Liz OhanesianView more photos in the “Comic-Con Parties” slideshow.
After running on very little sleep throughout a day of squeezing between throngs of people and Storm Troopers at San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con, we thought we might be too tired to make it through the night programming. And so we dragged our weary bodies up to San Diego club 4th & B, found seats in a corner of the room and watched the crowd file inside as music from Tim & Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job! filtered through the sound system. DJ Douggpound then joked his way through a short set which the hipsters seemed to love even though he's blatantly poking more than a little fun at hipster DJs. We quietly appreciated it, but contemplated rest. The weariness ended, though, when Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim appeared on stage in nude, hair-encrusted bodysuits complete with pendulous scrota and something that looked a little like fake excrement hanging out of their backside as they sang of bodily functions. It was crass, so much so that we were torn between laughing and cringing. We went with the former.
Eric Wareheim; Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Joined by the cast of characters from Awesome Show, Great Job!, Heidecker and Wareheim threw the best of the worst from their pseudo public access styled show at the audience, from impressions to ventriloquism to a medley of “Channel 5 Kids Break” hygiene songs. But what really riled the crowd was a rendition of the their opus “Sexual Romance,” a trilogy of sketches revolving around an illicit affair that, in the live setting, replaces the woman in the middle of the love triangle with an inflatable doll. When Heidecker and Wareheim left the stage, the crowd was hooting “Tim and Eric” (or was it “Jim and Derrick”) so loudly that we thought some might collapse.
Tim & Eric performing “Sexual Romance”; Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Julian Barratt and a fan dressed as Howard Moon; Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Our date with The Mighty Boosh was nearly ruined later that night when we returned to 4th & B two hours later only to learn that photography was no longer allowed, even for press. What were we to do? Cell phones can only take a photographer so far, especially when you're crammed towards the back of a club that looks like a school auditorium. We resigned ourselves to being ordinary concert goers for one night, and did what anyone not carrying bags filled with assorted reporting gear would do, started screaming with laughter so violently that, this time, we almost collapsed. We cheered for characters like The Hitcher and sang and danced our way through songs like “Eels.” The show ended all too briefly, the rest of the night being devoted to DJ sets primarily from Noel and Michael Fielding, and, although we loved every moment of it, we still needed those pictures.
Following the advice of someone in-the-know at the venue, we grabbed our gear and headed outside to the entrance of the backstage area. As we were leaving, we ran into a San Diego couple who are big enough fans of the Boosh to cosplay Naboo and Howard Moon for the concert (they told us that they had read it was a costumed event, showed up and realized they were the only ones at the party dressed like the Boosh). We hung out with the couple outside of the backstage entrance until they were able to catch the attention of Julian Barratt, Howard Moon himself, as he walked past the door. He came outside to chat with the small group of fans, some of whom had driven down from LA just for this show. We told him about the photo situation, to which he responded, “Really? That's odd.” and he agreed to pose with the cosplayers for LA Weekly.
Noel Fielding DJing; Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Noel Fielding DJing; Credit: Shannon Cottrell
Back inside the club, security finally gave Shannon Cottrell permission to shoot as Noel Fielding spun a very UK-centric indie rock set and an ecstatic crowd danced across the floor. We tried to dance too, but with pounds of cameras and laptops strapped to ourselves, that proved to be a bit difficult. We left the rest of the partying to the Friday night crowd.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.