Alt Comedy

Ever wonder why Sub Pop keeps snagging some of the world's finest alt-comedy albums — from the post-Mr. Show masterworks of David Cross to the razor-sharp folk/joke routines of New Zealand's HBO-approved Flight of the Conchords? The answer is easy — while Mariah Carey fans might not necessarily worship Larry the Cable Guy, indie rock audiences can't seem to get enough of cynical, sarcasm-slinging comedians like Sarah Silverman, Lewis Black, Russell Peters, and those troubadours of the absurd, Bowser And Blue. We'd like to propose a new breed of monologue maestro, then: that of the hipster comedian. The show's just begun — and we've quite a few more punch lines in our Next Steps.

Brian Posehn's devil horn-raising, guitar-grinding "Metal By Numbers" is, indeed, a stab at the clichéd characteristics of extreme music, from mosh-ready breakdowns to the "pretty chorus" parts of your typical metalcore band. That's right: Posehn can't keep his love-hate relationship with heavy metal out of his comedy writing. He's not the only one looking to music for inspiration, either — "Tribute" is a Jack Black-led paean to "the best song in the world." Meanwhile, Brad Roberts takes time out from fronting Crash Test Dummies to ponder "Torontonians: Pros And Cons." If you think all of the above is insane, wait till you hear our Deep Cuts.

If you know Patton Oswalt only as the voice of the lead rat in Ratatouille, click "At Midnight I Will Kill George Lucas With a Shovel" right . . . about . . . now. Yep, that's him tearing the Star Wars creator apart like a light sabre-wielding Jedi. Other silver-/small-screen stars more than happy to dig into their stand-up backgrounds are Bobcat Goldthwait (a howling, cackling look at Katie Couric and "alcoholic clowns"), and England's own Steve Coogan (with one of his alter egos, "Paul Calf"). Comedian for all seasons Sean Cullen dissects and becomes legendary actor "Sean Connery."

Here's something to mull over this evening: Bobcat Goldthwait was one of the first true alt-comedy acts, a slovenly anti-hero caught somewhere between the slacker generation and the nuthouse. Of course, we can't blame you if you think a chain-smoking Bill Hicks started it all, and that's the beauty of our Alt Comedy set — it's a rare overview of the oft-overlooked wise guys and gals who constantly offer us some of the most cutting-edge routines in comedy. That includes a perpetually cranky (and perpetually on-point) David Cross, a glam-channelling Eddie Izzard, an X-rated Margaret Cho, and the delightfully deadpan delivery of Eugene Mirman, Demetri Martin, and Michael Showalter. Cue it up — laugh it up.