Tim Heidecker @ The Garage, Glasgow

The Two Tims requires a fair bit of backgrounding, so let’s get you up to speed: Tim Heidecker is a country rock musician currently on tour with The Very Good Band to promote his latest album High School. His support act is a hack club comic played by Tim Heidecker, who you might remember from Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, being Melissa McCarthy’s brother in Bridesmaids, or from earlier on in this paragraph.

The supporting Tim is the comic child of Donald Trump and Michael Scott, inheriting Trump’s mannerisms and Scott’s comedic ability. Structurally the set mirrors his standup special An Evening With Tim Heidecker, moving from a botched walk-on, to making fun of his wife, to spitting on stage (like a man). But with only 30 minutes on stage, it’s much tighter (or looser, depending on your point of view) than the special, packed full of groan-worthy one-liners then mined deeper for new ways to fail.

The main event of the evening comes at you like a whiplash-inducing smash cut. The commitment of Heidecker’s opening performance leaves portions of the audience unsure of themselves. Can we trust this upbeat man? Is he going to shout at us? Is this a parody of the middle-aged country rocker, or is this maybe actually just good music?

Ultimately we’re won over by a skillful band and a wholesomely happy frontman. The set showcases the new album, while still leaving room for other highlights such as hits from his 2020 collaboration with Weyes Blood, and a baffled dissection of Bob Dylan’s 1981 anti-hit Lenny Bruce. The set is peppered with tidy nods to Tim One, so it’s natural that the night ends with an encore from the opener, who sings a song in honour of Frank Sinatra’s birthday (12 Dec). The end result is a great night which, to some surprise, ably twins excellent country rock with excellent (bad) comedy.

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Reviewed on 28 March, as part of Glasgow Comedy Festival
Follow Tim Heidecker @timheidecker on Twitter and Instagram