Customer Reviews

Notorious C.H.O. : Live at Carnegie Hall

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a Margaret Cho fan, but I don't recommend buying this CD. I bought it but then decided to rent the DVD of her Notorious C.H.O. tour. I haven't listened to the CD since. So much of her humor is seeing the faces she makes as she tells stories, and all of that, of course, is lost on the CD.

This cd is not for people who are offended by blunt personalities. I am not just talking about language, but also about life and the social problems we all choose to deal with or avoid and in some cases for those you who think they are non-existent. With that aside, I don't want to make it sound like this is some sort of political record, it is far from that. I have not laughed this hard from one of her cd's since "Drunk with Passion". This is far better than that. There are a few low laugh moments, but you definitely get your money's worth (2 cd's). For those of you that know Cho's work, the best thing here is that her timing has gotten sooooo much better. She lets the audience laugh far more than she used too and her puch lines are carefully positioned so the audience has time to catch up. Buy this and ease your drive in traffic to and from work. Repeatedly!

"Too raunchy" is what I'd say if someone asked me to evaluate this album in as few words as possible. Not that comedy that deals with sex or sex organs is automatically objectionable to me. I just like for the comedian to be really clever about it, and give it more meaning than "haha, I said '[insert whatever was inserted].'"

That Cho mostly fails to do this on this cd is disappointing. I've been a fan of hers since I'd see her on sporadic tv stand-up performances (which I manically tried to videotape), and I loved her last two recorded performances. But here, what made those last outings so extraordinary is missing, for the most part: like talking about sexual hangups or experiences, good or bad, and using them as a hilarious vehicle to recognise and spread the vulnerabilty or feelings of ridiculousness around a bit. Jumping into racist stereotypes or experiences of racism and subverting them to reveal the racist's stupidy and his victim's strength, humanity, wit. Blabbing your mom's surreal ridiculousness long enough to make sure her terminal sweetness and intelligence are revealed to the listener. And all the while, making us hold our twisted, aching belly with one hand and covering our face with the other to hide the snot that unstoppable laughter is causing to spew forth from us. And making us pray we don't pee, of course. Margaret Cho is a pro at this. She does it here, a little. The "Gay Daddy" story is a gem, the story of our super-hungry diet fiend put me in the aforementioned state, and her brief imitation of her two departed draq queen best friends from high school and her story of her and her brother's youthful nutrition displays her mix of hilarity and subversive sympathy. But--and it *kills* me to say this--the bulk of the cd sounds like someone trying to "do" Margaret Cho and failing, because they don't get what makes her special. It honestly sounds like she's not trying all that hard, as if she knows the "big event" (The Carnegie performance) and a room packed with fawning homosexuals (absolutely no offense meant--at least not for the "homosexual" part)--it's as if she knew that these two things cinched the night as greatly exciting. Were people laughing and applauding at her performance, or the fact she's there, and so are they? Cho gets to the first part of her genius--she goes right for those things we don't like to, or try not to talk about, and certainly don't talk of earnestly. But then she drops the second, best, part--the hilarious sympathy and complexity that brings us together (to sound corny) instead of making one or another of us the butt of the joke. It made me kind of sad to think she went on autopilot, and the audience didn't seem to notice a difference, or care. Margaret Cho is still one of my favourite comedians, but this is not her best. I'd direct anybody who feels like me about this one to Marga Gomez's Hung Like a Fly, if they haven't already heard it.

This CD is an excellent addition to anyone's collection. I remember first spotting Margaret Cho on her short-lived sitcom "All American Girl." She is a beautiful, talented, and incredibly funny woman. This girl isn't your average stand-up gig. Margaret bursts out with stories that put you on the edge of your seat with tears in your eyes until you fall to the ground laughing. Her life has been one tremendous obstacle and she's made it all the way to Carnegie Hall. The CD starts with some new material about her travels in Scotland but later delves into the stories we know and love about her mother and gay males friends. My personal favourite would have to be the story of "Alan and Jeremy" her two drag-queen friends from highschool who got into fights everyday; ... If you've ever felt like the world has let you down or that you just don't fit in, then this CD is for you. It will raise your hopes and the corners of your mouth.

Maraget Cho always seems to be at the fore front of comedy. Releasing "I'm The One That I Want" on a limited theatrical release was pure genius. She follows that concert film up with the Notorious CHO film and this CD captures a live concert.

Mixing in everything from 9-11 to major gay humor, Cho easily takes your mind away from the nuisances of every day lives and lets you into a world of reality.

