sean patton

Due to the way that stand-up comedy behaves as an industry, especially in the U.S., there is a tendency of comedians to not fully flesh out ideas or see them through all the way into completion (even from the comedians’ own perspective). Stage time is at a such premium that most comedians that have an hour to present to you that is a hastily stitched together quilt of their best bits from various 10 minute sets that they’ve done over the last few years. This unfortunate dynamic disincentivizes exploration of material and finding hidden gold in what might feel like a well-worn premise or topic.

Thankfully, there’s Sean Patton to remedy that.

His painterly attention to detail and endless curiosity makes for marvelously full-bodied bits, dare we say, passages (for their breadth and girth) in his stand-up that offer up so much to savor upon several listens. His latest album, King Scorpio, does a bang up job exploring every single crevice and corner of very broad premises, getting hilariously specific to a point where you might not even be able to tell whether he’s riffing or deftly delivering well rehearsed jokes.

Also, Patton is no stranger to the bluer side of comedy, but it always comes from a genuine place as opposed to being blue or edgy for being blue or edgy’s sake and that’s thoroughly evident through this hour. Sean revels in the drunk or horny possibilities of a near future, per his colorful imagination here. Any comedic dissection of sex and drugs might seem tired these days, but, again, Sean’s specificity and very playful sense of wonder makes it fresh. Arguably, pulling that sort of feat off, going where there seems to be no surprises left and then still uncovering those hidden comedy truffles, is the mark of great comedy for us.

King Scorpio is both a raunchy dive into the unfettered desire-driven imagination of an artist of the night and a joyous, hopeful hour of stand-up comedy from Sean Patton. With that in mind, you should enjoy it and give it a listen as soon as you can.