In the opening moments of his act Saturday night, greeted by camera flashes and raucous applause, comedian Lewis Black expressed his fondness for Chapel Hill: "I have way too much fun here." "Lewis Black & Friends," the marquee event of the second annual Carolina Comedy Festival, presented almost three hours of comedy to a capacity crowd in Memorial Hall. Rory Albanese, senior producer for "The Daily Show," the show on which Black gained much of his fame, opened the evening with a recap of his experiences on Franklin Street on Friday night. "Top of the Hill - there are a lot of frat dudes at that bar," he said. Albanese was followed by three student comedians and stand-up acts by Marion Grodidn and John Bowman before Black, a UNC alumnus, came on with a politically themed preview of his HBO special, set to air next month. The cornerstone of the five-day comedy festival, sponsored by the Carolina Union Activities Board, capped off a week that including a reading by author Nick Hornby. CUAB President Jonathon Benson said that in planning the festival, he had two questions in mind: "Is it good?" and "Will people show up?" The first was a no-brainer. "I don't even have to think about that to say, 'Yes.' "After last year's show, I knew that, as much trust as I can put into anything, I knew that Lewis could put together a show and it would be amazing, and he surpassed even my wildest expectations tonight." As for turnout, Benson said crowds at each event were double to triple their size from last year, including a packed house at Thursday's student comedy showdown in the Student Union Cabaret. "It's the first time I can remember packing the Cabaret," he said. "We really could have done a student show and brought down the house." Of the 10 comedians who performed Thursday, three were selected to open for Black. Mike Dolce, from James Madison University, and UNC students Luke Curry and Alex Trowbridge took on a receptive 1,400-plus crowd. Curry, a senior who has been doing stand-up for about a year, said that while his audience is usually smaller, his nerves were relatively calm. "I don't know if I'll ever get to do it again; it might have been a once in a lifetime thing," he said. Black said the student openers exhibited amazing composure, adding that the relevance of poking fun at hall crawls and "Mario Kart" is invaluable with a college audience. "There's nothing funnier than someone talking about what you're going through, as opposed to me farting around up there." After the show, Albanese was enthusiastic about the festival's growth in its second year. "Last year was amazing, but I think it's better this year, because (CUAB) has another year under its belt," he said. Benson echoed that sentiment. "Our goal is to keep on getting bigger and better every year, and this does it, this fits in with that."
Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
