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I have been an avid Jeff Dunham fan for the past twenty-one years. I will always remember the first time I saw him on national television:
the year was 1990, I was ten years old and Jeff was appearing on ‘The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson’.
It was that one performance that put Jeff on my radar – and would mold me into the fan that I am today.
Fast forward twenty-one years later to Sunday, May 15th, 2011 – Jeff performed in Bozeman, Montana
as part of his ‘Identity Crisis Tour’. I have seen Jeff live once before [six years ago], and
this was equally as good… if not better.
The show started promptly with a short appearance by Brian Haner [The “Guitar Guy”]. Brian
had a great set that consisted of a few mildly funny songs and a funnier stand-up routine in which he harassed a young woman
in the front row for a long period of time. To top it off, Brian went into an amazing guitar solo that
really showed off his guitar capabilities. His set was short, roughly about fifteen to twenty minutes,
but it was just enough time to put the crowd in the mood to see Jeff Dunham – who later appeared on stage after a quick
fifteen minute break after Brian’s performance.
Jeff
Dunham hit the stage and the crowd roared as if he were a rock-star – their love for him was abundantly clear well before
the show even started – many fans were seen outside in the 43mph wind standing in line and waiting for the doors to
open. Jeff did not disappoint those fans that night.
Jeff’s performance started off with his usual ten to fifteen minute opening
dialogue in which he talks about his recent divorce with his wife and what it’s like being a single father for the first
time. Although these stories were great, the highlight of his opening dialogue was the set of pictures
he showed of him back in his high-school days – a story that I will not ruin for you by trying to tell it myself.
Trust me, this is something you will need to see for yourself!
After
his quick and very funny opening dialogue, he quickly brought out Walter – one of his widely popular puppets.
Walter is always funny, and the fact that Jeff recently got a divorce made his set even funnier! Since
Walter is constantly talking about his rotten relationship with his own wife, this opened up a whole new conversation between
Walter and Jeff.
Achmed “The Dead Terrorist” was
next – a puppet that has gained popularity over the past few years. Achmed was incredible, probably
my favorite for the evening. Of course a lot of his set was focused on discussing Bin Laden and the recent
events surrounding Bin Laden, and every second was hysterical. Near the end of Achmed’s set Jeff
brought on a surprise guest, a puppet that is new to his set. Who was it? Well, that
is something that you will need to find out on your own. Let me just say that I see this puppet staying
in Jeff’s routine for a long time – the conversation between Achmed and the surprise guest was priceless.
To close the evening Jeff brought out one of my favorite characters… Peanut!
Peanut has always been one of my favorites, I think it’s his sarcastic humor and gestures that he makes towards
Jeff… Peanut did not disappoint that evening. They spoke about everything from Chinese restaurants
to why one of his arms has a stick in it… it was a great set to see. I love Peanut, but if there
is one thing that I love even more – it’s Peanut with Jose Jalapeno “on a stick”! Their
back and forth bickering that evening was priceless, and it always is.
There were a few missed characters though; Bubba J, Sweet Daddy Dee and Melvin the Superhero Guy did not make appearances.
Yes, the characters that were used are funnier, but it would have been nice to see short performances by at least one
or two of these unseen puppets.
It
was a great evening for myself and everyone else in the theater, I cannot wait to see Jeff again soon.
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