Life > August 25, 2005

By Blake Brittain

Contributing Reviewer

August is the time of year when yellow Lilting Banshees Comedy Troupe posters cover the campus like magnolias, intriguing incoming freshmen, scaring their parents and making for good additions to your dorm room’s walls. The Banshees’ popular “Welcome to Wake” show has been a must-see for years, and the Aug. 23 performances were no different. Despite complaints from some upperclassmen that the show has dropped in quality over the years, students packed the house for both the shows at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

As a sophomore, I can’t tell you how the show was before 2004, but while it had many funny moments, this year’s “Welcome to Wake” didn’t have as many comedic highs as last year’s show. The three dollars and hour-long wait spent for tickets was still worth it, but it was only a middle-of-the-road performance by Banshee standards.

The show began with a PowerPoint presentation of irreverent one-liners about Greek life, Harry Potter, famine in Africa, sex, Facebook and President Hatch. As usual, some of the jokes were funny and others fell flat, but most of the slides elicited at least a chuckle from the audience. My personal favorite was a politically incorrect joke relating the London bombings to the city’s 2012 Olympics (“it’ll be a blast”).

Following a moderately funny slideshow with recommendations about how to get the most out of your money at the new Pit (teleportation, eating an employee), and a very funny bit involving Theta Chi and rohypnol, the show hit some rough patches with little laughter from the crowd.

It is easy to admire the creativity of many of the sketches in the middle part of the Banshees’ show, with concepts ranging from common topics such as awkward roommates to more original ideas such as a circus recruitment seminar.

Some of these absurd sketches worked well, such as the student who dated a French robot that looked to be straight out of the original “Star Trek.” However, many of the more left-field sketches were better in theory than in practice, and didn’t turn out to be as funny as the original concept seemed.

It takes creativity conceptualize a sorority for girls with squids on their heads that talk like Bob Dylan, but many people will not find that funny simply because of its ridiculous concept.

The Banshees’ simpler sketches are usually their strongest. The short riffs on Greek stereotypes and relatable college stereotypes such as the overly timid freshman (played convincingly by sophomore Rob Taylor) met warm receptions and were among the best sketches of the night.

While none of the individual sketches were as funny as the best sketches from last year (such as the war between the German North and French South campuses), the Banshees still put on a consistently funny show that was well worth the time and money spent to see it.

Claims that the Banshees have decreased in quality over the past few years may be justified, but they’re still one of the best acts on campus.