Like a less feminine, metrosexual Charles Nelson Reilly with a shag cut, Drew Hastings is an odd bird, and his concert video, “Irked and Miffed,” is impressive in how it makes his oddness so normal. More of a storyteller than a joke teller, Hastings spins lengthy, humorous yarns about Missouri animal parks, his experiences as a farmer, and his three-day one night stand with a gasper (she was into erotic asphyxiation). The farm bit was the most enlightening, because he masterfully blends his big-city sensibilities (eye masks, silk kimonos) with finite details of life in rural Ohio (camouflage wallets, surly barn cats). Some of the jokes have been done before – Blake Clark told the camouflage wallet joke 20 years ago, and his bit on Viagra has been done by, well, everyone, but mainly Ron White – but Hastings’ delivery is unique and his playful banter with audience members is barbed without being mean-spirited. Most pleasant of all is his tendency to stay away from topical humor. A comedian that doesn’t bash the government; how refreshing.
