I agree. He comes across very awkward on stage. His movements and delivery don't seem natural, so it comes across like it's forced. He doesn't seem to get into the same rhythm that he does while doing the show.

jim norton is a good stand-up comedian.

jim norton is a GREAT sit-down comedian.

Maybe he should try filming a special with a smaller crowd in a more enclosed space.

he is a great reactionary comic and stand up doesn't give you much of a chance to react. you are up there onstage doing your set and you have to recreate that feeling of casual conversation. it can be tough to do.

He was on the Adam Carolla pod cast the other day, and he talked about this. He said he had it easy because he doesn't have to control the pace of the OnA show. He can sit back and not say anything until he had something funny to say.

I'm almost certain that its just because we're so used to hearing his voice we pick up on every subtle cue that throws off a standup routine.

You can sense his "get a good one" tension on his delivery on his special or tv appearance.

If you see him live he'll have you dying laughing. I saw him in San Diego and he did zero character, just pure standup and I nearly fainted from shortness of breath.

The obsessive freak he is about things going the way he wants might play into why his specials seem like he isn't the Jim we hear on the show. I've never had the chance to see him live, but I have seen clips, and he appears to be much more comfortable when he's not on a theater stage.

I was there!

You nailed it for me. The delivery feeling "forced" is the same thing that bothers me. It ruined his appearances on Lucky Louie for me. He had good lines, but his acting made me cringe for him.

Monster Rain was barely watchable and I ended up deleting Please Be Offended from my DVR after watching the first 10 minutes and jot lauguing. I also didn't get through Louis's latest HBO special. I don't know what everyone was raving about. His show is awesome, but that set was weak sauce. Yimmy is awesome on the radio and he could probably play a great creep on a crime show if he lets his hair grow out, but maybe not if he can't throw himself into a role and ends up with nervous eyes that look like he's reading lines in his head.

Sadly I have to agree, Jimmy is great on the show but can never get into his stand up. It feels over structured, Almost like one of Colin's one man shows but with content that doesnt suit it...Thats just me though.

I feel like Jimmy doesn't have the content. OP mentioned some names like Burr and Patrice, they pull me into the subject they are talking about, besides it being hilarious, it's insightful. I could be wrong, but Jimmy just seems to do self-deprecating stand-up, without a message. Jimmy's stand up is somewhat similar to someone like Doug Stanhope, but Doug has real edgy viewpoints, and things you can think about. Jimmy is great on O&A, he has insane skill at pulling out quick lines, and doing characters, but I've never really heard him say something and gone, I've never thought of it like that.

I have been thinking the same thing for awhile now. He seems to have an on stage nervous "personality" that doesn't match his usual confident radio edge. Comics like Dice,Burr, Bruer etc are the same on stage as they are on the radio or podcasts etc. Norton seems to me to hold back in his stand up and tries to get through the fuckin set as quick as possible without deviating from his gag list.I reckon Norton could throw his material out the window and ad lib an entire HBO special if he wanted to.

ad lib an entire HBO special? You just went full retard.

I agree jimmy is funnier on radio but you guys don't like his specials at all? I laughed pretty hard during Monster Rain, I've seen him live and thoroughly enjoyed that as well, especially when Mr. Chipperson made an appearance

Wow, thought I'd get murdered for posting that. Seems like I'm not alone.

it's never the content though, it's the way he carries himself on stage, it's a bit stilted and stiff. I think the weight loss has helped him though, he was pretty loose when I saw him this summer

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I thought Monster Rain was hilarious the first time I saw it but I wasn't a show listener back then.

I've seen a some of his stand up since then and didn't care for it... he doesn't seem relaxed... everything seems liked forced edginess.

I saw Monster Rain live, and I had to stretch back my mouth muscles because I was laughing so hard.

me

What about you?

It's true. I've seen him three times (including his last special taping), I think he's funny, but he does seem a little awkward on stage. I've seen just most of the comics from the show live, I enjoy Bill Burr's stand up the most.

Burr is the best.

Upvote, but I like his stand-up routine. I like him on the show way more, but I do regularly enjoy his stand-up. It's polished and sharp and I think that may cause issues with you. I don't blame you, it actually took me awhile to get used to Jimmy on stage as opposed to on the radio.

The last time I saw jimmy on stage, everything he said I already heard him say on the show.

yea i know what you mean. That gay joke about picking out couches comes to mind. He told the joke on Leno, where it got all this attention then does it, verbatim with the pause and voice inflection, on his standup routine.

