On stage, Vos is as versatile as they come; he is a fine joke teller and he can carry a riff as well as anyone (a bit on that peculiar hell that is Baltimore was particularly well received). His ability to engage the audience is a strength amongst strengths, and is not restricted to smaller crowds (at the Jones Beach stop of Opie & Anthony’s Traveling Virus, he spied two attractive women in the crowd and remarked “Good looking women at an Opie & Anthony show: Hot chicks—or victims?”). But what makes him so interesting is not only his ability to switch gears, but the impressive ease with which he moves the audience from irony to social commentary to biting repartee and back again. His is not a cream pie in the face, check your brain at the door act; it is sophisticated, brainy stuff, and it behooves you to keep up — especially you hardy souls who are brave enough to peril the front rows.
Like so many in his industry, Vos has become increasingly concerned with the willingness of the public to accept restrictions on speech. While he does not see the proposed “resurrection” of the Fairness Doctrine as an immediate threat to the arts, he still sees an atmosphere that is hostile to open expression. But unlike many who see these restrictions as coming solely from one political direction or the other, Vos views them as the coincidental convergence of two normally antagonistic interest groups. It is his contention that the political correctness of the left has combined with the corporate interests of the right (particularly in regard to protecting profit against bad publicity and boycotts) to form a sort of meta-willingness to abrogate First Amendment rights. As he so succinctly put it in terms of freedom of speech, “The liberals are taking it down from the inside, and the conservatives are knocking it down from the outside.”
Vos’ summer is a busy one. In addition to club dates he's performing to prepare for an upcoming Comedy Central special, he is serving as emcee (at least for the first half of the show) and general rabble-rouser for Opie & Anthony’s Traveling Virus. As much work as he is putting into his club dates (it is an interesting experience when you realize that a performer is scrutinizing the audience as much as they are scrutinizing him) is as much relaxation as he gets from the Traveling Virus shows, which he calls his “summer fun.” His bond with that particular group of fans is strong, and he is happy to be able to share their big event with them. On a personal note, he and the enormously funny and talented Bonnie McFarlane are awaiting the birth of their child (her terrific opening set at The Brokerage was proof positive that a sweet demeanor and an understated delivery can be excellent camouflage for a wicked girl’s heart). So when you see Vos at the end of the night hawking his DVD with a look of desperation in his eye, you really should consider buying one — he is, after all, going to have another mouth to feed. If not for him, buy it for Bonnie and the baby.
For more information on Rich Vos, go to richvos.com; for more on The Brokerage
Comedy Club, including a full calendar of events, go to brokeragecomedy.com.
– Michael Lee
