Two for Flinching [PA] (CD - 2006)

Photographer: Michael Cogliantry.

Unknown Contributor Role: Nathanial Hipple.

Yes, he's well aware he looks like Biff from Back to the Future, and he's fine with that. It doesn't bother him at all, but what does bother Christian Finnegan is that most folks think of him as a snide, sniping panelist on VH1's Best Week Ever and not a versatile standup comedian. His debut CD, Two for Flinching, is a first step towards standup stardom, but the uncomfortably slow start and the uneven pacing throughout suggest the Best Week Ever is still his best showcase. He's funny but unpolished, and there's as much hackneyed material here as there is at your local comedy club's open mic night. There's the "Taco Bell sounds like a good idea when you're drunk at 3 in the morning, but when you get up the next day...." shtick and he actually begins some routines with "Did you ever notice" as if Seinfeld and all the Seinfeld impressions that followed never happened. Still, Finnegan's traditional style is a breath of fresh air in the era of the "indie" comic, and his best material holds plenty of promise. Making fun of fonts isn't something just anybody could pull off and "High Dance Threshold" is a killer rant on every genre of music Finnegan dislikes. Fans of his work on Best Week Ever get to see another side to the man and there are enough laughs here to call the CD serviceable, but he's still that guy from that show, at least for now. ~ David Jeffries minimize