Some comedians — Dennis Miller, for example — succeed on the merits of their writing; others develop a funny persona (Steven Wright) or some kind of specified shtick. Veteran comic Dom Irrera is a bit of all these things, but you get the overriding sense that the guy could walk up on stage just after finishing a nap, with no material, and bring down the house. The Philly native essentially plays the urban smartass — with an emphasis on Italian-Americans — but he has a cuddly side, too. Here's a random Dom joke I picked up online, delivered, as usual, in his barbed Northeastern accent: "I love that red wine is good for you. I wanna hear more of this. I wanna hear more things in life like, 'Red wine, in conjunction with a lap dance and watching NFL football, is the best cardiovascular workout you can have.'" By the way, Dom's act was the first time I've ever heard the expression, "bada-boom, bada-bing." June 16-18, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 7 p.m. Sun., Side Splitters Comedy Club, 12938 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa, $18-$20, 813-960-1197, www.sidesplitterscomedy.com.
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2006.
