If Aziz Ansari was a rapper and this was the '90s, the little Tamil motherfucker would be dead in a Mercedes. Why? Because Ansari flipped sides -- East Coast to West Coast -- when he hopped a plane from NYC to Cali so he could become a member of the Judd Apatow Repertory Players of Los Angeles.
Thankfully, Ansari's just a comedian and the occupational hazards of that profession are minimal. There's no beef. The only thing he should fear is silence. The laughless void after a shitty joke. But he's never heard silence and he's never told a shitty joke. From his time on MTV's Human Giant to NBC's Parks & Recreation to his randy bit in Apatow's Funny People, Ansari's masterfully spazzed his way to huge laughs and sure stardom.
The signs of success: 1) He just signed a three-movie deal with Apatow, the writer/director/producer/surrogate father to young, schlubby stars like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Jason Segel; 2) everyone's already forgiven his East-West transgression; and 3) he's about to drop Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, a concert special that debuts this Sunday at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central and hits streets January 19.
Now, the Sensual Evening set cribs from Ansari's Funny People shtick on two tracks -- "Cold Stone Creamery" and closer "RAAAAAAAANDY." But, otherwise, this shit's fresh, attacking subjects such as bedsheet shopping, Facebook, and Craigslist, as well as nights out with Kanye West. Rarely lasting longer than a minute or two, it's funny stuff for the ADD set, laced with buttfuls of inventively bad language. Anyway, getting right to the point ... See it. Buy it. Don't miss Aziz Ansari's South Beach Comedy Fest set. This tiny dude's about to bust his nut in a big way.
Saturday, January 23. Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. There will be two shows (7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.) and tickets cost $24.75-$35.50 via Ticketmaster.com.
