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Festival Reviews

Syndicate

Transcendental Masturbation:The Comeback

Posted September 2, 2008 - 8:25pm by Plank

Transcendental Masturbation:The ComebackCompany: Glen Callender Ufa
Duration: 60 minutes
Performance Works

A quintessential Fringe classic returns to Vancouver after an eight-year absence! Armed with a vintage keyboard, a $5 garage-sale accordion and other dubious implements, a lone comedian purveys a mélange of music and mayhem. Don’t miss the experience The Province declared a “Pick of the Fringe” and The Georgia Straight called “A very funny show!” Note The correct time for the performance on Sun Sep 14 is 7:15 PM, not 7:00 PM as listed in the program guide.

Showtimes

Sep 4 – 9:30 PM
Sep 6 – 7:00 PM
Sep 7 – 10:30 PM
Sep 10 – 8:30 PM
Sep 12 – 10:15 PM
Sep 14 – 7:15 PM

For more information jack off here.

See what came over our reviewer.

Comments

Well I did smile few times

by Anonymous (not verified) - 09/15/2008 - 4:23pm

Well I did smile few times but did not laugh. It was utterly boring. The preformer seemed to be the only one having fun! The only interesting part is the title!And what’s with the peeling!?

Bu-Bye

by Jodi (not verified) - 09/13/2008 - 4:12pm

If I was the audience member lucky enough to use the video camera in this performance, I would have placed it on the table in front of me, and pointed it towards the door to show myself and my 3 friends leaving in the middle.

Opening Night

by Alison and Michael (not verified) - 09/11/2008 - 7:57pm

What a bad way to start our 2008 Fringing Extravaganza. It’s true that there are both pearls and potatoes, and perhaps Mr. Callender has picked it up from the first show, but our opener did not live up to expectations.
It probably would have been funnier if we had had the honour of holding the camcorder (yes, an audience member was lucky enough to film the show!)...we could have filmed people sleeping (oops, that was one of us!)...and leaving (that wasn’t us).
It isn’t that our prudish sensitivities were offended, we just didn’t find it funny…at all. There were opportunities for the performer to reach out to the audience, break down the fourth wall and such, but that didn’t happen. We, the audience, tried to get into it. People were giving some laughs at the beginning. But sharing some fruit and requesting applause at each turn doesn’t really create a connection. If prompting applause is the only way it will come, I would recommend you spend your dollars elsewhere.
In all fairness, we were warned in the introduction that Mr. Callender had just returned from Burning Man. Maybe an off night.

(This is a late post as we saw the show last week. The delay comes from our mothers: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” But it gnawed.)

A cult comedian in the making!

by I_in_the_Sky (not verified) - 09/11/2008 - 4:11pm

I heard mixed word-of-mouth on this one before I saw it-everything from “it’s my favourite show this year!” to “what a total turd!” so I couldn’t resist. Well this show is a hoot! It’s a daring mix of brilliant, stupid and weird, spiced with wacky and cutting stage patter reminiscent of David Letterman back in the 80s when he still had an edge. But Glen goes places Letterman would never dream of going. This guy has “future cult comedian” written all over him, miss this show at your peril!

Perhaps this comedian should

by Anonymous (not verified) - 09/08/2008 - 1:29am

Perhaps this comedian should also stop complaining about the reviews he gets to anyone who’ll listen. It makes you sound petty. If you’re going to put yourself out there, you’re going to have to deal with the reviews – good & bad.

Who's complaining?

by Glen Callender UFA (not verified) - 09/08/2008 - 4:06pm

Alas, every comedy messiah must serve his time in the desert, reviled by conventional society, until the revolution comes.

I’m Glen Callender UFA, star of “Transcendental Masturbation”. Brave anonymous mud-slinger—who appears to be attacking me personally instead of reviewing my show, good form there—be assured that I have never complained about any negative reviews I’ve received. In fact, I proudly display them on my show’s poster, right next to the positive reviews, under the headline “THE CONTROVERSIAL COMEDY HIT THAT HAS THE CRITICS AT EACH OTHERS’ THROATS!” Now, to those who lack the sophistication to anonymously attack the characters of Fringe artists on the Internet, I think it’s clear that I in fact thrive on mixed reviews. You, however, know better, so thanks again for the anonymous, condescending advice on “not sounding petty”. See you at the show!

Jerking off?

by Anonymous (not verified) - 09/06/2008 - 4:03pm

If you drop the “transcendental” part, the title of this little comedy hour fits perfectly.

The comedian was highly energetic in his performance, I will say that for him. However, all of his energy remained within him and fell short when communicating with the audience. The songs were funny for the first two lines and then went on for seemingly forever afterwards.

I would peg this failure as a lack of effort on the comedian’s part. He basically did whatever he felt like, including basically venting his beliefs on bisexuality and Anti-Christianity, and expected us to take it as comedy.

In short- it was like watching somebody jerk off on stage, without sharing in the pleasure in any way.