entertainment - Express

E6 | EXPRESS | 08.09.2012 | THURSDAY
1811 14TH ST NW
www.blackcatdc.com
AUGUST SHOWS
THU 9 CANE & THE STICKS
ALARMS & CONTROLS $8
FRI 10 SEBADOH
LOU BARLOW
CIRCLE OF BUZZARDS $20
FRI 10 DR. WHO HAPPY HOUR
1 EPISODE OF DR. WHO & DRINK
SPECIALS $FREE
FRI 10 DISCO IN THE DARK
MR BONKERZ, WILLIAM DEVON,
REMOTE CTRL $5
SAT 11 MIXTAPE
DJS SHEA VAN HORN &
MATT BAILER $10
SAT 11 HELLMOUTH HAPPY HOUR
1 EPISODE OF BUFFY & SPECIALS! $FREE
SAT 11 VIOLENT BULLSHIT $10
SUN 12 RAGNAROK! EVAN VALENTINE
CD RECORDING/GOING AWAY SHOW W/
PERFORMANCES BY COMEDIANS EVAN
VALENTINE, JAKE YOUNG, MIKE JAMES,
MUSIC BY THE CHAMPIONS $10
MON 13 HARRY &
THE POTTERS
POTTER PUPPET PALS $15@ 7PM
TUE 14 STEREOSLEEP
THE RESISTANCE $8
WED 15 BIRTHMARK
ME & THIS ARMY
LIZ & THE LOST BOYS $10
THU 16 SOUTHERN PROBLEMS
KING ZAY
HUGH MCELROY
CAT FURNITURE $10
FRI 17 LORELEI (ALBUM RELEASE)
DEATHFIX
SUN WOLF $10
FRI 17 DJ ROGER RAMONE (IT)
PUNK, ITALIAN BEAT, ELECTRO PILLS $5
SAT 18 RIGHT ROUND UP!
DJ LIL E $10
SAT 18 GAY BASH! DJ JOSHUA $5
SUN 19 JOYCE MANOR
ALGERNON CADWALLADER
THE MAX LEVINE ENSEMBLE
FRI AUG 10
SEBADOH
SAT AUG 11
WE ARE 3 BLOCKS FROM THE U
STREET / CARDOZO METRO STATION
TICKETS: TICKETALTERNATIVE.COM
1-877-725-8849
DC Rider
METRO NEWS ON YOUR iPHONE
AND ANDROID - DOWNLOAD FREE.
XX609 1x2
| entertainment
on “The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart” about where
orcas fit in with the history of slavery or
noting in a stand-up riff that, at a tea party
rally, he’d “never seen so many angry old
people since the end of ‘Cocoon,’ ” Wyatt
Cenac always manages to keep his calm.
“Most of the things I do are out of apathy,”
the 36-year-old comic says — which explains
the muted, deadpan delivery that’s become
his trademark. Ahead of two shows at the
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse on Saturday,
Cenac discusses beards, fart jokes and life on
the campaign trail. RUDI GREENBERG (EXPRESS)
I was taken aback when you were on
“The Daily Show” recently but your
beard was not. Why did you shave?
There was no real reason for it, just
sometimes when you have too much
time and clippers at your disposal,
you just start trying to get a little
closer and a little closer. Then, at
some point you realize, “Oh, crap,
I’ve got a mustache.” Next thing
you know, you’re clean-shaven.
It wasn’t for a role?
No. My hair has grown longer simply
because I didn’t want to go cut
it. The beard was first: I got bored
of shaving. It’s been interesting,
because since I’ve been on the show,
I’ve never been clean-shaven. It’s
odd, because you have people who
seem very shocked by it. As though
my beard were a part of my face that
had always been there.
Are you excited to go to the political
conventions later this summer
for “The Daily Show”?
It’s a weird situation. There’s the
nerve-racking aspect of being on
the road for two weeks straight
and setting up shop, but there’s
also the element of not really knowing
what’s going to happen. Any of
these people could easily say, “No.”
When former Republican
National Committee
chairman (and ex-lieutenant
governor of Maryland) Michael
Steele is in the news, you can
count on the Michael Steele
puppet making a “Daily Show”
appearance. Wyatt Cenac voices
the mustachioed, blue puppet,
which was spawned from a
writer’s comment that Steele
“looked like the ‘Sesame Street’
puppet who kept sending his soup
back in Grover’s restaurant,”
Cenac says. Cenac, who says he’s
no good at impressions, modeled
the voice after funk musician
Bootsy Collins’. “That’s the
ceiling of where he thought cool
went,” Cenac says of Steele. “[To
him] maybe Bootsy Collins was
the coolest guy around.” (R.G.)
Will this be the year they shut
us out? We’re set to do shows
there, but they could easily say,
“Yeah, we don’t wanna give
you press passes.”
How has your stand-up
evolved since your fi rst
special, 2011’s “Comedy
Person”?
More fart jokes, that’s number
one. I don’t know if
much has changed as far
as how I’m approaching
everything. After taping a
special, there’s an element
of relief: “I’ve done this. I’ve
got one under my belt.” I’d
like to think it freed me up.
That first one is like, “Oh,
this first one, it has to be
perfect.” It’s like when a kid
learns how to ride a bicycle;
first it’s a little wobbly, then
after that it’s like, “Oh, I’m an
expert at bicycle now.”
You don’t generally get too
political in your stand-up. Is it
important to distinguish yourself
outside of “The Daily Show”?
People associate me and [John]
Oliver and Jason [Jones] and Sam
[Bee] and now Al [Madrigal] and
Jessica [Williams] … with the
show, first and foremost. And
that is great, because the show
is well-regarded. But at the same
time, we are not all of the show
and the show is not all of us. And
when I’m not on the show anymore,
hopefully people aren’t
like, “I love you on ‘The Daily
Show’!” “But I don’t work there
anymore!” “Well, you should!
Because it’s all been downhill.”
RUDI GREENBERG (EXPRESS)
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse,
2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington; Sat.,
7:30 & 9:55 p.m., $25; 703-486-
2345, Arlingtondrafthouse.com.