The entire description on the Comedy & Magic Club's online calendar says it all: “The Legend returns to our Live at the Lounge Showroom. Show at 7:30. Doors open for dinner at 6:30.” And where some chucklehead's wry-yet-introspective headshot would ordinarily rest, a floating robot noggin instead flashes an airborne question mark and frowns in dismay over the fact that no photo is available. See, Mort Sahl don't need to available-ize no stinkin' photo. He's Mort friggin' Sahl. If Mort Sahl wants to leave blank the space in which lengthy, slapped-together comic bios typically run down a list of laughable commercials and Law & Order appearances, Mort Sahl's gonna do just that. If he wants his numerous credits — starting out in the '50s at San Francisco's legendary hungry i nightclub, popularizing newspaper-headline monologues, writing jokes for JFK, divorcing a Playboy Playmate, getting blacklisted for his edgy political humor, inspiring the likes of Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Bill Hicks, Chris Rock and George Carlin in their comedic endeavors, etc. — all in-your-face and readily available, well, they will be. But Mort Sahl don't need none of that. He's always been a different breed, an icon of the counter-culture, and his material still reflects it. When you see Mort Sahl, you see an old-school, no-holds-barred, downright legendary performer. Sure, you'll laugh, but more important, you'll think. And that's just the way Mort Sahl likes it.

Thu., May 7, 7:30 p.m., 2009

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