Carrot Top is a comedian that has always held many questions. Is that his real hair? Is he gay? Why the eyeliner? Just how much cosmetic surgery has he had? Is he the offspring of Kathy Griffin and Thundercat? Oh who knows, but with lights and music filling the place Carrot Top came wheeling onto the stage with the help of a scooter. Yes, he busted his ankle during a recent snowboarding crash, but the show must go on! He made the comment that when he was snowboarding some kid thought he was Olympic snowboarder, Shaun White and wanted his autograph. He replied, “Sure, I can give you Shaun White’s autograph. I can sign Michael Jordan’s as well if you’d like.”
Speaking of kids, this is NOT a show for the kiddos. Yes, Carrot Top seems to have a fondness for the “F” word. And we’re not talking, “Fine, fearless, freckles” here. And beware, because he likes to wave a few questionable props around on stage. Probably not props you’ll find at your local Spencer’s store. “Try checking these through airport security,” he said laughing at his own jokes. Of course it’s Carrot Top, so there are props galore! In fact, there were six or seven chests full of them on stage. I was a bit frighten of what he was going to pull out next. Going retro he pulled out some props he used way back in the 80’s. “People in their 20’s are scratching their heads,” he said as he joked around with stuff that one must have a few candles on their birthday cake to understand. Darn those millennials. He even used his scooter as a prop. “People always say I use props as a crutch. So now I’m using my crutch as a prop.”
And if he couldn’t find enough stuff in his chests to get laughs, well there’s always, HIM. Someone once asked actor Don Knotts how he could be so funny, and he replied that it helps to look like him. Such is a philosophy that Carrot Top has embraced to an art form. “Of course this is my real hair,” Carrot Top blurted out. Do you think I’d buy a wig that looks like this?” He mentioned being in Tulsa the night before. “Dang that Oklahoma wind. I used to have straight hair.” As for face lifts, “You think I paid money to look like this?” “That’s a lot to take in, I know,” he said to some of the those on the front row as he got a little close to them. However, Carrot Top never mentioned his hours in the weight room, thus the Thundercat reference. He did take one poke at another famous redhead. Our president. But after a less than stellar response, he quickly shied away from the political stuff. “Oh, not the right crowd,” he said moving on to other topics. He did congratulate the Dallas Cowboys on another Super Bowl win. Okay, an even touchier subject.
I’ve seen a lot of standup, but Carrot Top is certainly in a class of his own. I mean, just look at him. And has Jay Leno ever come on stage lugging seven chests full of stuff? I think not! I also have to wonder if I should I call him Carrot or Mr. Top? Now there’s a question. There were also all those well-timed sound effects that he orchestrated into his show like a Broadway Musical. Okay, that may be stretching things a bit, but what I really liked about Mr. Top’s performance was that he just reminded me of some of the crazy guys I knew back in college and beyond.
Alright, so I entered the show with the feeling, “I could be home watching the Big 12 basketball tournament right now,” but I left the show as a riveting member of the Carrot Top Nation (if there is such a thing). All hail the bizarre looking redhead, and I don’t mean Kathy Griffin. Of course this leaves me with another question. I read that some coach back in his school days gave him the name Carrot Top because of his red hair. I have brown hair, so what kind of name would that leave me? A thought to ponder.