IRENE TU is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, actor, and writer who quickly established herself in the Bay Area comedy scene, after moving to Berkeley from her home base of Chicago. She has performed around the country, frequenting festivals like SF Sketchfest, Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, and Bridgetown Comedy Festival. Irene has been an opener for notable comedians such as Patton Oswalt, W. Kamau Bell, Maria Bamford, Gary Gulman, Judah Friedlander, Brian Posehn, Ronny Chieng and Cameron Esposito. You can see her comedy in many places, including Comedy Central, LOGO, Starz, and VICELAND. Of course, a comedy resume is never complete with out a couple of albums safely secured under your belt. Irene’s debut stand-up comedy work is currently available via Blonde Medicine. “WE’RE DONE NOW” is a 15-track collection of stories on topics from bra shopping to ethical guns, that we, frankly, just can’t get enough of!
As luck would happen, Tu’s brand of comedy checks all the boxes on my personal checklist of laughter criteria. Her dry, dark humor slices and skewers even the most banal of topics with precision wit. Is it possible to make vaccines, feminine products, boring sex, and dictators funny all on one album? IT IS! To illustrate this point, I will cover a track from the album that deliver in spades (and which other reviewers may overlook). With “Carnivore’s Dilemma,” Irene hilariously illustrates her carnivore cred by going into detail about how she grew up consuming every morsel of poultry (in, honestly, the most farm to table manner possible), only to be chided by chicken nugget eaters. The comics reveals that the fast food treat is really just “shredded up chicken butts” and points out that that is like eating “five hundred a-holes.” Point taken! She goes on to dissect the wonders of vegan cheese. It’s hard not to belly laugh at a description that the compares the faux dairy product to “if regular cheese had diarrhea.” Indeed. Need we say more? No, we need not.
If calmly delivered, unabashed humor is on your comedy menu, we highly recommend Irene’s debut work of art. Also, time to take Irene’s lead and state “we’re done now.”
Mentions: “We’re Done Now” is available where comedy is streamed and sold. Follow Irene online on Twitter & Facebook & Instagram. Feature image courtesy of Shark Party Media.