These Aren't Just Jokes

Demetri Martin schools audiences on a unique brand of comedy with his new CD/DVD

Youthful comedian Demetri Martin operates from a much different style than most stand-up comics, mixing a Steven Wright-like sensibility with a much more cordial and genial personality, almost like that of a college teaching assistant.

Underneath that seemingly simple demeanor, however, as evidenced on his new CD-DVD release “These Are Jokes,” lies a sophisticated, complex and precise point of view and comic perspective.

A signature bit, appearing on both the CD and as an extra on the DVD, is Martin’s song “Sames and Opposites,” in which he exhibits a gloomy and serious persona that belies what he sings, as he accompanies himself on guitar and bells at his feet, with lines like “Musicals and burlap sacks are the same. (pause) I do not want to be in either.”

What makes Martin so funny, and makes this CD and DVD a must-have, is his mastery of the audience’s expectations, which he plays like a virtuoso violinist. As in “Sames and Opposites,” a lot of Martin’s material takes those unexpected and unique left turns that reward smart listeners (or viewers).

Martin’s bread and butter is putting new spins on everyday objects and situations, indeed teaching his audiences a new way to look at the world.