Michael Ian Black

As the World Turds

By Sameer Naseem

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"Things have been going really well on tour," says Michael Ian Black on his cell in New York City. "People come, they laugh, and at the end of the night someone pays me." Anyone who remembers the legendary MTV show The State knows Black, though he certainly has done nothing to slow himself down. Watch any of VH1's I Love The ... series or Comedy Central or most celebrity poker broadcasts. On screen, he's been in films like The Ten, The Baxter and Reno 911: Miami. The comedian just wrapped up a movie called Kids in America with Topher Grace and Anna Farris, while his screenplay Run, Fatboy, Run opened in September as the number one movie in the United Kingdom.

Thursday he has a rare stand-up appearance alongside State alum Michael Showalter at the Somerville Theatre. "It was something I really wanted to do," he says. "And I figured it was time to either shit or get off the pot." Fanboys of The State beware, though: He's had a lot of people shouting out their own input when he's performed -- mostly relating to characters and jokes from the now 12-year-old comedy show -- with little effect.

It is up for debate which of his many endeavors post-State was the most successful, although most people point to his turn as McKinley in 2001's Wet Hot American Summer. For this author, Black's work on Stella, a short-lived Comedy Central sketch show, was sheer brilliance. Two year later, the series still has a rabid cult following. "The internet Stella shorts were basically comedy-pornography" said Black. "The show naturally had to be toned-down."

His comedy album, I Am a Wonderful Man was released this year and on tour he's teamed up with buddy Showalter. "It's hard to say how I feel about him," Black said of his longtime comedy partner. "You'd have to ask me on a day-to-day basis. Most of the time I think he's a sack of shit."

Black is also a big fan of playing poker. "I don't get to play as much as I'd like to because I have other obligations," he said. "And once I start playing poker the only way I stop is if someone drags me away from the table." While his poker prowess is known in even the upper echelons of the game, Black diverts any praise. "If I knew when to hold them and when to fold them I'd win every time. I wouldn't be doing fucking stand-up comedy!"

And what do the two hip comedians listen to on the bus? "A lot of Serbian Triphop," he says. "The band I like the most is called Gulabshtabin, which in English roughly translates to 'play with my balls' or something."

Michael Ian Black & Michael Showalter

Thursday, 11.29

Somerville Theatre

55 Davis Sq., Somerville

617.625.5700

7:30pm/all ages/$25

somervilletheatre.com