Christian Finnegan Avoids ‘Bama Beatdown

This past Friday, stand-up Christian Finnegan nearly got beaten up by a drunk marine during his show at the Stardome theater in Birmingham, Alabama. He recaps all the details in his blog posting about the incident. The staff, including the eight it took to drag the guy outside, were great according to Christian’s account, having already cut the guy off from any alcohol prior to the incident and swooping in very quickly when he did make a move to the stage.

Despite the two empty bottles of vodka on the floor of the drunk’s car, Christian takes the ass-kicking attempt a little bit to heart, talking about how he’s been modulating material for other areas of the country to establish himself as a headliner. He states that he had already “de-balled” his set prior to the show, although he did do a bit about America being a bully. Christian concludes that wasn’t what set the guy off, but rather that he just screams “Yankee Faggot.” Comics… always focusing on the one person not laughing. Or the one trying to punch them in the face.

Christian has one great point: that avoiding beatings from the inebriated few and proud isn’t a mark of indie cred. He’s actively trying to entertain the rest of the country that isn’t below 14th St. in Manhattan. All self-deprecating references to becoming a hack aside, I think what Christian’s working on is exactly what makes a great comic… finding the common points in any audience that can bring them into your own voice. I hope he won’t think of himself as politically or culturally neutered for long.

In the meantime, if you’re a member of the armed services, here’s a schedule of Christian Finnegan’s next performances.