Only a slight step down from his excellent debut album, Good Day to Cross a River, Midlife Vices is comedian
Greg Giraldo in fine form, ranting and raving about despair and depravity in front of a N.Y.C. audience where the crowds are most accepting of his scummy sense of humor. New York provides the inspiration for the first part of the set, being a city where insults like "You Got A.I.D.S Yo!" are shouted across streets and where arguments about the best Disney song results in fist fights and "MF'n" name-calling. This tough background is perfect for the gruff
Giraldo, who came up on the Comedy Central Roast circuit, and as his very funny bits about growing old, politics, and sports shoot off one rapid-fire gritty joke after another, it's easy to ignore how standard the topics and the structure of the set are. Save some routines about peanut allergies and a shift towards greener energy production, this familiar-feeling set could've come in any era from the '80s onward, but
Giraldo fans don't care much about innovation. They prefer gutsy stuff, sometimes gross, and sometimes downright mean, but always funny with that cocksure, New York state of mind. On that front, Midlife Vices satisfies, and anyone who appreciates grisly humor or "Kangaroo F***ing" will be laughing. ~ David Jeffries