Tailgate Party

Album Review

Recovering from the just plain weird Christmastime in Larryland, the current king of blue-collar comedy returns to form withTailgate Party. This is the Larry the Cable Guy who was there from the beginning, cranking out a steady stream of so-dumb-they're-fun jokes with some steadfast social conservatism dropped in to rally the audience (anyone campaigning against global warming might want to sit this one out). Even Larry realizes that "Git R' Done!" is played out by this point, but his usual catch phrases "Lord I apologize," "I ain't never," and "That's funny, I don't care who you are" are all here, adding that "aw shucks" touch designed to make the more offensive material — his meeting with Hillary Clinton, at a urinal — easier to excuse. Numerous jokes like "You know what sounds dirty but isn't? Juice box" make this more of a mom-and-dad record than usual and if you don't like gross, Larry drops a pregnancy joke within the first minute that will have you lunging for the "stop" button. If you are fine with all of the above, then this will be a hootin'-and-hollerin' good time, paced as well as always with that medley of songs at the end, the standard excuse for Larry to stall and let the Henny Youngman-esque one-liners fly. Adding a little extra excitement is the huge audience, which at 53,000 strong makes this the largest recorded comedy show to date. Well aware of his fan base, Larry quips, "If you need to go to Walmart, now's the time to go."