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Fans say Carlin worth the wait
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http://www.pjstar.com
Monday, March 26, 2007
By Jordan Wilson
Of the Journal Star
PEORIA - Bob Miller remembers listening to the celebrated comedian on an
eight-track.
The Peorian has been a George Carlin fan for decades, but had
never seen the satirist on stage before. Miller, along with hundreds of others,
finally got the chance Sunday night.
Carlin’s long awaited performance at the Civic Center came on the heels of
two postponements.
“I’ve wanted to see him for 30 years,” Miller said. “I’ve just been putting
it off. And I saw he was sick and had to cancel two of his shows so I figured
this might be his last time around.”
True to the comedic theme, Denny Marfell of Washington thought his tickets
were a joke. Marfell said his sister gave him two tickets, but something just
wasn’t adding up.
“I looked at the tickets and said, ‘Wait a minute. These are from
November,’” Marfell said.
Carlin’s show was originally scheduled for mid-November, but was pushed
back twice because of an ongoing illness. So the fact that Carlin was actually
on stage was enough reason for some to applaud.
Carlin is widely referred to as one of the greatest comics of all time. His
vulgar rantings generate as much fanfare as controversy, as Carlin was the
first-ever host of “Saturday Night Live” and one of his routines was even the
subject of Supreme Court debate.
“A lot of people like his odd humor - except for my wife,” Marfell said
with a chuckle, noting Carlin’s off-the-wall jokes kept her from attending.
The third go-around didn’t bring the futility of the first two slated
appearances. Carlin fans young and old were finally treated to the comedian’s
unique stand-up act.
Carlin has been making the comedy rounds for 50 years now. Yet, fans think
his lines pack as much punch - if not more - as they did a half-century ago.
What fans seemed to appreciate most was the fact Carlin is still as
unrelenting and vulgar as he was in his 1972 monologue, “Seven Words You Can
Never Say on Television.”
The disclaimer on the Civic Center’s Web site said it all as it read, “This
show is for a mature audience only.”
“He’s kind of vulgar,” Miller said. “He doesn’t do it like some of the
other comedians.”
After much delay, Mike Mercer was just glad to finally see Carlin. Mercer,
who said he drove about 110 miles from Iowa to see the renowned comic, received
his tickets to the November show as an early Christmas present.
Turns out, he didn’t get to unwrap his gift until well after the holidays.
“I didn’t know if (Carlin) would live long enough to make it,” Mercer
joked. “I didn’t know how sick he was.”
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