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From the Boston Globe, November 5, 2001 Comics play it patriotic By Nick A. Zaino III, Globe Correspondent 
The annual Comics Come Home benefit for the Cam
Neely Cancer Fund is never a touchy-feely charity event, and "Comics
Come Home VII" was no exception. It was part rally, part stand-up show
Saturday night at the Orpheum, as host Denis Leary and many of the other comedians on the
bill pushed all the right buttons to whip the crowd into a frenzy with rants
about the Sept. 11 attacks.Former Boston Bruins star Cam Neely started the evening with a short speech, during which he presented a check for $50,000 to the Leary Firefighters Foundation Fund to benefit New York City firefighters. Moments later, Leary kicked off the show in a less than charitable mood, singing a rewritten rendition of "The (expletive) Song" directed at Osama bin Laden as the curtain behind him lifted to reveal a backdrop decorated as an American flag. Members of the Boston, Worcester, and New York City fire departments marched out onstage to help chant the ending, and the crowd cheered "U-S-A, U-S-A" as the firefighters filed off. Leary was breathing fire as he launched into screeds about racial profiling, the war on Afghanistan, bin Laden, and any notion of politically correct comedy. He saved special ire, however, for the Yankees, and blamed the terrorists for galvanizing the country behind them in the World Series. "The whole country's rooting for the Yankees because of this mess," Leary said. Local comedian Joe Yannetty gave the audience a brief respite from politics with strong blue-collar material about marriage and the Big Dig. Former "Saturday Night Live" anchorman Colin Quinn followed, talking about what he referred to as the apologetic nature of the current military action. He called it "Operation Unfortunate Inevitability," and suggested airdropping bears into Afghanistan to find terrorists hiding in caves. Lanky, bespectacled Jim Gaffigan, recognizable from his Fleet commercial with Red Sox star Nomar Garciaparra and Yankee Derek Jeter, lightened the mood with his self-deprecating routines. "I look like this because my father was Swedish and my mother was ... Elton John," he said. Brian Regan followed suit with a clean, inventive set that also stayed clear of politics. Former Bostonian Patrice O'Neal delivered a twist on the racial angle of post-Sept. 11 America. As a black American, he said, he was looking forward to sitting back and watching racism for a change. "See this outfit?" he asked, pointing to his pants and jacket set. "Twenty dollars for the whole thing. I go to all the Arab stores and take advantage of the 'I didn't do it' sales." One Boston favorite introduced another as Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton introduced Steve Sweeney, who filtered current events through his stable of characters. Surprise guest Robert Schimmel dropped in after his shows at the Comedy Connection to add his painfully honest, sex-obsessed comedy to the show. Adam Ferrara, Leary's costar on the police sitcom "The Job," performed a set of affable relationship humor. The night came full circle when another Boston favorite, Lenny Clarke, took the evening's final slot. The usually jocular Clarke hit the stage running with a breathless tirade against Afghanistan, the Taliban, and bioterrorism. "You expect to scare us with bad water when we swim at Revere Beach!" he shouted, prowling the stage. "And we play softball in Woburn? Wake up! Chemical warfare? You ever hear of booze and cigarettes?" For the attacks on America, he reasoned, we should all be entitled to free gas and heating fuel. If there's a chill, he added, "Throw another Taliban on the fire." Leary brought the evening's comedians back onstage to a standing ovation for one final bow, and told his loyal crowd, "You guys have been great. See you next year."
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