Podcast duo Andy Dick and Dino Stamatopoulos’ natural state is to be locked away together in a studio to bat jokes and insults around. But in a live special performance of Dino and Andy’s Skull Juice (Feral Audio, iTunes) they are joined by a who’s who of US comedy, including Louis CK, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey.
The big guns are there to perform Sometimes Live, “the show that didn’t even last one episode”. It’s a lost pilot from the late 90s that is set behind the scenes at a variety show, which they label “nothing like 30 Rock”. Andy and Dino are in no hurry to showcase their famous guests, and their long warm-up includes a half-hour set by country singer Robbie Fulks. If that sounds like the worst way to kick off a night of hilarity, stay tuned for the moment when Tina Fey pops up for a duet of Loretta Lynn’s Success.
“This is like a This is Your Life for Dino, or some kind of weird pre-intervention to make sure I don’t start drinking,” says Dick. The dynamic between the hosts is always teetering on the edge: in previous episodes they have talked about the 10 years where they refused to speak to each other, and had a lengthy argument about whose name should come first in the podcast title.
The Sometimes Live script ambles into weirdness, with its promise of musical guests including Toto, Sheryl Crow and Dexys Midnight Runners. Then there are failed segments, such as My Three Grandads and Appreciating Tom, a story involving a gay turkey on a leather leash. No jokes are off limits, even the recurring one about the night being an Isis benefit gig, but there are moments when the hysteria doesn’t translate from live show to podcast.
What makes it special are the famous guests’ anecdotes and asides. Louis CK plays the warm-up guy and Tiny Fey keeps a low profile in the ensemble cast. Singing aside, she gets her moment as the “short but generous” network censor who can’t get her beeps in the right place. “In the podcast this will be cut out, but you get to live it,” she promises as there’s some tinkering with the script. “These are moments you won’t get back at the end of your life.”
If you like this, try … Before You Were Funny, where comedians relive their worst sketches.
