Lewis Black: Black to the Future

The sight of comedian Lewis Black at his most apoplectic—sputtering mad, hands twitching in front of his face, shouting broken sentences—is its own kind of funny. But the act only works if the material is very, very good. This disc features two performances by Black, one being the titular show in a New York theater (recorded just before the 2016 presidential election), and the other called “The Rant is Due: Live From Napa,” which uses an audience-question format as Lewis spontaneously responds to provocative queries about social media, teachers, and gluten-free diets. Of the two, “Rant” is the better show, in part because of Black's running dialogue with friend and comic Kathleen Madigan. Their back-and-forth (Madigan is on hand to introduce the questioners) and clear affection for one another proves as charming as it is irreverent, as a self-deprecating Lewis breaks the fourth wall. By contrast, “Black to the Future” lacks spark, and the topics (while no doubt timely during the campaign) are somewhat obvious and stale, such as the quiet way that Ben Carson speaks. Things also get a little uncomfortable when Lewis goes on a long, sophomoric shtick about breasts, before ending his set with jokes about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that were superficial even before voters had their say. Still, on the strength of the better performance here, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)