I think it's similar to what they were saying about Patrice... He was finally finding a way to fully translate his humor to his stand-up. I don't think Jimmy is quite at that point yet.

Yeah. Jim's special from last year, which I can't remember the name of because it had a stupid Insert Comedy Special Name Here name, was the first one of his that I thought was pretty good. His delivery and demeanor were kinda natural, and I might have even laughed once.

But every day on the show, he drops a killer. Sometimes fifty.

I hope he figures out how to bring that guy on stage. But to do that, he'd have to lose all the standup-professional tics and strategies he's picked up. I'm sure he's needed them to get through regular shit-crowd sets for years, but it's too much armor to lug up the big hill.

please be offended?

I totally agree with you. At the same time I really really want to enjoy Jim's standup because Jim's just a sweet boy and he's great on O&A.

I bought Yellow Discipline (2010) & No Baby For You (2012) as audiobooks from iTunes and was severely disappointed. I don't feel like I wasted my money because they were pretty cheap but it just wasn't that funny.

Particularly in No Baby For You at least 3/4 of it is material about weird sex and Jim being a sexual deviant. I understand that's the theme for most of his standup and for that routine but it gets old and unfunny quickly. It would be different if he presented some unique angle or insight to it but there really isn't.

To make my point clearer here's half of the track list for No Baby For You:

1. Jim Norton - I'm Dominant Sexually
   
2. Jim Norton - Spankin' A Bitch Too Hard
   
3. Jim Norton - My Titties
   
4. Jim Norton - The Lefty
   
5. Jim Norton - Size Matters
   
6. Jim Norton - Mandatory Aids Test
   
7. Jim Norton - Condoms Suck
   
8. Jim Norton - Birth Control And Pedophiles
   
9. Jim Norton - No Baby For You!
   
10. Jim Norton - Slapping A Gal With My Cock
    
11. Jim Norton - The Nipple Flicker
    
12. Jim Norton - My Shitty Limp Dick
    
13. Jim Norton - Penile Abuse
    
14. Jim Norton - Lunch With Her Ex
    
15. Jim Norton - The World's Wettest Vagina

Just the same self deprecating sex creep material repeated again and again...

He has very good fluid intelligence but crystallized intelligence is weak.

Quick with the wit but a thought out joke is not his forte.

i notice improv-leaning acts like reggie watts are way more engaging off the cuff/stream of consciousness than creating a stock song or music video.

I agree , I have seen the sweet boy live, he's good but I enjoy him on the radio so much more, to me it's like a Joe Rogan, love his podcast, not so much his standup. It's kinda too bad, I think both of them have said standup is their first love

Joe's podcast is fantastic and he's got a gift for being entertaining, but I never found him to be particularly funny on his podcast or otherwise. Just seems like a cool, genuine guy who comes off very likeable.

I've seen Rogan do stand up live a couple times. It's a fucking chore. I'm a fan of the guy conversationally but not as a stand up.

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My dumb guess is that the difference between stage Jimmy and radio Jimmy has something to do with Jimmy being a lousy actor. When he's going prepared material it's akin to reciting lines and he stiffens up. His speech and gestures are much more fluid (fluuuuuid) on the show because he isn't forcing words out.

Plus - he never knows what to do with his hands.

I disagree. When I saw him he was RAISING HELL

Was it a Jim Norton stand-up show or SICK FUCKIN PUPPIES concert??

(I'll show myself out.)

I agree. Same thing with Artie, although Artie is nowhere near Jim's level of being funny on the fly.

It's hard to bring your own voice to stand up. It's at it's best when it feels like there's a conversation with the audience. That's why Louis is so big, because it feels so natural and in the moment.

Jim's funnier than Louis off the cuff and with language, but I think he lacks the on stage chemistry to convert that into lots of money and free sex.

I agree, Jim is definitely funnier than Louis off the cuff. Perhaps one element is how we relate to jokes. For example, if Burr is onstage going off on a tangent about women and how psycho they can be when you're dating them, I can relate to a lot of what he's saying, which makes it funny. Whereas Jimmy talks about hookers and playing with his own nipples, two things I can't relate to. I don't know......

Pound for pound, I've laughed harder at him on the show than his specials. However, I have seen him live in a less structured spot, and he's amazing. It's just harder to recreate that for film, I guess. He's at his best when he's uncomfortable, like most people.

