Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 9/16/08 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Jesse DeFlorio/Greyhound The Daily Show correspondent, John Oliver, performed to a packed crowd at Reitz Arena this past weekend. In his set he joked about politics, the city of Baltimore, American values and The Greyhound.

Politics has always been a hard thing to translate through comedy - constantly worrying about what to say, what NOT to say and who might be potentially offended can leave even the most seasoned comedian shaking in their sneakers.

This problem rings doubly true if you're not from the particular country you're lampooning, but if the likes of Eddie Izzard, Hugh Laurie, Tracy Ullman, Ricky Gervais and the crew from Monty Python's Flying Circus have shown, it usually helps if you have a great accent and a biting wit to smooth things over if the crowd or the critics turn nasty.

Luckily, the Loyola College community welcomed comedian and foreign correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, John Oliver, with open arms Saturday night at the annual fall comedy show.

Well known for his sharp-witted style of comedy both across the pond and nightly on The Daily Show, the excitement for the Cambridge University graduate's appearance had been mounting since its announcement in The Greyhound merely two weeks before.
The night of the show, Reitz Arena was abuzz with anticipation over the evening's performance, with many speculating a special appearance from Oliver's co-correspondent and show's host, Jon Stewart.

While this wasn't the case, the crowd quickly forgot the rumors while watching the hilarious intro performance by the show's executive producer, Rory Albanese.

Playfully ripping everything from the Baltimore train system, various digs at the residents of New Jersey and Long Island, and the school's location in relation to the rest of the Baltimore area: "It sure is great to be here with you all in this Waco-esque warehouse-arena tonight. I was half expecting the [events crew] to be passing out rifles from [the gun racks] near the exit [doors] on your way out," to the student body's persona and possible article topics found in the school newspaper: "Gotta go, late-breaking Frisbee story on the Quad!" Albanese left the crowd in stitches and thoroughly prepped them for the main event.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools