While the Carrier Dome thrived with rowdy fans Friday night, Goldstein Auditorium was less than sold out, as comedian Daniel Tosh noted, peering upon the few who showed. The ‘venue’ was a bit small, said Tosh, who suggested that the comedy show should take place in the Dome next year.

Tosh and Zack Galifianakis, who have both made appearances on Comedy Central and Jimmy Kimmel Live, were brought to Syracuse University by University Union Comedy. Tosh offered such trivia as the fact that the UU silhouette shown on the curtain throughout sponsored performances is a shadow puppet shaped by someone with 74 fingers.

However, there was a disparity among Tosh and Galifianakis over the use of racist material. Galifianakis deemed it ‘unclassy;’ yet both used plenty of the offensive material to evoke laughter from the audience.

Tosh amused the audience with stereotypes and racist humor that he admitted would offend people. He promised his performance would be funny without artificial enhancements, leading to a recurrent theme of pro athletics. Tosh said athletes in the NBA and NFL should be forced to use steroids, because as fans we want to see strong athletes. Tosh also said his new favorite sport is poker, and thinks it should become an Olympic event; countries could only play with what they’re worth. Sure, we like the idea as Americans, but Costa Rica would be in with only 15 coconuts, said Tosh.

Tosh repeatedly made reference to the less fortunate, and said he’s never seen a homeless guy skip; therefore money does buy happiness. Instead of purchasing already faded jeans, we should have the homeless wear them for a while, said Tosh.

The stories told by Tosh often led into other stories that were discussed on many levels. He said that he often likes to carry on a joke until no one knows what he’s talking about. This technique was noticed by the audience.

‘I really liked Dan. He was funny and his jokes had many layers’ said Nraj Shanbhag, an audience member. ‘I liked the jokes about girls with implants and whores.’

Tosh left the stage at the end of his piece; however, Galifianakis failed to appear upon introduction because he was in the restroom. Tosh resumed the spot light, feeling obligated to compensate for the orator’s poor improv. Meanwhile, the stage crew wheeled in a piano, which was reason for great anticipation if the next comedian would offer music or humor.

When Galifianakis finally came on stage, he introduced himself, pronouncing his last name carefully. He said his father always told him to be proud of his name because it starts with a ‘Gal’ and ends with a ‘kiss.’ He would have preferred that it ended with a ‘fuck’ instead.

Galifianakis sat at the piano and played a repetitive melody while telling stories at a leisurely pace and guzzling a bottle of water. He confessed that all he remembers from college is how many times his grandmother died. He also added that been addicted to cold turkey for five years now, and is getting fatter; which sucks because he’s claustrophobic.

When Galifianakis stood from the piano there was a wet spot on the front of his pants, and he excused himself for having an accident – surprising since he had delayed his performance for supposedly going to the bathroom.

Galifianakis continued his performance by interviewing various audience members and occasionally attempting to escape the spotlight. While mingling among the audience, he encountered members of various identities, and managed to conjure hilarity by asking them questions and lampooning their responses. He invited a girl to join him onstage, and proceeded to use the individual as the basis for many jokes throughout the remainder of his piece.

‘I liked the first guy (Tosh), but the second guy (Galifianakis) wasn’t that funny,’ said Allison Bruen, a freshman majoring in music education.

Published on March 27, 2005 at 12:00 pm