Lewis Black shares thoughts on Iraq tour, Super Bowl

[Refugee 7]

It's the start of an election year, but comic Lewis Black has plenty of other stuff on his mind. The furious funnyman from The Daily Show is wrapping up a busy holiday season with a show at the Dodge Theatre on Feb. 2. We recently spoke with the irascible comedian.

Question: How is the writer's strike affecting you?

Answer: It hasn't too much, actually. The year-end show I did for Comedy Central we got in under the wire. And I've been on the road doing stand-up, which is great because you can't strike against yourself. In fact, I've been on tour in Iraq, which is actually easier than trying to deal with . . . the powers that be. And because I'm a stand-up comic, I can write my own material.

Q: How was the Iraq tour?

A: It was a USO Tour. I went with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong and Miss USA (Rachel Smith). It was unbelievable. Like nothing I've ever experienced. We did 13 shows in six days, for the soldiers. It was exhausting like I'd never imagined, but rewarding like I'd never imagined.

Q: How so?

A: The reporters aren't reporting about what was going on in the field, they're in the Green Zone. I was blown away in the amount of information I got from the troops that you just don't see in the paper. You forget what's going on - you can't take it off page one, it has to be in peoples faces every day. Now there's an insulation between the soldier and his community that is unreal. It also reinforced stuff that I already knew. The complete lack of sacrifice. We were never asked to sacrifice a thing, yet these soldiers are over there sacrificing on a level you can't comprehend. They're overstaying tours, being subjected to stress and injuries far worse than in Vietnam. They're coming home and there isn't the capability to help them.

Q: Was there a sense of danger?

A: Not that we were told. There's a lot going on around us that we weren't aware of, security measures and such. We were with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And I didn't think they were really going to let anything happen to them. That would be a toughie. And in the areas we performed in, things were calming down. There'd been something in Kabul, Afghanistan, but it came early in the day and didn't affect us.

Q: You're performing in Phoenix the night before the Super Bowl. You always seem to have something to say about the Super Bowl in your routine.

A: The half-time show is always unbelievable. It's so over the top, but really, how difficult is it? Pick an entertainer, put them out there, let them play and shut up. This year it's Tom Petty, so at least they've got someone who is good.

Q: There are three days of rehearsals just to get the fans onto the field to cheer for Petty during half-time.

A: No wonder we can't fix the economy. Three days to figure that out? Can you imagine what those rehearsals are going to be like? It's too much. It's a punchline to a joke.

Q: What about the actual game?

A: The Patriots went through the NFL like Sherman marching to Atlanta. And nobody got hurt? How is that possible? What drugs are they on and where can I get some? I'm a Redskins fan, and we lost by what, 50 points? Now I'm rooting for them to go back and get crushed again? How can you care about the Super Bowl when facing those odds? How can you get excited?

Q: So are you going to go?

A: No, I'd love to but I need a vacation. I haven't had a vacation in a year. And in the past three months, I went from doing the show for Comedy Central to Iraq to back on tour to working on a play to doing promos for my new book. I'll watch the game from my hotel room. I don't want to go through the rigmarole. I should go to the game, as a comedian I know there would be a wealth of material at the game, but I'm really desperate to lie down.

And I think that's best for everyone. If I leave the city, it will be a great game, but if went it would be awful. It's like gas prices. People want to know why gas is so expensive. Is it Bush's fault, is it China, is it the Saudis? I went and bought a tour bus last year and stopped flying to my gigs. Then gas prices went through the roof. It's all my fault.

[nurktwin 2,143]

this guy is funny, get his dvd 'black on broadway'.

[Starfish 0]

This year it's Tom Petty, so at least they've got someone who is good.

Funny and smart, too!