This is not going to be an objective review. I've loved Robin Williams' work since back in the Mork and Mindy days, and the tape of his 1980s performance at New York's Metropolitan Opera House had been the funniest comedy performance I had ever seen...until last night.

I caught "Robin Williams Live" at the Lyric Opera house in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, July 5, 2002. It was two hours of the most frenetic, hilarious comedy I've ever seen.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity, and Robin Williams is firmly entrenched on both sides of that line. Okay, the man's not perfect - he's a liberal, for starters. But being from San Francisco, that's not terribly surprising. He can be PC, but he does make fun of political correctness, both in himself and the audience.

The good news is that most of the two hours of material is new, and quite topical. The Bush-bashing gets old quickly, but he also hammers Clinton and Ted Kennedy - nobody in politics is safe from Robin's scalpel-sharp tongue.

One bit that genuinely surprised me was the tale about Osama Bin Laden going to the afterlife, expecting to be met by 71 virgins, but instead encountering 71 Virginians (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, et al.) who proceed to beat the crap out of him. This was hilarious, as you would expect. What surprised me was that I had previously read this bit on the internet.

I'm not sure whether Robin Williams invented this story and then somebody put it out on the net, or whether Robin saw it on the net and decided to incorporate it into his act.

That particular piece aside, Robin Williams remains the best, and most original stand up comic working today. You could do a lot worse than spending an evening catching his act this summer. One word of warning - Robin's act is definitely for mature audiences only. Don't bring children to one of his shows.

Robin Williams Live:
2002 Tour Dates (as of 7/6/02):
7/6/02 Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN.
7/7/02 Grand Old Opry House, Nashville, TN.
7/8/02 Louisville Palace, Louisville, KY.
8/10/02 Harvey's Outdoor Amphitheater at Lake Tahoe, Stateline, NV.