Jerusalem of laughs

April 4, 2010 - 8:59 AM by David

Jim Gaffigan - close enough to be sweat upon

The tiny Off the Wall Comedy Basement in downtown Jerusalem was packed like sardines last night for the debut in Israel’s capital of stand up superstar Jim Gaffigan.

Club proprieter and MC for the evening David Kilimnick noted that there hadn’t been such a big crowd at the club since ‘free beer’ night. And opener Charley Warady accurately commented that the same person who designed the seating plan for the word-of-mouth show during Gaffigan’s family Easter vacation also designed the leg room for El Al flights.

But nobody was complaining, because how many times can you see a world class comedian and actually feel the beads of sweat from his brow as he flings them away? A mix of young, English speaking 20-and-30-somethings with a smattering of an older kippa-clad crowd, the audience seemed totally familiar with Gaffigan’s routines, including his classic ‘Hot Pockets’ observations.

But it was the material he’d gathered during his week touring Israel that provided the evening’s freshest moments, including the ‘gingi’ pale-skinned Gaffigan claiming to be an Ethiopian Jew finally having come home to Israel.

Gaffigan, who has made his name talking about food, delighted in the ‘Israeli breakfasts’ that were being served at his hotel.
“You people make up for not having meat at breakfast, by offering just about every other food on the planet! Would you like some salad for breakfast? How about some olives? And you’re big on serving fish for breakfast,” he added, leading into his well-known diatribe against the food from under the sea.

Gaffigan reveled in the cultural differences between Israel and the US, but didn’t hesitate poking fun at his own heritage, including bringing pine trees into living rooms at Christmas time, and hiding eggs on Easter. “How can we commemorate Jesus rising from the dead? How about EGGS?”

Seeing Gaffigan in a proverbial hole in the wall at a fraction of the price it would cost to see him in the US was just one of those impromptu only-in-Israel moments that makes living here such an adventure filled with unexpected treats.

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