“By that measure, one of the most illuminating moments during Galifianakis’s performance in TriBeCa came when he parted ways, momentarily, with his audience. After performing a few “characters,” like Guy From Queens Who Is Obsessed With Cargo Shorts — a regular bit that changes only in the particulars from show to show — he announced one that seemed to have been made up on the spot: The Kid Who Doesn’t Know, Down In His Living Room, That His Uncle, Who’s Upstairs, Has Suddenly Gone Deaf. Like many of Galifianakis’s characters, the intro was more elaborate than the performance itself, which consisted of Galifianakis shouting, ‘Uncle David? Uncle Da-vid!’ in an increasingly nervous little kid’s voice. The audience appeared more puzzled than amused, which isn’t especially unusual in the course of a typical Galifianakis set; what was unusual was Galifianakis’s response. The ‘Kid’ sketch went on so long that a number of people in the crowd grew noticeably restless — and then it went on even longer. Much longer. Even the hard-core fans in the room seemed to get a bit uncomfortable. By the time he finally finished, everyone in the room had experienced the awkwardness — and even, to a small degree, the terror — of improvised stand-up firsthand. When I asked Galifianakis about the “Kid” later, he said it was his favorite moment of the night.”
