Brandeis students find many reasons to stay up late: procrastinating, doing last-minute work because we procrastinated, looking at nothing on Facebook for hours on end. The Stein Nights may offer yet another tempting excuse to keep a late hour, so long as you make sure not to come early. At its Comedy Night last Thursday, the Stein held a whopping seven people (including a photographer and this writer, and one student recording the event for a Writing in the Media course)-with the number of attendees growing as great as 10 as people trickled in and out. The intimate crowd became a strong joking point of the evening, but in a way, was also an asset, adding to the informality of the evening. The first performer was Joe Wong, who relied mainly on ethnic humor that seemed lost on most of the audience. Perhaps with a different (or larger) crowd, he might have met with greater success.

After Wong's act, the quality of the show improved, as the other two performers strongly engaged the audience. It was hard to stop laughing at Brandeis alumnus Dan Hirshon '04, whose college-aged humor and references to his alma matter made him seem just as if he was talking to a group of really good friends. Particularly amusing were Hirshon's sarcastic but good-natured jabs at the 'success' that a liberal arts education (he majored in American studies and minored in film) can bring one after four years at Brandeis. Now, he is able to beg his alma mater to let him perform at The Stein on a weeknight for fewer people than he has fingers on his hands.

Jim McCue was the night's headliner, and deservedly so. In skill, he complemented Hirshon well. Hirshon was younger and had the advantage of being a Brandeis insider, while McCue, a veteran of both the Boston comedy scene and NBC's Last Comic Standing, knew just how to play an audience. McCue made reference to being known for his 'crowd work,' a technique which can often be degrading instead of funny when a comedian picks on someone who does not want to be picked on. However, McCue knew how to make the technique effective. As he mentioned in the act, no one was able to hide due to the small turnout, and there was a joke for every major and occupation in the room.

No one was spared when McCue helpfully pointed out which particular moments of the night would make a good subject for a review (almost none of which I chose to use) and mocked a photographer for the fact that she needed a tripod to take photos of a small subject with a miniscule digital camera.