A Square Peg for the Round Holes of Humor

Somewhere in a land far away, there is an anomaly lurking behind the velvet curtains. Someplace between large drawing pads filled with cartoon-ish self-portraits and the guitar solos that fit so well with planned punch lines, it is hard not to wonder how Jimmy Hendrix would have been as a comedian. There lies the well-known wit master named Demetri Martin. One of the most down-to-earth men of the comedy scene in decades, he juggles life as a series of clever jokes and coincidental occurrences that sprinkle everything he touches with colorful flakes of irony. His style is unique and all his own, and he has come quite the way to pursue his dream of humor.Yet the blank brick walls and the life after dark of the comedy scene were not always in Demetri’s mind for a career. In fact, the second year law student dropped out with one year to go, leaving family and friends questioning his motives, and his risky resolution.

“I was attending NYU, and directly across the street there was a comedy club. I just decided to try it once, and from there I knew what I wanted to do.” Martin states about his unplanned career choice.

Coming from the mouth of a man that is so multi-faceted, it is near impossible not to wonder what he is planning next. His resume is astounding. From writing for Late Night with Conan O’Brien and the Daily Show, to hosting his own specials for Comedy Central, to guest staring in Flight of the Conchords, to creating his own show, the world is his stage and everyone a player in his running joke. His new show, Important Things with Demetri Martin, has proven a natural extension of not only his stand up, but the inner workings of his busy mind.

“Once I started doing stand up, I started looking at things in a different light,” Demetri goes on to say, which is how he is constantly coming up with jokes all around him.

In a society where everyone seems to have a punch line, Demetri has been able to separate himself from the stage lights and amuse audiences with the simple humor he has used since the very first curtain call. For the comic, even a fruit basket is fair game for his comedic deconstruction, and as long as he has an audience to thrill. But deep down, he is not simply another comic. Demetri Martin is a person.

“I like to talk about objects, because pretty much anything is a joke waiting to happen. Even that water cooler, you’ve seen a hundred water coolers, but there is a joke for that water cooler.” Demetri says, pointing to a vacant cooler in the corner of his dressing room.

So when Demetri visited Austin to put on his own show at the Union Tuesday night courtesy of The Texas Union Student Event Distinguished Speakers Committee and The Music Entertainment Committee, more than enough fans showed up to prove their unwavering devotion despite the 40 degree cold and sleeping on the concrete until morning to pick up a free pass. The tickets were sold out before 10:20 am, and every seat was filled for his monumentally large reception in Austin, the first since his new show premier. With new jokes about baby silencers, so appropriately illustrated on his large drawing pad, to jokes about losing a marker to cancer, Martin just couldn’t stop. So without a doubt, Austin may be that one oddly shaped space that Demetri Martin just can’t wait to fit back into.