Amy Miller – California King
A lot has happened since Amy Miller released her first album of stand-up comedy, Solid Gold, in 2016. Spotify deleted the vast majority of stand-up recordings streaming from its app. The COVID-19 pandemic (remember that?) made live comedy performances non-existent or awkwardly DIY — both in online settings and in pop-up outdoor venues — adding a layer of rust to a lot of stand-up performers’ acts. And more specific to Miller, she realized her childhood dream and became a forty-year-old.
At least, that’s how Miller frames it on California King, her sophomore record out today. While she seems to be at peace with her age, she has fun deconstructing the “old bitch behavior” she can’t shake, like writing long rants on Facebook. “The young people are only communicating in dance moves right now,” she says. “If you’re still putting paragraphs on social media, your eggs are dry.”
Life during and post-lockdown are recurring themes of this set. A six-year relationship broke up during the pandemic — sort of. (He moved into an apartment across the hall.) A pandemic pet purchase was considered and dismissed, largely due to a distaste for people who define their personalities as either dog people or cat people.
“You can just like both or neither — or never talk about it again,” Miller suggests. “It’s the future. People aren’t even straight anymore. You don’t have to choose a household pet.”
As on Solid Gold, Miller is unabashed and irreverent when it comes to sex. She gets a fair amount of crowdwork mileage just out of flirting with a table of lesbians in between bits. She admits to getting it on with both men and women but resists being labeled bi: “Just because I want to eat out ladies doesn’t mean I want to be a diversity hire.”
She makes fun of ugly babies on Instagram and extols the virtues of being an aunt vs. being a parent. She makes fun of your mom, but I expect you’ll forgive her.
Recorded at the Punch Line in San Francisco, California King shows that Miller didn’t lose a step in the pandemic. This record is just as funny and brash as the first one. Check it out.
Amy Miller – California King is out today from Blonde Medicine.
More Pop Culture Beast – Comedy:
*Interview with Kyle Kinane
*Eddie Pepitone’s For the Masses
*Myq Kaplan’s A.K.A.
*Josh Gondelman’s Dancing on a Weeknight
Justin Remer makes movies, directs music videos, and plays in the bands Duck the Piano Wire and Elastic No-No Band when he is not writing movie reviews. His folk-rock documentary MAKING LOVERS & DOLLARS is currently streaming on Amazon.