The Texas Theatre announced that Heidecker will return to the Oak Cliff theater at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, with local comedian Clint Werth for an evening of ... something
The type of comedy that made him and his partner Eric Wareheim such icons of the industry is wildly unpredictable and Heidecker is also a multi-talented artist who has recorded critically acclaimed music (his first solo album, In Glendale) and films (2012's The Comedy).
His and Wareheim's comedy work messes with the anti-comedy convention more than that of any other modern comedian. They thrive on absurdity, unpredictability and awkwardness. They go out of their way to avoid conventional setups and punchlines and make surrealism seem tame and unoriginal. Since Heidecker has started doing more solo work, he may be going for a straightforward stand-up act, or perhaps it's something we would never guess.
You may be thinking that Heidecker's first appearance at the Texas Theatre with Neil Hamburger in 2012 could provide some insight for ticket holders on Nov. 4. But we're not sure, and neither is Barak Epstein — the president of Aviation Cinemas, which oversees the Texas Theatre, and founder of the Oak Cliff Film Festival.
"This guy's sets are often pretty different depending on who he's playing with," Epstein says. "His solo show was pretty good. He opened with dropping his microphone repeatedly for a few minutes. He hones into his own brand of weird anti-comedy."
Epstein says they were able to secure Heidecker's first headlining show at the Texas Theatre thanks to his scheduled appearance the following Saturday at the Sound on Sound Fest in McDade. He's hoping that while Heidecker is in town, he'll make some time to film an episode of his Adult Swim web series On the Cinema at the Cinema, a faux movie review series featuring Heidecker and Neil Hamburger's real world alter ego Gregg Turkington.
However, Epstein says he's been given no advance notice about Heidecker's plans for his Nov. 4 show and he probably won't receive any additional info before Heidecker steps out on the stage.
"The real thing is we don't know what he's going to do," he says. "You kind of know what to expect from a Hamburger show, but Heidecker, even if you're a fan and know his comedy, you might not know what he's going to do because he's doing so many different things."
Of course, that's part of what makes Heidecker such a joy to watch even if you've memorized every sketch,
"Unless he's got pyrotechnics or something, they don't often tell us what they're going to do," Epstein says. "We just give him a microphone and turn on the lights."
Tim Heidecker will perform at The Texas Theatre (231 W Jefferson Blvd.) at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4. Tickets are $20 at TheTexasTheatre.com.
