WFMU has mp3’s of Bill Hicks’ “Loses It” show. When Hicks goes after some hecklers, Michael Richards will need to take some notes…
the “Bill Loses It” show also serves as a reminder of how much has changed since 1989. If Hicks had given this performance in a post 9/11 America, he would’ve faced far worse than Michael Richards did when he lost it onstage. Hicks might’ve been deported or jailed.
I have vid of this show. I’ve not bothered to watch or listen to the Richards tirade, but IMO Bill was justified in his. The woman in question who sets him off is truly being obnoxious as hell and I don’t blame him for refusing to just stand there and take it. It’s also understandable when you take into account what was happening in his career at the time. The guy was trying to be a social comentator/humorist and could barely get work in the US while people like Carrot Top were considered the epitome of comedy?
He had a great deal of insight and tried really hard to point out genuine flaws in our culture. Unfortunately most of the people he was pointing those flaws out to wouldn’t listen because he had the guts to not just ‘preach to the choir’. Definately somebody who was gone too soon.
The big difference between Hicks’ freak out and Richards’ is that Hicks’ is funny. There’s a sense of structure and wit while Richards’ mainly relies on buzz-words like “nigger” to provoke a response. Hicks, Bruce and other great ‘dirty-comedians’ rely on much more than ‘swears’ to elicit response, it’s got to be in a routine and it must adhere to some sense of wit- Richards was simply freaking out without any control or point.
Which is a shame, he could have embraced the moment, even afterwords and honned his outrage and negative vibes ala Kaufman and done something really spectacular with it, instead of that pathetic, embarassing apology on Letterman. Of course in the end 9/11 HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING!!!