Comic wisdom
Jeni leaves a steaming pile of laughs in Coral Springs.
Out of the Backyard and into Revolution
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SAT 3/5
In times like these, it's good to know that you can still go out and see a performer who's not afraid to "go there." Armed with an abundance of politically charged material, Korean-American comic Margaret Cho not only goes there; she lives there. And we're not talking about a six-month lease: Cho has a lifetime mortgage at a place so far to the left that she makes Al Franken look like Dick Cheney. Preaching to a choir of fabulously devoted gay-friendly fans, Cho's comedic rants routinely expose the idiocies of homophobia, racism, and intolerance. Often veering into deeply personal subjects, Cho is refreshingly vulgar and didactic, making the whole experience a lot like that time you and your favorite liberal-arts professor got fucked up on J.D. and Coke. Cho performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Jackie Gleason Theater (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). Tickets cost $30 to $45.50. Call 305-673-7300. -- Jeff Megahan
Bad Babies
From Sweden with a punch
SAT 3/5
Sweden is to hard-edged rock music what Miami is to Latin (¡Viva la ZETA!), and we're not talkin' about the unlikely success of the Hives; it's been that way for two-and-a-half decades, from the Nomads to the Hellacopters. Somewhere in the middle are the Backyard Babies, four heavily tattooed longhairs who toe the line between punk rock and just plain rock. Yes, there is a difference. Too guitar-driven to be punk, yet too real to fit in with cartoonish bands like Velvet Revolver, the Babies proudly wear the Ramones and the Stooges on their sleeves (or they would if they ever wore sleeves, that is). The band's latest album, Stockholm Syndrome, continues its uncompromising aural attack with the tried-and-true "wall of guitar" sound. They've got their Marshall amps stacked higher than the Sears Tower -- sort of like greaser-punk legends Social Distortion who, along with the Street Dogs, join the Babies Saturday night at Revolution (200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). The show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $25. Call 954-727-0950. -- Jason Budjinski Jeni, Jeni, Jeni
SAT 3/5
Standup comics can be divided into two camps. On one side are those who play it safe with innocuous anecdotes, while the others engage every taboo topic they can think of. Although Richard Jeni can do both, his current material falls into the latter category -- just ask anyone who saw his recent HBO special Richard Jeni: A Big Steaming Pile of Me. Far from his days as the Platypus Man, Jeni tackles the types of issues that put up a fight: gay marriage, terrorism, porn, the war on drugs, and other issues stickier than the backroom floor of an adult video store. Jeni performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts (2855 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs). Tickets cost $28.62 to $39.22. Call 954-344-5990. -- Jason Budjinski
