Austin-Tacious

Taped in front of a sold-out crowd in Austin's historic Paramount Theatre, Austin-Tatious is no giant departure for standup comedian and "equally opportunity offender" Ralphie May. His own weight and food are still hot topics, but as usual, most of the material is based on racial stereotypes and race relations. May gets around any racist allegations by lampooning the whole color spectrum while also pointing the finger right back at himself as often as possible, explaining its been a tough year for "white trash" thanks to Britney Spears' meltdown coupled with the passing of Anna Nicole Smith. "Wu Ping Cough" is every Chinese stereotype wrapped into a tight routine but if you want epic, "'Blank' Americans" is May's biggest bit yet, clocking in at nearly 16 minutes and remaining funny the whole way through. A great bit on the Denver airport is the one new matter of conversation, but the roaring laughter from the audience captured here is proof that May's fans are still hungry for his riffing on race. One truly odd audience moment occurs when May's mention of David Koresh's Branch Davidian compound draws some hoots and hollers. Strange.