Revolution (Live)

They Say...

Review by MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide

Comedienne extraordinaire Margaret Cho loves an audience. The woman lives to talk about living in an Americanized world and, of course, does it with style and grace. She's always edgy and varying when it comes to keeping things funky and fresh. Notorious C.H.O. captured Cho's rise back from the commercial hell she lived in while being in the spotlight and almost becoming a television star, so the aptly titled Revolution charges on. It's raw in typical Cho fashion, with plenty of expletives and sarcasm. Fans will bow to her once more. Just from the front cover design of Cho symbolizing Che Guevara alone, one will sense that she's all about business. Cho's crass meanderings on Revolution aim to live up to the hype of Notorious C.H.O.. Capturing a show at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, Revolution finds Cho being political, charming, and honest. She taps into what's fueling the public at the time -- sensitivity to war. Her ebonics-like criticisms of George W. Bush's pronunciations and the media's overcrazed views on the Dixie Chicks' opinion against the President makes light of the situation. It's well-needed, particularly during a time when it might not be appropriate to laugh at such things. The usual female rants ("Plastic Surgery") and sex-crazed romps ("Monogamy Is So Weird") are evened out with some of Cho's new takes on her Asian heritage ("Hello Kitty" and "Daughter of Immigrants"). Again, she tackles what she's done in the past and gives it new face. Cho has positioned herself to say what she wants, and obviously, people are listening. Being a comic allows her to talk about certain issues without fear, because laughing at something makes the world okay. While Notorious C.H.O. dazzled fans and critics, Revolution will do the same -- with a little more guts.