Remember last night? Maybe it was full of laughter and friends, accompanied by a good beverage or perhaps it turned into a crash and burn fall-asleep-with-your-shoes-still-on kind of evening. People while drinking are funny. One way or another, someone typically does or says something silly, unnecessary or downright stupid. Either way, Zane Lamprey takes the natural comedy of the social construct of alcohol and turns it inside out and upside down.
Lamprey is rolling into Des Moines in a tour bus that flashes “Drinking Made Easy!” at People’s Court this Thursday at 8 p.m.
“Sing the Booze” is not the typical comedy tour. The national traveling show, from October through November, is a compilation of nine original tales in musical form about drinking. The website describes the entertainment as something different than ever seen before.
“It’s drinkin’ songs and comedy. It’s not stand-up comedy. It’s songs about drinking. Stories about drinking… And drinking. Of course the whole show’s a drinking game.”
Participants and spectators know it’s going to be a hysterical ride after they learn the first rule of the drinking game. If you’re the first person to spot Pleepleus, a stuffed monkey, hiding on the set, then you get to force someone else to drink.
It’s the kind of show to watch with friends before a night out on the town. Lamprey brings his own cohorts into the show with his college friend, and musical assistance from The Justones.
From the sweet tempo of a jazz high hat to the tempo of a calypso drum, Lamprey combines multiple different styles all into one show set. Unlike a musical, where songs are made to fit the situation, Lamprey creates songs based on his surroundings. Each song tells a story, such as “Mojito,” based off a Jamaican Lamprey was inspired by.
Jill Haverkamp, of On Pitch music agency, said the show is a bright spark of something different for the metro area and could be something for students to check out to escape regular campus activities.
“It’s a musical comedy show, so it’s something a bit more off the beaten path for things to do in Des Moines,” she said.
Wide traveled with his previous show, which ran on the Travel Channel this year, “Three Sheets,” and the Food Network’s “Have Fork, Will Travel,” gave the comedian a strong background in exploring tendencies of human nature, like alcohol.
Whether they admit it or not, people sing to inanimate things; however, the comedian takes it to the next level. He injects a strong shot of comedy into his lyrics. While not the most poetic, songs such as the slow love ballad, “Beer, I wrote a song for you,” express the true feelings many have for good beverages.
Comedians love to recognize other good comedians and Lamprey is no stranger to media attention. He has been featured on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” interviewed on “Last Call with Carson Daly” and even chatted it up with Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel. The unique show has been highlighted in over 50 publications and sounded off on airwaves across the nation.
By the nature of the lyrics, the live show is targeted to an audience 21 years and older, but HDNet offers the show, “Drinking Made Easy,” to everyone. The program tracks Lamprey and crew on escapades such as interviewing an illegal moonshiner, while wearing bags over their heads. Click to http://www.hd.net/drinkingmadeeasy.html to watch episodes like last Thursday’s in Austin, Texas, where Lamprey tries to spike a watermelon and taste tests the claimed hottest Bloody Mary.
With laughs, high spirits and singing, the entire night’s entertainment is wrapped into one hilarious package. Make sure not to miss it.
Photo courtesy of www.zanelamprey.com
