Mega Watts

Comments (0) By Amanda McCorquodale Thursday, May 5 2011

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Comedian Reggie Watts’s real name is Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts, but there are hundreds more characters living inside him. And each of his personalities comes with its own instrument. Launched from Brooklyn’s alt-comedy scene, Watts’s routines are a fluid mix of accents, personas, and musical interludes. They are as disorienting as they are genius. That’s why Conan O’Brien handpicked Watts to open his recent Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour. Well, that and his great hair. Haloed by a giant, trademark Afro, Watts beat-boxes, hums, and raps, all of which he loops via a Line 6 DL4 effects pedal. Over that, he channels a motley crew: Brits, New Jersey cabbies, effeminate Southern men, his grandfather from Cleveland, and sometimes Bill Cosby. Last year, he released his musical comedy album, Why $#!+ So Crazy? The album’s “Fuck Shit Stack” video, in which Watts satirizes hip-hop songs, went viral thanks to the comic’s stream-of-consciousness profanity laced with social commentary: “I wear bullet-proof vests for no apparent reason/Other than to create a false sense of importance.” Is this melodic man with multiple personalities the next big thing? Decide for yourself when Watts performs this Thursday and Friday at Light Box at Goldman Warehouse. Presented by the Miami Light Project.
May 12-13, 8 p.m., 2011