Wait, no, I think he's at his best when he is comfortable, like on the show. On stage, he seems uncomfortable. He doesn't have a ton of presence, and his voice doesn't command the room like, say, Patrices. He jams his hand in his pants sometimes, not casually, but like in a kind of creepy way. I love him on the show, and his books were good (also the audiobooks), but on his specials, I just can't get into it, or show it to my friends like I can with Burr, Patrice, Louis, etc.

First time I've heard laughs described in pounds. It works.

I know what you mean, on the show where he can improv is where he is the best. Some of his stand up is killer, check this out

link

Do you guys thinks it's because we already kind of heard the routine on the O&A show? I feel like I know where almost every one of his jokes on stage are going as they seem to have some sort of familiarity to them.

Link was killer. Turned me around.

I think that's exactly it. I saw him live a few years ago when I couldn't listen daily and he was great. Loved Monster Rain too. But I feel like when he does bits on topical stuff in the news it seems a little dated/flat. Probably because we heard him essentially creating the jokes on the air.

I find myself feeling this way about a lot of the comics save Louis and Burr. The show has inch a cool dynamic with guys talking like real people, sometimes an act doesn't cut it.

That's what I always felt. Most of the comedians they do O&A I don't follow and when I get their special its new. But with jimmy i watch all his interview (or hear em when they play them on O&A) and a lot of stuff is developed on the show so its not new when I watch his specials.

In a way it's almost like watching a friend or family member on tv. If you've never experienced it (i have) its a strange feeling and I get the same feeling with Jim. It's just because I hear him everyday I guess.

Why did I click a video link in this subreddit? Dammit....

I love how the O&A community is faking themselves out with the basketball video.

I love you

Have to agree with most here, in particular not relaxed, forced, too structured, etc. His last special I thought started strong. In the middle he started dwelling on the degenerate sexual creep stuff for fucking ever, yawn. . I know that's kind of his thing, part of his stage personae but after awhile it's like OK, we get it. Off the cuff he is one of the sharpest motherfuckers out there. The details in his weird made-up (sometimes true) stories and his wit are incredible.

Exactly, I am thoroughly bored hearing about him getting blown by transexuals or him jerking off for 6 hours a day. We get it, Jim.

Jim's "sex-life" sounds exhausting, not funny or interesting.

I cant stand that he thinks he's an expert on all things addiction , and some great world sex expert.

I saw the anti social tour recently, and this hour hes going to be putting out, if its the same blows away his other specials. I saw him, Artie, Attell and Amy and he was by far the funniest.

I feel the same about Amy. I don't find her stage act funny at all. Her and Jimmy go for the sexually shocking angle, and it just doesn't resonate with me. Just because it's edgy doesn't exactly mean it's funny.

Yeah her standup is basically 50 misdirection jokes in a row.

I do not find Amy funny whatsoever.

Ya I feel the same way. It took me a while to figure out why and his stand up specials feel like he's acting, very unnatural. You watch someone like Patrice or Louis and it feels like they are just spitting ideas off the top of their head. Patrice I'm pretty sure just had premises then made up the jokes.

Jimmy is incredible at quick wit and turning something normal into humor. I wish he would loosen up his style and allow for more improv. I keep hoping to see him bomb in a special and watch him dig himself out. I think that would be really funny.

Unfortunately, me. I want to like his stand up.

I love Jim. But I definitely feel I enjoy his performance as a radio personality better than his comedy set.

I saw him in a show featuring Burr, Attell and Bruer, and he was the weakest of the four.

It's not that it was a bad comedy set, it was just weaker. I feel his stage persona is quite different from the Jim we know on the radio and it doesn't come off as bad, just strange in an unexplainable sense and perhaps over-polished. Strangely enough I also feel this way about Patrice, who could have me die laughing on the O&A show but when I saw his last special wasn't exactly entranced to watch through the entire set.

Honestly I'd love to see what Jim could do with a television show, which is where I think he would do better. I'm not being entirely realistic saying this but you could almost make a damn show of skits purely out of Ted, Uncle Paul, Edgar and the like.

I know he doesn't like to do his 'characters' in his routine but I don't think it would hurt. That's usually what I consider to be his funniest shit, other than his very quick off the cuff remarks.

Bruer is an amazing and hilarious storyteller, which makes for a great stage act. I find I laugh the hardest at Jim's character, especially Ted, who unfortunately seems to be retired. Chip's comic con and instagram videos are fucking hilarious, so yes, I agree - he could do something with his characters on TV and I would definitely watch.

He's amazing in the show but his stand up isn't the best. He's still better than most but most of his jokes aren't clever, just self-humiliating. It's still a good set and always look forward to his specials.

