Remember the days when you could enjoy a good stand up comic and then be disappointed when his time was cut short? In the last several years I’ve tried to enjoy stand up comedians but too many think the use of four letter words make their act funnier. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vulgarity simply lowers the bar for what is considered talent and what is funny. How talented do you have to be to cuss? There are many comedians that simply glorify indecency. Kind of makes you wonder about the audience, too. Do they really enjoy that stuff? I don’t. What I do enjoy is good-clean-laugh-out-loud comedy and that’s what we have right here in Branson.
After being featured on late night TV, Las Vegas, movies, comedy clubs, and his own HBO specials, etc., nationally known Emmy award winner, Bob Nelson, brought his kind of comedy to Branson. He has settled in and currently performs Tuesday through Saturday at 6:00 PM in the Imaginary Theatre at the corner of Gretna & Roark.
No longer do we have to see good comedy interrupted after just 7 - 10 minutes. In Bob Nelson’s show you get non-stop comedy for 70 - 75 minutes (more than that if you get seated about 10 minutes prior to show time). When I took my son and his family to this show, they were nearly rolling on the floor laughing before the show ever started.
The show begins with Bob giving the audience some personal history and information about the art of comedy. While doing this, he includes several hilarious remarks that require the audience to be alert to get the point. I wonder if he is gauging the audience while he does this so he can tailor his delivery during the rest of the show. He also explains the differences in the way people react to some of his comedy, and why, depending on which part of the country he is performing in. Then he moves to more straightforward comedy that nobody can miss. Once he has the entire audience laughing hysterically he treats them to some of the many characters he has perfected during 30 plus years of comedy.
I watched Bob’s show on 25 June 2008 with my wife. We were there specifically to write this review; I take the pictures and my wife takes the notes. I apologize for the pictures accompanying this review as they are second best. The best pictures didn’t get taken or were too blurred because I was laughing too hard and couldn’t hold the camera still. My wife had the same problem taking notes. She tried but did you ever try to write while you were laughing? It’s not easy, and when you’re laughing hard it’s almost impossible. Even though this was the third time we’ve seen Bob’s show in Branson we had to let the camera and notepad take a back seat as we just really sat back and enjoyed the show, again. If you’re interested in a fun place to go where you will get non-stop laughter you really should see the Bob Nelson Comedy Show. To read more about him check out his website: http://www.bobnelson.com/
Bob Cort, Editor