Back in Spite of Popular Demand

By: Tim Sample

Recorded at The Portland Performing Arts Center in 1985, this performance became the basis for Tim’s second Maine PBS prime-time TV special, as well as his second LP for the Bert and I company. In the two years since the release of Downeast Standup, Tim had been busy with over 150 shows a year, and the maturation of his stage presence and storytelling style is evident here. At this point in his career, Tim was building a national reputation and a loyal fan base for his ability to forge an unlikely and unique blend of traditional Maine dialectal storytelling and completely off-the-wall stand up comedy.

If you don’t know what that sounds like on stage, the "Mr. Coffee I.V. Tale" is a perfect example. The "Strict Carnivore" routine has Tim departing from Maine humor entirely, with hilarious results; it had been a staple of Tim’s stage show since his days as a teenage front man for rock bands in the 60s. Speaking of rock bands, this recording also contains Tim’s original song “Takin’ Comfort”, with lyrics based on a poem by 19th- and early 20th-century Maine humorist and storyteller Holman Day.

©1985 The Maine Humor Company (P)1985 The Maine Humor Company

Critic reviews

"He's funny if you come from Augusta, Maine…. He's just as funny if you come from Augusta, Georgia." (Stephen King)