While last night's 8 p.m. stand-up show seemed somewhat subdued by his early-on scolding of disruptive audience members, comedian Greg Proops' 10 p.m. podcast from Hilarities was full of good lovin' for the Cleve.
Baseball icon Satchel Paige, funksters the Ohio Players, and Congresswoman Betty Sutton all came in for kind words during Proops' 70-minute podcast. It was the first time the self-anointed “Smartest Man in the World” sent out his online message from Cleveland — a sometimes touching, often hilarious combination of nostalgia, political commentary, and pop-culture ranting — as well as the first time Hilarities has hosted a podcast. Prior Proops podcasts have gone out from clubs around the world, including those in Austin, L.A., Montreal, Edinboro, Scotland., and Wellington, New Zealand.
Perhaps 25 stalwart fans stuck around for the podcast.
While a dig at Clevelanders' legendary heft raised some groans, most of Proops' words were kind. Singled out for long, loving analyses: Slyman's (slymans.com), where Proops reported downing a giant platter of corned beef hash for breakfast (“It was outstanding...And who wouldn't want to eat at a place decorated with a poster of Moe sticking his finger up Curly's nose?”), and Greenhouse Tavern (thegreenhousetavern.com), where he found his burger and frites “superb, but my aorta was like, “Whoa, dude!” And as for his buttered popcorn pot de crème? “Fuck, yeah!”
Proops' will continue to deliver his standup at Hilarities through Saturday.
You can hear his Cleveland podcast (once it's posted) at smartest.libsyn.com.
