‘Social critic,’ comic to perform today at Bear’s Place

Comedian Steve Hofstetter describes himself as “a social critic.”\n“I like to discuss what I think is important,” he said, though of course he throws in some silliness. \nHofstetter will be performing tonight at Bear’s Place’s. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., and admission is $5.\nHofstetter describes his work as “the various legs of a spidered career.”\n“I don’t have a day job,” he said. “I write, I act, I host a radio show ... it’s all comedy-related.”\nHis career recently had a particular high point – The New York Times published a sports column he wrote about Project Franchise March 16.\n“That’s something that every writer dreams of,” he said. “As a New Yorker, my entire family (and all the people I grew up with) got to see that.”\nProject Franchise is a group whose goal is to buy a sports team and allow the fans to vote on every decision “from what they sell at the concession stands to who plays shortstop”, Hofstetter said. \n“It’s kind of a revolution,” he said.\nHe also has a new CD coming out Tuesday, titled “The Dark Side of the Room.” The Pink Floyd reference stems from a joke about how, if the album is played backward, it syncs up with the “Wizard of Oz” soundtrack.\nThe first three minutes of the 49-minute album are just about the Indiana time change; going along with the Pink Floyd spoof, it is labeled “Time,” the same title as one of the his songs.\nThis is Hofstetter’s third CD, following his 2004 “Tastes Like Bliss” CD and “Cure for the Cable Guy” in 2006. He’s also written three books: “Student Body Shots: a Sarcastic Look at the best 4-6 years of Your Life,” “Another Round of Student Body Shots” and “National Lampoon’s Balls!” \nHofstetter said regardless of any future success he may earn, Bear’s Place holds a special place in his heart.\n“I’ll still always play Bear’s,” he said. “They’ve always been good to me; why wouldn’t I?”\nHe has performed at Bear’s over a dozen times in the past several years.\n“It’s kind of a second home for me,” he said. “It’s the first place to ever put up my headshot.”\nBut it isn’t just nostalgia that keeps Hofstetter coming back to IU.\n“For whatever reason, I seem to mesh well with the Bloomington crowd,” he said. “I may piss some people off ... but damn right I’m going to give you a good show.”\nFellow comedian Denis Donahue will open for Hofstetter tonight.\n“Denis is awesome,” Hofstetter said. “It’s a double-headliner show.”\nHofstetter also said he hopes Bloomington residents appreciate the biweekly chance for stand-up that Comedy Caravan provides – and from what he’s seen, they do.\n“If I had something like Bear’s Place where I was growing up, I would have gone every week,” he said.