Last night I went to Madison Square Garden, and it wasn’t to see Bon Jovi.  Nope, the wife and I saw Ricky Gervais live, and if you can get to see him on this tour, I highly recommend the show.  Seriously, the man is hysterical.  The original British Office was pure brilliance (I love the American version too, but you have to give credit to its roots), Extras was fantastic, his Simpsons episode was great; what can I say, I’m a fan.

I have to admit that I was a little worried before the show if his comedy would translate well as a stand-up act, but it absolutely did.  He does a lot of acting things out with his comedy bits, and he plays multiple parts with ease.  That might not sound like a big compliment, but I’ve seen comedians who just can’t nail those kinds of scenes, though Gervais is a natural at it with his acting background.  Some of the moments are very Office/Extras-esque in their awkwardness, but they always made me laugh.

I should note that a lot of his material is potentially pretty offensive for you sensitive types out there.  Without giving away any jokes, he does bits about Anne Frank, the first AIDS patient, children with autism, and a really great bit on sex that I won’t even attempt to explain, needless to say that his excitement over an “e.g.” is completely justified.  And his shtick about nursery rhymes literally made my side hurt I was laughing so hard. But though the jokes are definitely not politically correct, they’re not offensive just for the sake of being offensive, and he makes even the most taboo subjects really, really funny.

If you do go, make sure you get there on time.  Louis C.K. opened the show with a quick set, and though I wasn’t a huge fan of his HBO show, his stand-up was also really funny.  I won’t say hilarious, because he reveres that term so, but the way he described a disagreement with his three year old daughter was great, and I was a little bummed that he wasn’t on stage for longer.

There are still some tickets available left in New York City, and I assume elsewhere around the country as well.  I think I’m going to have to take some good advice from a friend and start listening to Gervais’ podcasts to tide me over before his movie Ghost Town  comes out this fall.  (Watch the trailer here.)   Considering it’s a rom-com, it looks pretty damn watchable, which is no small feat.  Is there any arena of comedy that Ricky Gervais can’t do?