I was using some long journeys and my mp3 player to catch up on some audio-books and comedy shows that I had missed or not heard of for years. I was of the age at the time of this show where I was familiar with Denis Leary but not with Bill Hicks and I remember being quite impacted by the angry comedy of Leary. This time round I listened to No Cure for Cancer having listened to a few Bill Hicks shows (including Relentless)and was surprised by the similarity between the two. The boards are full of "influenced/stolen" debate so I'll not get too much into it here but I do have to say that in this show Leary is not just doing the same "themes" as Hicks but is often doing the same joke using slightly different language. The Jim Fix reference is the oft-quoted one but when you add John Lennon's murder, metal fans committing suicide, warnings on cigarette packs and so on then it is hard not to be distracted by just how much common jokes there are not common ground, but actual jokes.
This aside though the show is still funny and enjoyable, mainly because Leary keeps the energy high by simply never stopping ranting and shouting. Some here have called him the greatest ever stand-up and, while I think they are way off the mark here, he is a good performer. His material is mostly good but not great, mostly because he doesn't inform it so much as shout it. However this shouting is what works and you can feel his anger to the point where you end up laughing along with him whether you agree or not. Sadly beyond this he doesn't have a lot in this show; time has shown him to have more range that has helped his career but he plays his strongest card here throughout.
No Cure for Cancer is not brilliant but it is a good example of "outraged" comedy. No doubt it is far too similar to Hicks' material to be of comfort but Leary himself helps by being convincingly and consistently angry, keeping the show's energy high throughout.
