Putting a unique spin on the traditional stand-up special, The Last Late Night with Steve Byrne delivers a mix of laughter and clapter.

The Last Late Night with Steve Byrne

Steve Byrne has been banging out comedy for 20+ years. With his latest special, The Last Late Night, Byrne decided to change things up from the standard comedy special. In lieu of the traditional stand-up format, The Last Late Night is exactly what it sounds like it might be, a one-man late-night talk show, hosted by and featuring…Steve Byrne. If it sounds a bit gimmicky, it is, but it works.

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The first third of the program is very much like the late night monologues that many of us grew up with, if a little bluer. The rythyms, the cadence, and the flavor of the jokes all fit within that continuum. Some of them are cheesey, while others are offensive, but all of them are self-aware and well-meant…you know like humor used to be. So, if there’s a bit of clapter coming from the audience at any given time, it fits the format. It’s less about the audience patting themselves on the back for agreeing with what’s being said then it is them applauding Byrne for having the balls to say the things that he’s saying. It’s been so long that many of us have forgotten how to respond.

Not afraid to take shots at the expense of many of the Left’s favorite sacred cows, Byrne isn’t going to make any progressive fans, but his Nashville audience loved them and, for the most part, so did I. I wouldn’t say that the special was on the same level as that of Dave Chapelle, but it’s solid and delivers the same level of audience response as the late nate night shows of old from which it is modeled. There was a nice warm nostalgia, in not just the format, but in knowing that everyone was in on the joke and that no hard feelings were meant. In fairness, Amazon did make him cut out some really great stuff. So, my feeling is that there is an even better special on the editting room floor.

The second third of the program saw Byrne behave more like the guest of the program, and the routine format change accordingly. Now, instead of rim-shot topical jabs, Byrne became a story-teller. He relayed his experience growing up a man of mixed race in America and, while he delt with hurtful racisim like being called a racial slur at a little league game when he was six, he also acknowledged that everyone, regardless of what they look like has gone through something similar. It didn’t keep him down but it did help to make him the man that he is today.

In the show’s final third, Byrne was more of the traditional comic. He did a considerable amount of audience work, and was able to compitently weave it into the night’s overall theme. If anything, his third act felt more like the comedian whose job it is to warm up studio audiences.

All in all, while the jokes might not make you wet yourself, neither does the show have any dips. It’s a solid special that is worth the watch, if for no other reason than conservatives can watch it knowing that the comedian doesn’t hate them.

WOKE ELEMENTS

None.