David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall

Renowned essayist comes alive!
It's hard to believe there are people who just read David Sedaris. Once you've heard the dry bemusement with which he delivers his observations on life, family and culture, you can't get his voice out of your head. This 2002 performance offers a little of each of his favorite themes: "Who's the Chef" recalls an abortive attempt at Parisian volunteer work; and "Repeat After Me" casts the author as a "friendly junk man," collecting bizarre family anecdotes that add up to a surprisingly poignant whole; "Six to Eight Black Men" muses incredulously on Dutch Christmas stories. In shorter bits, Sedaris experiments with the "Stadium Pal," a reusable portable pee-bag for men he calls "both cost-effective and disgusting," and unveils a too-hot-for-NPR intro to an Ira Glass/Terry Gross fund-drive interview. (Satirically labeling the radio network "a conspiracy of Jews" might have had something to do with it.) Despite an audience so appreciative they laugh at "Hi, I'm David Sedaris," his arch alienation loses none of its edge.