Matt Kirshen: Shorter than Napoleon

Here’s a fresh-faced comedian who certainly doesn't beat around the bush. Matt Kirshen might look young, but at age 29 and eight years into the game, he has acquired a very effective stage presence that keeps his audience hanging on every word – aided by an endearingly nervous smile.

If anything, his material seems over-polished at times, but with his eager chit-chat between topics, this doesn't matter: it's clear that Kirshen is for real. He swears all his stories are true, and claims that life makes for the best stories. That point seems to hold true here – some of his anecdotes leave you teary-eyed from laughing. That said, he constantly stresses the point that truth is not stranger than fiction; after all, what if people had tails? His ability to make us picture such surreal images makes for some delightfully silly comedy.

However, it's when Kirshen moves on to an ominous story from his backpacking days in France that he truly impresses. He amply proves that he can master the art of building dramatic tension: not a breath stirs in the audience. (He can’t pronounce the word ‘Bordeaux,' but that just lends edge to his own ironic jokes about being crap at French.) Sweet and charming despite his purported desire to be rather be rugged and manly, Kirshen's easy charm makes for a relaxing, effortlessly amusing gig that feels more like listening to an eccentric friend wax lyrical in a bar than something you've paid to go and see.