ever it is, The Oddball Comedy festival capitalizes on that fact. With eight main stage comics and thousands of attendees, the show on October 4 in Atlanta’s Lakewood Amphitheater was one of the funniest performances I’ve ever witnessed.

Not to say every joke or even every comic was entertaining. One comedian was actually borderline frightening. But overall, it was over four-hours of prime humor.

Most people where in the audience to see the two headline acts: Amy Schumer and Aziz Ansari. As a huge Parks and Recreation fan, I was personally looking forward to seeing Ansari.

As a dark comedy fan, I also knew that Anthony Jeselnik would be enjoyable. While all three of the comics lived up to expectations, none of them were the best comic on the stage.

That distinction went to Sebastian Maniscalco.

Maniscalco was the highlight of the evening because of his eccentric, physical delivery mixed with a polished act. His topics were relatively pedestrian, but his perspective on them were hilarious.

Another unsuspected joy was my discovery of Tim Minchin, the talented Australian musician-comic. Minchin’s irreverent songs made him nearly as dark as Jeselnik. But his ability to play the crap out of the piano was also on wild display.

Meanwhile, all three of the female comics (including Schumer) dwelt heavily on the topic of sex. It seems to me that too many ladies of comedy focus heavily on this subject as an attempt to be as raunchy as the guys.

Not to say that the guys shied away from sex. Most of Ansari’s act is typically about romance and dating. Schumer even addressed it in her set, discussing how she’s been labeled a ‘sex comic.’ While this may be a bit short-sighted, it’s also not entirely inaccurate.

All in all, there were quite a few different types of comics, funny in their own unique way. Some were funnier than others, but overall it was well worth the price of admission.