A few weeks ago I posted an article on why geeks should socialize with other geeks. This past Friday I was able to do just that when Mikey Mason, hosted by Tidewater Browncoats and Atlantis Games & Comics, came out to Norfolk to do a show. I got there early before most of the audience, but the room quickly filled up until almost every seat was occupied.
Mikey started the show with a sound check and then quickly and understandably decided to remove his pants… to put on shorts, since the room was pretty warm.
Mikey does standup comedy for a living, but I love him for his geeky, humorous parodies of popular songs (sprinkled with a few original pieces). His theme song for this show was Browncoats of Summer, which is an obvious parody. Perhaps his most famous—and funniest—song is She Don’t Like Firefly, which has caught on with fans of Joss Whedon’s very briefly lived SciFi show.
The show started at 7:00 p.m. and around 8:30 p.m. I glanced at my watch, but Mikey was still going strong. He bantered with a couple of kids in the front row and mocked them a little when they got carried away with audience participation, which made my child-hating soul rejoice. Almost everyone in the room had seen him before and a few people knew him personally and it was obvious that he was relaxed and felt like he was among friends. Some called out requests for songs. Someone brought a blueberry pie that was gobbled down during intermission. I didn’t think anything of it until I realized that the performer’s mouth was blue for the rest of the show.
His personality comes through in his work. He’s a white trash geek on purpose, but he’s a smart white trash geek and a great big teddy bear. His vocabulary and use of feminine rhyme really blow me away regularly. It’s a refreshing respite from the usual pop fair of rhyming “please” with “me.” He really does have a good voice, and could (and occasionally does) sing serious songs. I caught a nice vibrato from time to time.
Mikey Mason doing his thing
I clapped along and sang along with the songs I know—including the freeze ray song from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. I always attempt to sing along with his hilarious renditions of the cartoon themes from the 1980’s and earlier, but I end up laughing too hard. This time he did the whole repertoire, including everything from Thundercats to Sesame Street, but left off one theme that I had heard him cover at a different show. Obviously, this was on purpose when he sang another song and then came back to finish the show with a perfectly performed (and wildly amusing) rendition of the Muppet Babies theme.
I was impressed not only that he had the stamina to sing and entertain us for three whole hours, but that he very obviously wanted to do so. The audience was more than happy to let him go on as long as he wanted to, and the owner of Atlantis Games & Comics didn’t mind staying open.
All in all, although my backside was sore by the end, I was happy and excited. Picked up a couple of CDs to tide me over until the next Mikey Mason show as well. If you’re into smart, geeky music, head over to his website and check out his music and his sporadic podcast, “Beer Powered Time Machine.” It’s worth a look and listen!
Therefore I Geek 