Our favorite annual laugh for a great cause: Comics Come Home

Last night, Tom and I went to see Comics Come Home, benefiting the Cam Neely Foundation. Now in its 14th year, CCH is apparently the longest running charity comedy show in the nation. I started going in its early years, a year or so before I met Tom. He's gone with me to at least 8 or 9 of the past ten years, so I'd say this is a strong annual tradition.

Neely was one of my favorite players on the Bruins -- #8. A heavy hitter when you needed him to be, he retired far too early in his career after taking a nasty shot that debilitated his already-shaky hip. On the personal front, both of his parents died of cancer in the 1990s, and he and his brother quickly realized that there are not nearly enough resources for families dealing with cancer. The Foundation established the Cam Neely House, a home away from home similar in concept to the Ronald McDonald House. They've been very successful over the years, raising $19M and establishing several different cancer centers in the Boston area, including the most recent addition, the Neely Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Children's Floating Hospital in Boston, a fantastic hospital at which Tom's nephew was treated years ago.

The show last night was AWESOME -- probably one of the best in a few years. They've decreased the number of acts and lengthened their time on stage. They also got rid of a few all-to-familiar faces, such as Steve Sweeney, whose acts were simply a regurgitation of the previous year's and no longer funny.

Denis Leary is the perennial emcee and steals the show every year. Local boy, swears every other word, and a fantastic singer (here's an old video of The Asshole Song for the uninitiated - -warning, it's pretty off-color and not for little ears to hear!). I'm still laughing at his hilarious story last night about shitting his pants by accident while traveling in Italy with his family. He's irreverent as hell, and took a few minutes to make a very personal and clearly angry statement about the backlash against his upcoming book in which comments he made about autistic families were completely taken out of context and politicized. George W was also a big target this year -- Denis started with a song about how much he'll miss making fun on him.

Jim Breuer was pretty hilarious - Tom and I saw him Friday night at Montien when we had dinner before the Smashing Pumpkins, and yes, he always does look stoned. Lenny Clarke, another Boston boy done well, was simply fantastic -- he's lost a lot of weight, his material is fresh and always taking a jab at Boston politics. Al Madrigal, who co-stars with Jay Moore on a show that I haven't watched, was a pleasant surprise -- his bit was about his new baby and how his world view has changed. My personal favorite was his bit about children who are tethered on leashes. He went over to pat one, the parent said "my child's not a dog," and he responded, "exactly, so why the F*** is he on a leash." Who hasn't wanted to say that!

Tom Shillue and Anthony Clark were both okay -- Clark needs new material. Mike DeStafano got heckled by some jerk in the audience who was promptly escorted out (score 1 for security for acting so quickly!). The show ended with Patrice Oneal who is disgustingly funny - not for the faint of heart!