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Leftfield comic brings show to Thee Stork Club in Oakland

SAN FRANCISCO -- When it comes to the art of conceptual stand-up comedy, few people are treading in the uncomfortable and sometimes confrontational footsteps of the late Andy Kaufman (and his obnoxious lounge act alter-ego Tony Clifton) the way self-proclaimed "America's funnyman" Neil Hamburger does.

Neil Hamburger
Neil Hamburger

The creation of actor, musician and punk-rock enthusiast Gregg Turkington, Neil Hamburger went from an appearance on a cult prank phone call album to featuring on his own faked live comedy recordings for an indie-rock label before actually taking the stage. After being born in Australia and growing up in Phoenix, Turkington moved with his father after his parents split and immersed himself in San Francisco's burgeoning punk scene.

An obsessive fan of the sludgy noise-punk pioneers Flipper (he would eventually compile shows he recorded into the live document Public Flipper Limited, Live 1980 – 1985), Turkington co-edited the zine "Breakfast Without Meat" and befriended enough bands and musicians to be able to start the independent label Amarillo Records. His prank phone call album Great Phone Calls for the imprint became an underground hit and led to several singles featuring his obnoxious comedian character Neil Hamburger.  

Neil Hamburger "Jug Town" promo music video by MDPerformances on YouTube

Those early singles enticed Drag City Records to offer a deal for a full-length album by the soon-to-be-infamous Hamburger. While Turkington had dabbled in comedy at San Francisco open mic nights during the late '80s, his initial Neil Hamburger recordings were fabricated documentation of "live" shows with the character telling horrible jokes over rapturous applause and laughter taken from other comedy albums.

The success of Hamburger's debut America's Funnyman would encourage Turkington to actually taking the character to the live stage. After a move to Australia, he connected with popular punk band Frenzel Rhomb, who invited Hamburger to serve as their opening act, giving Turkington a chance to refine the character's desperate, excruciating delivery full of awkward pauses and throat clearing interspersed with dark one liners and question-and-answer cracks of questionable taste that frequently slagged celebrities.

Entertainment Official Trailer #1 (2015) Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly Drama Movie HD by Zero Media on YouTube

Hamburger would become an established favorite on the alternative comedy circuit, playing festivals and supporting rock bands (he eventually played Madison Square Garden, opening for comedy-rock group Tenacious D on their Pick of Destiny Tour in 2006) and appearing on late-night talk shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Fox's Red Eye.

The character in many ways presaged the rise of surrealist anti-comedy style of Adult Swim fixtures like Tim and Eric (who Turkington has collaborated with frequently) and Eric Andre. Turkington would branch out with the character, delving into music with the 2008 album Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners and more recently playing a version of both himself and the sad sack comedian in the twisted comedy-drama film Entertainment that came out to excellent reviews (along with some expected bewilderment) in 2015.

While the COVID shutdown affected Turkington's stand-up activity just like it did every live performer over the past 18 months, he did make an online appearance opening for Mr. Bungle on their Halloween livestream from the Eureka Public Library last year (his set is available among the bonus material on the band's DVD and Blu-Ray release of the show).

For this show at Thee Stork Club presented by Talent Moat, the comic will be joined by Major Entertainer Mike -- a stand-up and bizarre singer/songwriter and self-proclaimed "professional opening act" who has toured extensively with Hamburger and Eric Andre. While advance tickets are sold out, there will be a limited number of tickets available at the door. Veteran KXSF DJ Carolyn playing records before the comedy begins.

Neil Hamburger
Friday, January 27, 8 p.m. $25 (sold out)
Thee Stork Club

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