Tim and Eric and Dr. Steve Brule Tour 2014

Fred Hernandez

Two of comedy’s strangest and most eccentric minds will join Dr. Steve Brule for multiple nights of extreme hilarity and exciting performances for the Tim and Eric and Dr. Steve Brule 2014 Tour. Tim and Eric have performed at many live theatres, but never with the naïve doctor or, on as extensive a tour.

The comedy think tank duo of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim met as freshmen film students at Temple University in 1994 and discovered in each other a similar sense of humor and a passion for the fresh and edgy. The aspiring writers would go on to record cartoons and low-budget short films– their Tom Goes To The Mayor short (a film about two people talking about restaurants) even made its way to the Philadelphia Institute of World Cinema and was included in the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Contemporary Art.

Their enthusiasm led them to send their tape to Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad fame, who agreed to adapt the Tom Goes To The Mayor pilot for Cartoon Network. The series ran for two seasons of 15 episodes each on Adult Swim and was later replaced with their newest incarnation of offbeat humor.

Tim and Eric starred in their very own side-splitting surrealistic sketch show on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, Tim and EricAwesome Show, Great Job!, which gathered a cult following between its 2007 – 2010 run.

The program often featured celebrity guests, including Weird ‘Al’ Yankovic, Zach Galifianakis, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Maria Bamford, Fred Armisen and Jonah Hill, and centered on low-budget, campy, absurdist humour sketch comedy. Their grainy cameras frequently cut out, giving the impression they were broadcasting from a public access cable network.

Dr. Steve Brule is a fan favorite character played by Oscar-nominated actor John C. Reilly. He got a spin-off series called Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule in May of 2010, shortly after Tim and Eric’s show ended. The show has currently run for three seasons of six episodes and examines different facets of life, often beginning each episode with a poem relating to the show’s theme. The show features interviews, movie reviews, fortunes, and plenty of low-budget chic aesthetic. (To achieve the DIY home production look that Tim and Eric re-popularized, the editors run their footage through a videocassette recorder.) Dr. Steve Brule is often naïve and socially awkward as he mispronounces people’s names or different places, but what he lacks in relatability he more than makes up for in innocence and laughs.

Tim and Eric have also capitalized on their success and transferred their anti-comedy to album form. The 47-track, Tim and Eric Awesome Record, Great Songs!, includes extended theme songs, remixes, and covers of indie artists like The Shins, Aimee Mann, and Built to Spill. Warning: This record is intended for die-hard Tim and Eric fans who can appreciate the crude and awkward humor. It will not make sense listening to the album without being familiar with the show and all of its running gags.

Tim and Eric have also ventured into feature films. Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie was released in March of 2012 and includes appearances from Will Ferrell, Jeff Goldblum, Erica Durance, and Will Forte. The film is about two filmmakers who frivolously and stupidly spend 1 billion dollars on a three-minute short featuring a Johnny Depp impersonator, and must then reimburse their backers before they are tracked down and taken to jail.

What about the live show? We predict nuggets of wisdom from Dr. Steve Brule, dancing, singing, and a whole lot more from these comic geniuses. Their capacity to create awkward moments surpasses any comedic troupe in recent memory.

The Tim and Eric & Dr. Steve Brule 2014 Tour will take place at The Theatre at Ace Hotel Theatre in Los Angeles, on Friday September 12 at 7:00 p.m.