The Relapse logo on comedian Brian Posehn's debut album pretty much says it all: if his fellow "Mr. Show" alum David Cross is the funnyman of choice for indie-rockers, Posehn speaks to another perennial underclass-- the metal-heads. Or rather, thirtysomething middle-class metal heads who, between getting married, walking the dog, and mowing the lawn, have lost the follicular capabilities to bang a full head of hair. On more than one occasion on Live In: Nerd Rage!, Posehn refers to himself as a "total metal dork" and (of course) "nerd," but the constant declaration of his loser status starts to feel like a forced attempt to assert an identity, reducing his entire act to an easy game of word association (see Seinfeld: nothing or Gallagher: watermelons). When Posehn recounts anecdotes about being pestered by jocks, I don't doubt he speaks from experience. The irony is, they're the very audience that would lap up his potty-mouthed stoner shtick.
Despite Posehn's imposing physical presence (metal height: 6'66") and Deicide shout-outs, Nerd Rage! doesn't rage very much at all; it's more like Nerd Resignation. Posehn is an affable character, and as crude as he can be, his vulgarity is more jovially immature than aggressively offensive. But those drawn here by Posehn's "Mr. Show" pedigree will be surprised at how little the material here deviates from standard brick-background stand-up fare: petty arguments with the wife, jerking off to porn, the sexual proclivities of household pets, the absolute suckiness of Star Wars Episodes I and II (though Posehn is the first comedian I've heard compare the experience of watching The Phantom Menace to having your uncle force his weiner into your mouth). Consistent with Posehn's self-professed addiction to marijuana and Halo, Nerd Rage!'s 90-second riffs fly by with scatterbrained, channel-surfer randomness, meaning his anecdotes never really accrue momentum or thematic resonance. Forays into weightier political territory-- like his inspired supposition of a post-war future where Iraq becomes America's cultural ally, like Japan after World War II-- unfortunately last as long as it takes to read a news-scroll item on CNN Headline News.
However, if Posehn's "Mr. Show" tenure has taught him anything, it's a studied self-awareness about his chosen medium: Perhaps it says too much that my loudest laugh came when Posehn suddenly switches topics from dogs to religion and shrugs, "I haven't written a segue since 1990." Posehn scores most consistently in meta mode, a point driven home by Nerd Rage!'s three bonus musical tracks: A song called "Metal by Numbers" (featuring Anthrax's Scott Ian and Armored Saint's Joey Vera) where Posehn's Cookie Monster growl guides you through the song's cookie-cutter structure ("this is the gay part with melody!"), a rehash of "Mr. Show"'s second-best metal spoof-band, Titannica, prefaced by a radio interview where the DJ decries unnecessary reunions. It's a good thing Posehn's congenial, everydude demeanor allows us to overlook meta-comedy's potential pitfall: that jokes about clichés can easily become clichés themselves.
