I was checking out listings for Modified as I am wont to do, and happily discovered an unusual booking for the intimate music club. At first I thought I misread the schedule, which said that well-known, award-winning stand-up comic Todd Barry is slated to play the music venue this Thursday. To confirm this odd happening I looked up his Web site and found out he’s also playing Club Congress the night before. Looking at his itinerary for this tour it seems Barry is making the rounds to the indie music venues rather than comedy clubs this time.

(Photo by Seth Olenick)

A little background if you aren’t familiar with his stuff. Todd Barry is best known for his stand-up comedy. His style is intelligent and deadpan, sometimes described as “a step above hypnosis,” which reminds me of a slightly less droll Steven Wright.

He’s also been in a number of movies, done tons of television and provided voice talent for several animated series, including “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and David Cross’ “Freak Show.” He’s done stand-up on most of the late night talk shows, appeared on “The Chappelle Show” and Larry Sanders. He’s had his own Comedy Central special, won several comedy awards and has even written several funny guest pieces for the New York Times.

So why is he playing small-ish clubs like Congress and the very small Modified? The answer seems to be because he wants to. Barry is a huge music fan and musician, and even sat in on drums with Yo La Tengo live. Barry also has a joke band with fellow comedians and the bassist from Yo La Tengo called A Matter Of Trust, who recently opened for Belle and Sebastian.

Barry’s interest in music comes through in his comedy, and he fits in with an emerging class of smart comics whose fan base meshes nicely with fans of below-the radar-music. Sometime called alt-comedy (no kidding) the styles vary but the comedy tends to be cerebral and post-cheese. David Cross is probably the poster boy for this comedy movement, and Patton Oswald and his various Comedians of Comedy are currently touring music clubs on the East Coast.

I think this little humor revolution is a very good thing. I don’t dig comedy clubs and usually can’t afford them, so getting a chance to see good comedy in a intimate setting for cheap is great.

It should be a treat to see Todd Barry in a music club setting. When I saw he was coming I asked Leslie Barton from Modified for contact info, and a few hours later I received a return e-mail from Barry. He consented to a few e-mail questions. I wasn’t the best straight man, but if you’d like to experience some of his funny please check out his Web site and the YouTube links available.

AZNightBuzz: You’re playing Tucson and Phoenix next week, at Club Congress and Modified respectively. Have you played Tucson before and have you ever played at Congress or Modified? What is your feeling about Arizona?

Todd Barry: I’ve never been to Tucson. I’ve only played in Arizona a couple of times. The first time was with Mitch Hedberg at the Tempe Improv. I really don’t have a feel for Arizona; I don’t think I’ve seen enough of it.

AZNB: Looking at the tour itinerary, you are playing mostly rock clubs this time. Why is this? How is performing in a music club different from playing a comedy venue?

TB: I like the “one-night only” aspect of playing music venues, so you get a high percentage of actual fans. Also, by playing music venues, I end up in cities that I’ve never been to, like Tucson.

AZNB: You play drums in a joke band called A Matter of Trust, made up of fellow comics and the bassist from Yo La Tengo on guitar. You also sat in with Yo La Tengo in Peter Criss makeup. I’ve read an interview with you in Pitchfork, and this tour finds you playing music clubs. How important is music to you and if you had your druthers would you play music as well as or instead of being a comic?

TB: I have lots of musician friends and I seem to do a lot of music-related jokes. I used to play drums in bands before I got into comedy. I never really practiced so I never got that good. But I’d love to do some sort of musical project and go on tour.

AZNB: You’ve done a lot of work in film and television and toured often as a stand-up. What is your favorite medium to work in?

TB: Live shows are my favorite, but I have some other projects in the works, including a screenplay I wrote based on a one-man stage show I did called “Icky.” It was about a woman who insulted me on an Internet message board after I appeared on the Conan O’Brien show. The title comes from the word she used to describe my personality.

AZNB: Recent funny spontaneous moment while performing live…

TB: I did a show in London recently in front of a very well-behaved crowd. Towards the end of my show I heard a guy a few tables from the stage mutter something to his friends – something to the effect of “this guy’s not funny.” Rather than ignore it, I chose to rip the guy apart for about 10 minutes. After the show, one of his friends came up to me, apologized for his behavior, offered to buy me a drink, and explained that the guy was on methadone.

AZNB: Do you have Arizona jokes?

TB: Of course I do. That’s why I’m coming to Arizona.