Theodore M.E. Taylor learned comedy the hard way, and he says he owes that to Houston crowds. ย“Weย’re a good audience down here, but we donย’t take bullshit,ย” says the local comic. Houstonians do something far worse than heckle, he says. ย“Itย’s called the H-town stare,ย” he says. ย“Being booed ย— you can boo me. Boo me, Iย’ll get off stage. Itย’s an out, but in Houston we have this thing where we just stare at you and donย’t say anything.ย”

Taylor keeps the stares at bay with jokes about things that irk him, like black Republicans. ย“Now, Iย’ve been black most of my life ย— and I say most of my life because there was one pointย…where I thought Journey was the shit,ย” jokes the local comedian in one of his bits. While heย’s met only a couple of black Republicans, he noticed that during the George W. presidential campaign, every white senator had a black friend who would field questions about the partyย’s tendency to ignore minority voters.

But Taylor doesnย’t just tackle politics. ย“I donย’t focus on one topic. I go from politics to midgets to homosexuality. If itย’s funny, itย’s funny.ย” Taylor opens for comedian John Knight at 8 and 10:30 p.m. today. He also performs at 8 p.m. Thursday; 7, 9 and 10:45 p.m. Saturday; and 7 p.m. Sunday. The Laff Spot, 17776 Highway 249. For tickets and information, call 713ย–955ย–9200 or visit www.laffspot.com. $15.

April 3-5, 2008

This article appears in Apr 3-9, 2008.