I'm not saying I disagree. But I think it's a bit unfair to only compare jimmy to the likes of Patrice, Burr, Louis CK, and other regulars on the show. When you put the entire stand up comedy world - past and present - into perspective, Jimmy's routine ranks fairly high....I suppose that's my opinion, but I'm sort of inclined to feel like most people on this board would agree. I don't know, it's definitely a fair point, but I hate to think of how Jimmy will react if he saw this. Not trying to make this sub seem bigger than it is, but if you listen to the show as much as I do, you could imagine how this would completely wreck his self esteem. Especially considering we're about a week away from the premier of his special. He always gets so worked up. Poor little jimmy norton. I love the bastard

I hate to do it but I agree as well. Not that I don't like his stand up, I do, but it's nowhere near as good as show Jimmy. All of the reasons have been laid out by plenty of commenters before me so no need to rehash.

However, his first two CDs are much better than his filmed stand up specials, IMO. 'Yellow Discipline' especially features a lot more of the brutal, filthy and comfortable sounding Norton and isn't at all marred by Intellectual Jimmy (poorly) trying to hit camera cues and visibly play to the crowd. 'YD' and 'Trinkets I Own Made from Gorilla Hands' are stand up Jimmy at his best to me.

All that said, I'll still see him every time he comes to town. He's the sweetest of boys.

I think Jim's onstage humor has to be relate-able to a much wider audience. He needs to create a back story in order to have his jokes land. On O&A, so many of his funny lines are funny because we already know the context. You can't isolate some of the funniest lines Jim has said on the show and show it someone cold, it just wouldn't work.

and the nonstop hard-blinking on stage completely pulls you away from the material, to boot.

I want you all to be stabbed with a plastic fork for this blasphemy. That is all.

Fuck me, I gave it a shot, should've known.

At least it wasn't Meatspin.

is it bad

I see where you're coming from, a lot of his humor on the show comes from having a person to make fun of (vos, dumb callers, etc.) I enjoyed Monster Rain but his most recent one didn't get me laughing as much.

I agree with you a bit, but I did go to the recent Boston taping that he did, and I don't know if it was just seeing it live or a few beers or what, but I thought he killed, and his jokes were poignant and really funny. Once I see the produced special on the 23rd I'll know for sure. Still, give this recent special a chance! You can sign up for an epix trial for free

His stand up is hilarious and he deserves to be more famous for it than he is. HOWEVER, he is infinitely better on the radio than he is at stand up. It's not that his stand up isn't funny, it's just that he is so good on the air that his stand up just doesn't live up to it. He's a very good stand up, but he is a genius on the radio. His main strength is his quickness, which obviously is hard to transcend into a stand up act.

I also do not find his stand up to be the least bit funny compared to the other comedians who frequent the show.

i've thought this for the longest time.

yes, Jimmy is the greatest with on the spot humor. His shows are great, but something is missing, but mainly it feels unnatural, like he is just acting out a script and the jokes aren't flowing. I really have thought about that alot, still one of the funniest dudes around though.

*EDIT his first book was fucking funny as hell though. second one was funny but too political.

Go see yimmy live! Seriously. I was not a big fan of Norton's standup specials that I had Netfilx'd or whatever, but I went and saw him anyway in Philly and he fucking murdered. Totally different vibe than his stand up specials. Plus, him and Club Soda met with fans before and after each show for signings and pictures and shit, I got zooted and took a picture with each of those two lovable oafs.

ive always known this. hes great on the spot but his standup is all about shocking people. i love the guy but his routine is boring.

I agree , have thought this for a long time. He is not a good standup. His stuff on the show gets old quick also, all the same jokes over and over. We heard you , you like trannys

I just wish he would stop inserting "Vikki Lamotta" in every fucking situation.

i find him alot more funny when he's riffing on normal daily things like on the show, im sure if he did it in his act it would be funnier and more people would enjoy him.

on one of his last specials his bit on PENN state was the only thing that made me laugh hard, i just think jim is so sexual and twisted that he cant be like other comics and relate to people, burr talks about touchy subjects all the time in his act and gets groans but he can turn a crowd and walk the line without giving an opinion and if he does he trys to make you see it from his side, i mean the guy constantly talks about women, race, fat people and yet it never seems to meant to piss people off.

I think Yellow Discipline, Trinkets Made from My Own Gorilla Hands, and No Baby for You were all hilarious. However I did NOT like his last special, I was drinking while watching it and it still wasn't that great. When he tries to comment on the media and state his political opinions on stage he is less funny. His brutal jokes and girlfriend jokes are normally a lot better. No hating, just being honest.

