On the scene: The Homecoming show at Just for Laughs

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Hannibal Buress is back in town, headlining the Lincoln Lodge."][/caption]

I made it to the Lincoln Lodge just in time for the Just for Laughs Homecoming show featuring nine returning comics. They came, they conquered, and now they're back to impress industry people who are scouting the fest for new talent. You get the idea. Nick Vatterott, who left only a few weeks ago, emceed the evening and warmed up the crowd with bits like, "Give it up for giving it up," "Anybody in the audience married or not married?" and "I'll be selling CDs after the show...Led Zeppelin, 1,000 hours of America Online..." But Vatterott hit his stride when he launched into a bit about hangovers. "I woke up the next morning and somebody had written the word forehead on my dick." Later, he ranted about a public-service announcement that blasted the use of the phrase "That's gay." "That's retarded, I thought... I can make that joke, my boyfriend's retarded."

His fine introduction transitioned nicely to the first comic of the evening, New York-based Jared Logan. Logan started out by stating that he wanted to banter with the audience but that he promised not to say anything mean like "Your pussy smells like garbage." This segued into bits about drinking red wine to lose weight and a circuitous bit about cigarette smoking. This dovetailed into a diatribe about hating the periodic table of elements and finally a bit about the power of Oprah. "It takes seven Donald Trumps to equal one bowl of Oprah."

Steve O'Brien and Nate Fernald of Team Submarine manned the mikes next. I think these guys are great, but their set didn't deliver a ton of outright laughter. That's fine of course; I could still watch these guys for a long time and not get bored. They're like two halves of one brain, and they mesh well with the right audience. They talked about being back home and seeing their favorite hot spots like Lake Chicago and the Chicago Tower and their favorite hometown dish, Chicago-style soup (their funniest bit of the set). Next, they played truth or dare with each other. "How big is your...dad?" and "I pick dare and I had sex with your sister."

Rock poet Thax Douglas (yep, it was definitely a Chicago show) introduced Kyle Kinane, who has to be the most unlikely Angelo in all of Southern California-land, and he duly noted it. "With a face like this I can argue at a Red Lobster about the end of shrimpfest," said the woolly and bearded Kinane. He talked about stepping out of the shower and refusing a compliment from his girlfriend. "You look like a Greek god, she said to me. [I was like], you don't know shit about mythology." But Kinane's best moment was his finale in which he spoke of three pitches for animated films. It was blisteringly funny thanks to Kinane's nailing the absurdity of animated film plotlines.

Marina Franklin, who left Chicago in 1993, added a bit of spit and polish to the night. Now based in New York, she's been honing her craft for some time in a more competitive environment. "I'm not a sassy black comic," Franklin deadpanned as she kept brushing an alleged pubic hair off her microphone. She talked about the African roots to her name ("Marina means 'place where you dock boats' ") and the awkward transition of moving from Highland Park to the South Side as a kid, and having to switch back and forth between her "white" and "black" voice. She talked about how Harlem has become gentrified, "They now have salad...and wine tastings..." and saved her best bit, about getting told off by an angry mom, for last.

Mike Bridenstine marked the halfway point of the show with a set that included jokes about getting bad advice from Zanies, his version of the worst Chicago commercial ever, Pam Anderson's insecurities and a tranny-chasing Chicago cab driver. But his best moments were when he asked, "Can you believe it's 2009 and we're still pooping shit out of our assholes?" and having to deal with his agent's stupid assistant.

L.A.-based Renee Gauthier jumped up next and delivered an inspired bit about her three-legged dog Sugar Poop. "People think we're saints," (I'm paraphrasing here). "But when we saw his picture online he had four legs. We showed up at the shelter and they were like, oops he's missing a leg. But they did give him to us 25% off." She also talked about road rage L.A.-style before giving us all a chuckle with a story about waiting tables, and specifically waiting on Mark Wahlberg and his "always-full-term-pregnant girlfriend."

The highlight of the night was Hannibal Buress, who delivered a brainy, deliriously good set. It's hard to translate Buress's slow-burn, right-brained humor to the page, but the man threw intelligent jokes our way that touched on everything from flaming Dr Pepper, getting AIDS, cash back at Walgreens, rap video sequels ("Are they gonna pour more Champagne on these bitches?"), Lil Wayne being interviewed by Katie Couric, and a pickle juice diatribe that you're just gonna have to seek out for yourself.

Unfortunately, a handful of fans who came specifically for Buress (according to them) weren't so patient with headliner and finale TJ Miller. They yelled "douche bag," and Miller shot back full throttle. While he certainly held his own, "You're celebrating 10 years together," he mused of the heckling couple, "that's amazing because I can't stand five minutes of either of you," it tilted toward the uncomfortable as much of Miller's set was wasted as he battled it out with these folks. He did manage a few inspired character impressions like an impotent dirty talker and a girl who talks about her period too much, a Steven Wright-esque joke: "I'm dyslexic. I was so depressed about it I slit my ankles," and acknowledged his own big gut with, "This isn't a beer belly, this is a gas tank for a fuck machine." Yep, the feisty, fighting Miller was there the whole time, but the jokes came out only at the end.

The Homecoming shows continue tonight and through the weekend.