Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shot: Sarah Silverman

Fresh air and elbow room were in short supply as Sarah Silverman took the stage Sunday afternoon with new material literally in hand. Rebuking the memory of Dave Chappelle’s Paramount debacle, the body-heated tent got remarkably quiet when Silverman began her act. It was almost possible to forget you were on the periphery of a loud music festival.

As evidenced on her 2005 stand-up collection Jesus Is Magic, Silverman’s key stand-up strength is maintaining gentility and reserve even as her punch lines soar far beyond boundaries. She’s whip-smart and well-spoken and just happens to give voice to the most vile thoughts her busy mind can conjure. On Sunday, her wincing capstone was a line about 9/11 widows giving great handjobs.

Silverman’s well-known preoccupation with body fluids also got plenty of play. She referenced research that sperm may “smell” their way toward the egg as rationale for making men undergo a testicular ultrasound before they masturbate. Although more recent research casts doubt upon that notion, her point stood.

Little things mean a lot in Silverman’s world. From a brief montage clip in the movie Baby Boom where Diane Keaton takes a baby’s temperature, Silverman extrapolates a strange lady inserting a glass tube full of mercury into a baby’s bottom under the pretense of art. Upon contemplating the miracle of life, Silverman envisions her cellular self choking on her dad’s cum.

People aren’t supposed to think this way. At least not out loud. Be thankful Sarah Silverman’s here to do it for us.

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For more Fun Fun Fun Fest coverage, see www.austinchronicle.com/fun-fun-fun-fest. For photo galleries from the fest, see austinchronicle.com/photos.