I agree with some people that he's somewhat awkward on stage, but I still think his material is funny. I just think when you're used to how relaxed he sounds on the radio, seeing how unnatural he comes off on stage is weird. I saw him before I was an O&A fan and I thought he was good.

He's probably better off as an improv comedian, thanks to his quick draw wit and great timing with his quips. And OnA brings the best out of him. He's also great in debates and commentary settings - so it looks like he's better off if he's talking to an individual rather than talking to the audience directly.

Jimmy is HANDS DOWN one of the funniest dudes of all time. Off the cuff, he is one of the quickest minds in comedy by far. His stand up falls flat. I haven't analysed it enough to come up with a reason why, but sometimes funniness doesn't translate to onstage and conversely good standups aren't necessarily naturally funny people. I would say Louis is great standup, I don't think he is as funny as Jimmy. Louis is a better standup.

We saw the same thing happen with Patrice. We have all said what needed to be said with Patreeky, amazing next level funny dude, one of the quickest minds, keen perception etc. And if given enough time, one of the best communicators to ever explain a thought. All of which is true. But if we're honest, apart from Elephant in the Room, he didn't have the greatest showcasing of what he is capable of. Which makes it all the more sadder that he died when he did, because he was just figuring it out. I think Jimmy has the same problem.

Which makes fucking Tough Crowd getting cancelled suck even more because, apart from Colin, Jimmy and Patrice were easily the funniest people on that show. Because they were able to be what they are, naturally funny dudes.

i saw the taping of his new special in boston a few months ago, it was fuckin great. i was in tears laughing the whole time.

I think you have a point! But watch his new special on Epix on Aug. 23rd. I think being on Leno over the past few years has made his standup less awkward, maybe because of confidence? I think you will find the material is fantastic too. I think his jokes are always great, so if his delivery bothers you, here is something I do: sometimes just reading the captions can help me enjoy a routine better, so I don't get so caught up in appearances.

I prefer to hear him on the show as opposed to his routine, but I still think his stand up is top 5-10 in the world right now.

We're the problem. We know what natural hilarious improv Jimmy sounds like so when we hear his rehearsed routine, it seems a little off. Every comedian says he is one of the best guys working right now, they wouldn't lie to make Jimmy feel good.

This is weird only because I heard Jimmy's stand up before I got heavy into O&A and I've always loved it

For me it's hit or miss, since much of his material lately has been tried out in studio, or developed from bits in studio. I will say that without him, the whole show sucks.

While I'm at it, I don't think the boys are any good live, especially Ant. He was like a toddler in chicago, and added nothing.

They don't translate live well over the radio in a live setting, at all. I normally don't listen when they broadcast from the road. Usually it's crowd based material, which might be fine if you're there but listening on the radio without a visual element, well, it's pretty sub par radio to say the least.

I had that feeling after watching his specials on hbo and epix but I saw Him live and I was laughing the whole time. I walked away with a different point of view.

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I like it for about 30 minutes, then it just feels like he's whining constantly. Which I know isn't so bad, it just feels more annoying.

No, you must have just seen an off night for him

I stumbled upon this set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-fX3vgVpDU

Hilarious! Way more comfortable than one of his specials.

When I listened to Despicable I thought it was just okay, after buying it (from amazon direct download and those prices woa boy!). Which was weird to me, because I've laughed into injury from his stuff on O&A, but his stand up is weird, it sounds really rehearsed and recited, and I didn't find it as funny.

But I listened to a big chunk of Yellow Discipline off youtube and I thought that was much funnier.

And I actually prefer it when he goes into political correctness and media stuff. Usually I find that stuff funny or I agree with it so much that I love listening to it.

So yeah I do feel this way about his stand up compared to his O&A stuff, but still I'll give him lots and lots of slack.

I think the problem is we hear all of his jokes before they even make it to the stage.

The only thing that keeps this show relevant is him. I have never listened to O&A without him. I would stab myself in the eye if I listened to the show and wasnt there. The only other thing worth a shit is Anthonys racial stuff.

I agree. 95% of the laughs I get are from him when listening to the show.

opiesucks agrees with you.

Yeah her standup is basically 50 misdirection jokes in a row.

yea i know what you mean. That gay joke about picking out couches comes to mind. He told the joke on Leno, where it got all this attention then does it, verbatim with the pause and voice inflection, on his standup routine.

I do not find Amy funny whatsoever.