Her take on her parents is never forgotten and Cho does a funny bit on her father's brush with homosexuality and her mother's travels in the Middle East.

Gay fans around the world can rejoice in knowing this album is geared towards them, however straight fans will get something from it as well.

As fans know the popularity of "Can I warrsssh your vagina" will find another new saying as she embarks on a story of colonics and sexual orgasms (or the lack thereof).

Concert films on to CD always have the audience pauses for laughter and you will soon learn to take it in. If you are need of a funny CD which will make you smile and laugh out loud, this is the one CD for you!

I love Margaret Cho. She's funny on this album. unlike previous shows she's done, this one is ultra-raunchy. A lot of sexual jokes that, at some points, seemed bit too much.

Margaret still has perfect comedic timing and her stories are always a riot. I was disappointed, though, that there were few jokes about her mother, her trademark comedic tool.

I recommend this CD to you anyway. It's a 2-CD set. She's got great jokes. Make sure the kids are out of the room, though.

Er... so this was probably misfiled in the comedy section; all it is is a couple of discs worth of a woman talking, with an audience whooping and cheering whenever she mentions a particular section of society. There's some awfully uninspired material about Scotland, as though the mere fact of travelling to a foreign country was somehow incredible, and the rest is some strange form of observational comedy, omitting the comedy. Perhaps Cho is some kind of avant-garde performance artist, who wanted to see if she could be reliably unentertaining for the entire show, and still have the crowd laugh at her. Except for the 9-11 joke at the start, and if that is the high point, that really says very little.
Other reviews suggest it might be amusing if you can see the audience reaction, which implies either you should buy the DVD instead of the CD, or alternatively that the audience does all the work, because it certainly doesn't seem from listening to this that Cho does.

If your definition of mainstream comedy is a Leno-monologue, or perhaps Robin William's shtick well NO this is not that, THANKFULLY! This is for those of us who consider the aforementioned effective substitutes for sedatives rather than entertainment. Unlike most of which passes for comedy, this material is actually FUNNY- in fact it is downright hilarious.

If you are already a fan of Margaret then it is a given that you are going to love the new material. If you haven't been keeping up now is the time to see what you've been missing, or hear rather. Now I'm going to offer a little disclaimer here, If Sex and the City makes you blush, and you are uncomfortable with the prospect of a witty yet - uh, shall we say candid sharing of sex tales... well you may not be ready for this.

For those of us who didn't get the chance to experience Notorious C.H.O. live and aren't living in the "selected cities" where the film will be playing, this soundtrack serves as a good primer/appetizer for the forthcoming DVD (or VHS if that's your scene).

The 2 disc set consists mainly of new material - there are two bits resurrected from the Drunk With Power era, but even with age they are still hilarious and in GREAT company. For Gwen fans Margaret's account of her "First Colonic" is sure to please.

This is perhaps the most original,honest and insightful (Who knew trekkies were into S&M?) entertainment you will find ANYWHERE. Completely uninhibited and uncompromising. This is not cheap shock-humor, it just so happens that the truth (or a hyperbolic version thereof)is shocking to some.

She certainly is not your average "mainstream" joke-teller, Margaret Cho is in a league of her own. All you need to appreciate Notorious C.H.O. is an appreciation for intelligent-adult (meaning X-rated -if words can be that- but not stupid)humor and the will to loose your inhibitions (If you've got 'em) for about 100 minutes(unless you want to take it on incrementally, that's really your call).

As for myself I am looking forward to putting sound to image when Notorious C.H.O. comes to DVD, and to whatever material Margaret offers up next.

Probably one of the most hilarious, courageous, and outrageous comedians of our time, Margaret Cho, has returned with this latest, superior effort, The Notorious C.H.O. Although it doesn't contain as much of the poigiancy of her previous effort, the comedy classic, I'm The One That I Want, she still creates some of the most laugh-out-loud moments out of her most traumatic experiences. Artistically, this album shines so much. The greatest moments are when she talks explictly about her sexual experimentations, her eating disorders,and her past relationships. Margaret is definately a role model in my eyes and you'll see that she'll be one in yours too. So what are you waiting for? BUY! BUY! BUY!

After hearing the CD, I couldn't wait to see the movie. I got to see all the physical humor that you obviously can't see with the audio CD. But, what you do get to do with the CD is focus on her words even more. For women, GLBT, people of color, this is a call to action to love ourselves in spite of the fact that the media doesn't give us messages of self-love and to do it with a sense of humor. It's probably not for CEOs and other members of the status quo. I don't think they'd understand it or like it.