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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2001)
MacDonald's act far from Norm-al ■ The popular comedian delivered a riotous performance to a sometimes shocked audience Friday REVIEW Norm MacDonald, stand-up comedy show By Dave Depper Oregon Daily Emerald Some people loved it, some hated it, but one word effectively describes the crowd’s reaction to Norm MacDonald's Friday night stand up comedy performance at McArthur Court. Shock. A raucous audience of nearly 3,000 students crowded Mac Court to see the former “Saturday Night Live’’ star. MacDonald’s performance lasted nearly two hours and consist ed almost entirely of material that was most decidedly adult-themed. At 8:15 p.m., the crowd was surprised bv an unexpected guest: former WWF wrestling superstar Rowdy Roddy Piper. Bounding upon the stage wearing a kilt and blowing on a University noisem aker, Piper entertained the crowd for about 10 minutes with a hyper, confusing act. Highlights included hitting his assistant in the face with a folding chair and demonstrating how a bear searches for honey hidden in the human rectum. Taking the stage next was Stevie Ray Fromstein, an old friend of Mac Donald’s and also the co-executive producer of the sitcom, “Two Guys and a Girl.” Dressed conservatively and sporting glasses, Fromstein looked more like a University profes sor than a stand-up comedian. Fromstein quickly won the crowd over, however, with a rousing 20 minute string of jokes and anecdotes about his troubles with women. Fromstein advised audience members to "be careful about who you marry, because that’s the woman you’re going to spend the next five years of your life with.” Thanks to the excellent job by the opening acts, the audience was warmed up by the time MacDonald slowly walked across the stage at 8:45 p.m. Applause erupted through the room as the mostly 20-something crowd caught sight of its collective comic hero. Walking coolly up to the micro phone, he said, “So, this is a crazy fucking town.” Needless to say, the entire basket ball court exploded with cheers. Using Eugene’s “drug town” reputation as a launching pad for his material, MacDonald quickly struck a chord by speaking on the topic of drug use. “Crack, of course, nothing good about crack — except the incredi ble way it makes you feel,” he said to riotous laughter. “I figure that anything that people will shoot you in the fucking head for has to be good,” he continued. “It’s not like anyone will shoot you for a pizza.” MacDonald explained that he was growing a beard for a movie that he was appearing in, and that he usually tries to appear more presentable. He mentioned the fact that most of the audience looked a lot better than he did. “Most of you motherfuckers look R. Ashley Smith Emerald Norm MacDonald enters McAuthur Court before his Friday night comedy performance, which opened with former WWF wrestler Roudy Roddy Piper. strong, like you could kick the shit out of me,” he said. Throughout MacDonald’s set, faces turned red and jaws dropped as the boundaries of taste were pushed. Naturally, he got the biggest laughs out of the most over the-top jokes, although a trip into material dealing with how funny death and cancer can be wasn’t as well-received as the previous jokes. Perhaps sensing that he had gone too far, toward the end of the show MacDonald added with a smirk that “I’m not a real dirty person. I just talk about what I think about."The highlight of MacDon ald’s set very well could have been the moment he proclaimed that “all I do is eat grilled cheese sandwich es and whack off.” Kristin Donnelly, an undeclared sophomore, was somewhat sur prised by the content of MacDon ald’s performance. “Not what I expected, but it was good. I enjoyed it,” she said. Carl Wiese drove from Corvallis to catch MacDonald’s act. “I just like some of his impres sions. I liked his sitcom, 1 like ‘Satur day Night Live.’ He does a really good Burt Reynolds [impression],” he said. Robin Ziari, a junior music ma jor, perhaps put it best when he ex claimed: “I’ve never heard so many cock jokesjn my life!” •KATEE—I GOLF CLUB at it* "PtMUt College Students -*20.00 822-3220 c PHOTO SPECIALS APRIL 30 - MAY 6 REPRINTS AND ENLARGEMENTS 3 x S - 6 for $.96 4x6-5 for SI.00 5x7 - 2 for SI.50 8 x 10/12 -SI.50 From 35mm color negatives. Allow 3-5 working days for 3x5 and 4x6 prints, 5-10 working days for 5x7 and 8x40/12 enlargements. FUJICOLOR ] Qj Oregon dally emerald WORLDWIDE www.daUyem«raldxojii BONdeal: unlimited financial aid Your ID card now gets you EXTRA 10% SAVINGS EVERY TUESDAY IN MAY on practically every purchase. Hey, it’s tough making ends meet at school. But with our help, the only things you’ll need to worry about are your grades. 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