Day 113

About last night...Dawn and I went to see Marc Maron do a live show at the Buckhead Theatre in north Atlanta. As I wrote last night: It was a good show, not a great show.

I've been a fan of Maron's since I first listened to his iconic podcast "WTF?" about 11 or 12 years ago. Maron wrote the book on the long form podcast interview format establishing early on a conversational tone that makes the listener feel like they have a seat at the table while two people talk about life and their life's histories. Most of the interviews on WTF last around an hour and 15 minutes. By the time it's over, I'm often left with the sense that I got a small but honest glimpse into that guest's life.  Since launching in the fall of 2009, Maron has recorded over 1,300 interviews with much of the country's artistic, political and intellectual movers and shakers. They don't all hit, but most of them do. I lost count of the number of WTF episodes I've listened to, most often on my commute home from the office  – when that was still a thing –  but it's probably around three or four hundred. 

While I'm not a comedian or Jewish, I found Maron to be relatable in a lot of ways. He is an addict (sober for nearly 20 years), a left-of-center progressive, an agnostic, the child of a narcissist parent (his dad), and a pragmatist. Among many other things, too, of course, but it's these traits that have kept me hanging around listening to his podcast (less frequently now that I'm not going to office), and watching TV shows (Glow!) and movies (Joker) that he has roles in. When I heard he was coming to Atlanta I went ahead and bought two tickets without even asking Dawn if she wanted to go. I don't remember if I bought these before or after Damian died but I want to say it was after. Dawn and I had seen Maron live one other time but that was probably 10 years ago. Given the long gap, I was excited to see him again. 

I was pleasantly surprised when Maron took the stage at 7:15 without an opener. For the next hour and 45 minutes the stage was his. I laughed out loud a few times but mostly I just enjoyed listening to him share some of his personal stories, joke and riff with the audience. But some of his material didn't land with me. Though I have come far in my journey with grief, I learned last night that I am not ready to hear jokes about suicide and grief. Not yet anyway. The material didn't upset me to the point where I wanted to walk out, but these bits were a buzzkill which left me in a somber mood. Not exactly the desired state of mind one seeks when going to a comedy show.  But in Maron's defense death is a quintessential part of the human condition so I get why he chose to poke fun at it. Death happens. Eventually to all of us, whether we like it or not. Best to have some fun with it. Intellectually, I get it, but emotionally I'm not there. Someday maybe, but not yet. 

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