midnight mass

Paul F. Tompkins-Tip of the Hat 3/20/11

picture via Portoids

The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” this week to PAUL F. TOMPKINS for marking the 9th Anniversary of his own show currently taking place once a month at Largo at the Coronet Theatre, The Paul F. Tompkins Show.

Many comedians try to bring a certain air of class back to the stage, but few come as close as comedian Paul F. Tompkins.  Always dapper, charming, and possibly one of the most affable performers on the stage today, Tompkins never ceases to amaze in how he eases an audience into his act like they’re old friends sharing a very special aged bottle of whiskey merely reminiscing.  Whether he’s talking about “ghost stromboli” or the crazy costumed characters that set up shop near Hollywood and Highland or even pretending he’s author H.G. Wells, Tompkins, though dressed in a suit classy enough for one of the parties in The Great Gatsby, is a master of levity every time I’ve seen or hear him speak into a microphone.

The first time I listened to his album “Impersonal”, I listened to it on repeat for at least a week and a half because it kept me laughing, no matter how many times I heard it.  At the risk of sounding overly plebian, it was simply just fun to hear Paul’s act out of why the Irish were possibly the most picky people in the world during their horrid potato famine.  His uncanny, undeniable playfulness is why he’s just so wonderful to listen to and why, I think, he got himself trending on Twitter in LA by live tweeting the midnight mass before Christmas.

Comedian James Adomian told me after being on one of Paul’s shows, “If Mark Twain were still alive and to have a show, The Paul F. Tompkins’ Show is what it would be, though he wouldn’t be as well dressed.”  Given that there was a hilarious sketch self-reflexisively poking fun at itself, personal stories from Paul, a mash-up of both Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” and P. Diddy’s “Come With Me”, which sampled from “Kashmir”, and a song sung in solidarity of the unions still protesting in Wisconsin, all done while wearing his trademark suit that’s nearly classier than “class” itself, I completely agree with Adomian.  Perhaps, one day, he’ll win the presitgious Mark Twain Prize for Humor bringing the comparison full circle. 

Currently, Paul, as mentioned, has his own delightful monthly comedy variety show at Largo as well as another monthly show at the UCB Theatre here in LA, Dead Authors, for the 826LA charity.  Paul shares much of these experiences on the Pod F. Tompkast, his own podcast available for download here.  Also, you can get his newest special, “You Should Have Told Me” from AST Records, then check all things Paul F. Tompkins at his website, get updates frequently from his Twitter @pftompkins, or check back at the Comedy Bureau for anything else he’s doing because it will surely be here.