Garofalo misses the teabaggers, draws guffaws at AltCom show
The Somerville Journal – May 8th, 2009

By Auditi Guha | May 8th, 2009

Somerville — Actress, comedian Janeane Garofalo’s first show tonight at the Somerville Theatre went without a hitch – and without teabaggers.From the loud guffaws and cheers to her excrement, alcoholism, gay and Jesus-zombie jokes, it didn’t seem like there was a conservative in the house at tonight’s AltCom show at 7 p.m.

Garofalo herself seemed disappointed. “If there are any teabaggers here, welcome!” she yelled at the start of her act. “I don’t want to be called intolerant.”

She said she actually got her hair into a mullet and bangs to receive them tonight and claimed “they are upset because they are racist,” drawing laughs.

The left-leaning comedian and actress generated controversy when she recently said on Keith Olbermann’s TV show that the tea party goers who are against government spending are “racial rednecks.”

This refers to those who participate in the tax and spend protests on tax day. (Teabagger has been defined in the Urban Dictionary as "A whining fool shouting loudly for liberty but not willing to pay the bill," among other explanations.)

This drew some fire from the right wing and she was criticized by the New American Tea Party folks who threatened to buy up tickets to all her shows and stage protests. Looks like they didn’t follow through.

Folks at the Somerville Theatre said there were “two whole idiots outside” but no protests or anti-Garofalo attacks were spotted. Her fellow comedians were not to be outdone and the threat or absence of teabaggers seems to have provided them all with much comedy fodder.

“Everyone has one racist friend,” said Jamie Kilstein, starting another comedy streak. “Guess the protesters didn’t show up.” He pointed to a law in Texas allowing "retards to own guns" and imagined that Republicans must believe our founding fathers would want everyone in America to sport a gun – which would, he said make them into “the Vanilla Ice of political life.”

Garofalo herself was a huge hit as she leapt off the stage and walked around shaking hands with the cheering audience sporting a tank top, tattoos, shorts, red puma boots and spandex (that she also made fun of).

A self-confessed “computard” and a woman who hates thongs, marriage (that 12th century institution when folks died too early to live a long, married life) and does not plan to have children (because they will be 14 one day and want to kill you), many of Garofalo’s remarks poked fun, not only at people and issues but also at herself. “I’m intellectually curious but I am quite stupid,” she admitted.

What others call political extremism, is just “bleh” or a part of life in Davis Square, said one lady who was waiting in the long line to buy a tickets before the show. “This is supposed to be a good show and I’m excited to hear her live,” she said.