Jeff Stilson and Lewis Black: at Civic Wintergarden

By GRAHAM REID

American sitcoms have ruined comedy for us. Their even pace and regular measure (not to mention the laugh track) make it disconcerting to see stand-ups who don't conform to their predictability.

Cigarette chompin' and meat eatin' stand-up Denis Leary said he didn't get into comedy to get a sitcom, that's for buttoned-down guys like Jerry Seinfeld.

The Stilson-Black double-header out of the States reminded again just how different paces can make you readjust your television-framed expectation: Black is out of the rage'n'fury school (lots of clenched teeth, phlegm and finger-pointing) and Stilson slows the pace right down.

Stilson's approach is non-threatening and inclusive, inviting a few comments from the audience on family matters, then leading to adeptly timed punchlines. He wings it nicely from what the audience says, and having spent time in Australia knows some of the local customs here. His analogy for test cricket is a gem, and speaking German to dogs raised a huge laugh.

He was at his best when he jumped a zone into unexpected offensiveness (Hugh Hefner's life and what James Caan left in the jacuzzi), but those were flashes in a performance which was otherwise stately and comfortable. He's got three kids (he tells you repeatedly) so he's a nice guy without an acerbic edge. He finds humour in ordinary life but was better when he seemed bitter.

Black, however, is out of the Denis Leary/Bill Hicks school and nailed in hard and fast, spitting malevolent one-liners and mercilessly ridiculing American politicians, our outdoor life ("I prefer to sit in a pub and piss occasionally"), and a small town in Missouri to avoid. He's seen the end of the universe and it's worth hearing about.

Black auditioned some of his early material in these pages two days ago - always disappointing when visiting comedians do that - so if you read the interview you'll have to sit out the first 10 minutes. But better and more bitter comes, sometimes at a frantic, raging pace. Religion, patriotism, the stupidity of Americans - one of his countrymen interjecting proved his point for him - and corporate greed were targets for his outrage. Less expected was how worked up he could get about water and milk. Black was terrific, one of the must-sees in the Laugh! Festival.

And a reminder that adrenaline-fuelled venom and intelligent anger delivered with righteous indignation makes for great stand-up. He's so good let's hope he never gets a buttoned-down sitcom.