COMEDY REVIEW : Comic Jerry Dye Sees Through a Glass Lightly

Jerry Dye’s act devotes considerable time to exploring what, in his woozy view, is the power of positive drinking.

A Southerner with a deep drawl, Jerry Dye followed his favored modus operandi Wednesday at the Laff Stop in Newport Beach: Occasionally juxtaposing his persona of bemused bumpkin against frequent observational offshoots of something he apparently understands thoroughly--boozing.

He set up the simpleton stuff immediately. Taking the stage, he greeted the crowd simply, “Thank y’all very much; appreciate that,” before saying: “I’m sure y’all can tell by now that I’m not from California. . . . I’m from Mississippi.”

A second later he established that he isn’t just a good ol’ boy but an often- baffled good ol’ boy. Remarking on the generally relaxed attitude of Californians, he pointed out that “(an) earthquake--that don’t bother y’all, does it?” The crowd replied “No.” Dye continued: “But let it rain 2 days in a row. . . .”

He laced his set with other rural vs. urban, fish-out-of-water musings. Baffled by the phenomenon of jogging, he noted that back home in Mississippi, a guy running would mean: “He stole something; either that, or someone offered him a job.”

Now, no one is going to accuse Dye of having particularly inventive or poignant material. He doesn’t fool much with offering insights about the human condition--his or ours.

But this veteran comic is a masterful technician: Despite the aw-shucks demeanor, he is completely in control on stage. He elicits the maximum impact from pieces that are often unexceptional or generic, because he is so skillful at delivering a joke. He always knows exactly where the laugh is, a nuance that eludes many younger comics with better material.

A neat example of his control and a nice self-mocking side--as well as some evidence that when doing booze material he knows whereof he jokes--came about 15 minutes into Wednesday’s show.

Roaring along in overdrive through an extended bit about the televangelist triumvirate (Roberts, Swaggart, Bakker), he was pulling a pretty strong response for a mediocre exploration of an over-explored topic. He then downshifted--as he took time out to down the shot of Jack Daniel’s he had ordered--and continued to digress from his act.

Realizing he was meandering, he said: “What the hell was I talking about, anyway? It don’t matter, I guess--I don’t have no act anyway. I’ve been out of material for 15 minutes.”

This, of course, drew some laughs--no small accomplishment for a bona fide lull. But a split-second later, he commenced a bit on hitchhiking, which veered into a piece on drunk driving and quickly shifted right back into high gear, regaining all the previous momentum.

Most of several booze bits were anecdotal or observational comments that worked merely because they were universal. Some, however, went beyond that.

For instance, he lamented those early Saturday morning visits by Jehovah’s Witnesses, who pound on the door in unison with your already-pounding head.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have long been standard stand-up targets, but Dye suggested a nifty reversal: Visiting the house of a Jehovah’s Witness at 4 in the morning--all liquored up, of course--and pounding on his door. “I know you’re in there--I see the bicycle.”

A few moments later he ordered and knocked back another shot of Jack Daniel’s; after that--between bits involving drug paraphernalia and marijuana--Dye said, “I don’t mess with drugs; I don’t need drugs--I’m an alcoholic.”

It played funny, but one couldn’t help wondering if it was actually the evening’s most trenchant line.

Headlining a bill that includes Scott Shaw, Dye continues through Sunday at the Laff Stop.

The Laff Stop is at 2122 S.E. Bristol St., Newport Beach. Show times: 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, 8, 10 and 11:45 Saturday and 8:30 Sunday. Tickets: $6-8. Information: (714) 852-8762.