Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater

... but I could NOT get past the first 5 minutes, and it was NOT because of the material - it Was because it is shot HORRIBLY. The Material overall probably is great - CKs stuff usually is - but Holy Cow he made All the wrong choices for such a performance, at least based on what I saw.

I mean the Constant close-up on C. K. without Any shots of the audience, despite there being multiple angles and jumpcuts of the comedian, makes the performance feel Not Live, contrary to the title, and that Ironically is Not helped by the pristine audio of the audience, which makes an already lifeless show feel absolutely sterile. Yeah, I definitely cant recommend watching this, so listening probably is the only way to go if youre interested what Louis had to say in 2011...

Bypassing conventional distribution routes, Louis has made his latest special available as a $5 download, making it extremely easy for people to pass it around for free but trusting his fans not to do that. I paid the $5, although I would prefer a DVD because I like having shiny things on a shelf I can admire instead of plain ol' DVD-R's labelled with a Sharpie and crammed into a binder. As for the show itself, it's tricky for me to review stand-up comedy. I don't want to just repeat the gags, and a laundry list of the topics he covers won't tell you anything. I laughed a lot... if you like Louis, you'll enjoy it. I would say it's less funny in the middle than at the start and the end, but all of it works. Probably the weakest part is the environment chunk, but even that has some good bits.

I'm been really surprised by how much I enjoyed Louis CK's show Louie – it has a weird mix of the tragic and the hilarious but yet it all works together rather than pulling in different ways. So when he announced this special and that it would be available for $5 without any restrictions on what computer you can play it on etc, he was going to get my ongoing support. Ironically I watched this in the week when the internet was protesting the SOPA legislation and that the owners of Megaupload were extradited to the US to face a maximum of 55 years in prison each for their terrible crimes against humanity; and while the rights holders of bad, overpriced products continue to try to batter down anyone daring not to pay for the privilege of seeing another generic superhero movie, Louis CK provides a quality product at a good price and trust the audience.

I was happy to pay the $5 to download this – so happy that I didn't even mind that Amazon glitched during payment and I tried Paypal before realising that payment had actually gone through. So for £3 I got this great hour - £3 compared to the usual £12 distributors charge for putting it on a plastic disk and posting to it me. I'm sure this still got pirated, but checking Louis' website shows a note about how much money he made from direct sales and that this will enable him to do more with it. It is good to see people do positive things to challenge piracy, rather than threatening the parents of a 13 year old girl with jail because she downloaded a Justin Bieber song on their internet connection. Anyway, moving on.

As with his TV show, Louis covers a range of topics with honesty and imagination, so that he may be saying terrible, terrible things, but they are never without a root in reality (well, mostly). Talking about wanting to be a good person (but being too selfish or lazy to do so), talking about the hardest thing about being a parent is the boredom and of course many social and sexual situation which he delivers in this usual way – sort of frustrated with how he feels but at the same time unwilling to change for the better. His imaginative delivery and mixed of tiredness with reality works for me.

The reason to watch this special is that it is hilarious. The fact that it is reasonably priced with no draconian controls on the customer and that the money goes to the artist and not the multinational corporation between the customer and the artist is all the more reason for getting it. Louis CK's comedy is clever, insightful and intelligent – no surprise that he has come up with a way to combat piracy that exposes the heavy-handed measure for what they are.

If you like the comedic style of Louis CK, you will certainly like him in this special. He talks about what you can do with his dead body, does his impression of Willy Wonka, and warns that one of the people in the audience would die by Christmas (a claim I would love to see verified or refuted).

Strangely, he references Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative and not long after talks about the Indians. Other comics have joked about the Indians, but Louis raises an interesting point: Columbus had to realize very quickly that the Indians were not in India -- so why is it now the West Indies rather than simply just a whole new name?

This is a hilarious stand-up act from Louise CK, and a very well-directed and presented one at that. I'm not sure it's as great as Chewed Up, but it's definitely on the same level of quality as far as I'm concerned. The best pieces here are one involving mean kids and one of Louie recounting an experience he had while high, and both are amazing because they hit way too close to home, closer than anyone is willing to admit I bet. Louis CK is always a joy to watch, and this only strengthens his collection and furthers the thought that he's the best comedian right now. Definitely recommended, and it will make you tired from so much laughing.