2008 Woodie Awards
Eric O'Shea & ELMO Love You
Stacy Walz
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Culture
On Friday, April 4, comedian Eric O'Shea filled the Pacific Room with giggles. Sponsored by the Student Activities Board and Weekend Programming, this New Yorker's performance was charismatic and, well, "poopy."
"Oh, for Pete's poop," sighed O'Shea at one point. Poop was a recurring theme throughout the show, although many other topics surfaced. Roadkill, spell-check, childhood games and motherly ninja wooden spoon skills were some of the other subjects touched on by O'Shea.
Impressions of television characters surfaced near the end of his performance. And, while animal impressions are not his talent, O'Shea's character voices were dead-on. After going through characters in "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Family Guy," he dedicated several minutes to Elmo. Elmo, represented by O'Shea's hand, talked to a baby in the audience and then venteed his problems through his hand-Elmo.
The last segment of O'Shea's performance focused on songs for television commercials. Because some songs simply don't fit the products being advertised, he found songs that did fit the products. My two favorite selections were for Discover and Preparation H; "We're Not Gonna Take It" (The Veronicas' cover of Twisted Sister's song) and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" ("it burns, burns, burns"), respectively.
In spite of his numerous references to poop, Eric O'Shea is not a crappy comedian. Moments void of laughter were few as O'Shea rarely let the audience rest. He interacted with the audience frequently and wanted to take one student to all of his shows because her infectious laugh rarely paused. Although he stated several times that he is "perverted," his raunchier jokes were never too graphic. At the end of the performance, the students stood and applauded. As the masses moved toward the doors, they could be overheard calling the show "awesome," "funny" and "a hit."
While the entire show was quite humorous, several parts linger in my mind as especially funny. Demonstrating how five-year-olds act when they are pissed, O'Shea said they "look like a constipated ventriloquist" because they don't move their mouth when yelling. Just watch a child throw a fit in the grocery store if you can't envision this. Recalling childhood games, he called Monopoly "a waste of a week," talk about a ridiculously long game. O'Shea also told about a time he scared himself at night. "You ever pee in footie pajamas? It fills up." Then he proceeded to sing the Colbie Caillat song "Bubbly": "it starts in my toes and I crinkle my nose…"
Eric O'Shea has performed at over 1,200 colleges, and won Campus Activities Magazine's 2007 National Comedy Performer of the Year award. You can visit his website, www.ericoshea.com, for more information about the comedian. His Elmo impression and commercial songs can be seen on YouTube for students who missed his performance at Western. •
"Oh, for Pete's poop," sighed O'Shea at one point. Poop was a recurring theme throughout the show, although many other topics surfaced. Roadkill, spell-check, childhood games and motherly ninja wooden spoon skills were some of the other subjects touched on by O'Shea.
Impressions of television characters surfaced near the end of his performance. And, while animal impressions are not his talent, O'Shea's character voices were dead-on. After going through characters in "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Family Guy," he dedicated several minutes to Elmo. Elmo, represented by O'Shea's hand, talked to a baby in the audience and then venteed his problems through his hand-Elmo.
The last segment of O'Shea's performance focused on songs for television commercials. Because some songs simply don't fit the products being advertised, he found songs that did fit the products. My two favorite selections were for Discover and Preparation H; "We're Not Gonna Take It" (The Veronicas' cover of Twisted Sister's song) and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" ("it burns, burns, burns"), respectively.
In spite of his numerous references to poop, Eric O'Shea is not a crappy comedian. Moments void of laughter were few as O'Shea rarely let the audience rest. He interacted with the audience frequently and wanted to take one student to all of his shows because her infectious laugh rarely paused. Although he stated several times that he is "perverted," his raunchier jokes were never too graphic. At the end of the performance, the students stood and applauded. As the masses moved toward the doors, they could be overheard calling the show "awesome," "funny" and "a hit."
While the entire show was quite humorous, several parts linger in my mind as especially funny. Demonstrating how five-year-olds act when they are pissed, O'Shea said they "look like a constipated ventriloquist" because they don't move their mouth when yelling. Just watch a child throw a fit in the grocery store if you can't envision this. Recalling childhood games, he called Monopoly "a waste of a week," talk about a ridiculously long game. O'Shea also told about a time he scared himself at night. "You ever pee in footie pajamas? It fills up." Then he proceeded to sing the Colbie Caillat song "Bubbly": "it starts in my toes and I crinkle my nose…"
Eric O'Shea has performed at over 1,200 colleges, and won Campus Activities Magazine's 2007 National Comedy Performer of the Year award. You can visit his website, www.ericoshea.com, for more information about the comedian. His Elmo impression and commercial songs can be seen on YouTube for students who missed his performance at Western. •
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