Good for the Jews
Where: Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Ave., Vienna
When: 7 p.m. Dec. 24
Info: $20; 703-255-1566; jamminjava.com, goodforthejews.net
The holidays are supposed to be the happiest time of the year, with friends and family and gifts and good cheer and all. But sometimes family drives us up a wall, with annoying idiosyncrasies, embarrassing stories and passing of judgment on your personal general state of affairs.
Quite similar to an advertisement for a certain airline, some times you just want to get away.
“I think it’s the Waltons,” comedian Rob Tannenbaum said about who to blame for holiday stress. “I think families feel that they have to have a perfect holiday. You have to give your brother the perfect gift. Everyone has to be well-groomed.”
Tannenbaum is half of the Good for the Jews comedy duo, which comes to Jammin’ Java Christmas Eve. “It was either Tolstoy or Gilbert Gottfried who said ‘Every unhappy family is uniquely unhappy,'” he added.
Tannenbaum notes that families generally try to avoid each other for 11 months out of the year — “Most family members would rather be with their friends or drinking in a bar” — and proposes a solution to annual holiday stress.
“Stagger family visits,” Tannenbaum suggested. “We would stagger the misery. [Now], we have a solid month where everyone in the country is unhappy.”
However, Tannenbaum doesn’t have a disparaging word for the people he’s related to.
“I still like getting a present each night,” he said, referring to the eight nights of Hanukkah. “When I do interviews, I pretend I like my family.”
A Good for the Jews show — which also features David Fagin — features performances of original songs such as “Goin’ Down to Boca,” “Good to be a Jew at Christmas” and “They Tried to Kills us.” (sample lyric: “They tried to kill us/We survived/Let’s eat!”)
“It’s a mixture of music and comedy that is often difficult to explain to people,” Tannenbaum said, who cites Mel Brooks as one of his major influences.
“Jewish music doesn’t have to accordions and minor keys,” he said. “Rock ‘n’ roll is very Jewish.”
Good for the Jews is a humorous take on Jewish life and culture, and the duo sees a good mix in their audiences.
“Anything you can relate to is funny,” Fagin said. “It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. There’s tons of material.”
The name “Good for the Jews” comes from a phrase Tannenbaum saw repeated in a news report when wondering if a certain policy was “good for the Jews,” as if the entire world Jewish population was one monolithic entity, striking Tannenbaum as funny.
“There’s nothing a Jew hates more than another Jew with a different opinion,” he said.
