AMG Review of Live

Ron DePasquale
All Music Guide

Master of the clean but hilarious act, Brian Regan delivers nearly an hour of sidesplitting humor in his debut album. His self-deprecating jokes and everyday topics keep him down to earth and win the trust of the listener. His opening line is: "I'm trying to get through life without looking too stupid. It's not working out too well." He's also mastered the recurring joke and the ability to flip out of nowhere, without overdoing either. He dwells often on his youth, ranging smoothly from things like the spelling bee -- "Up until that day I was an idiot but no one else knew it" -- to Little League baseball. One of his funniest bits is: "The coach would yell from the dugout every now and then 'Let's hear some chatter!'/Chattering is saying 'Hey batter, batter!' over and over again, I don't think I ever felt like more of an idiot in my whole life/If that's fair, they should do that in all adult sports/I'd like to see that out in the golf course/'Hey golfer, golfer! Putt! Putt, golfer, putt!'/'What the hell's the matter with you, Ralph?'/'Ah, I'm just tryin' to make it fun.'/Are you supposed to apply that later in life?/'Hey lawyer, lawyer -- sue! Sue lawyer!'/B'us driver, bus driver, drive! Drive! Shift bus driver!'/'What the hell's the matter with you?' I learned that as a kid."