The day before it’s release on Subpop records Eugene Mirman decided to stage a protest of En Garde Society. Why was he protesting? That’s a good question, considering En Garde Society is Mirman’s own comedy CD.

This protest was arranged because it seemed like the perfect way to promote Mirman’s absurdest comedy. The plan was to start in Union Square and march down 14th street to The Beauty Bar where there would be a screening of the DVD. However, the event was half-assed at best. I don’t think any of the organizers thought they would get away with it, so they were much more concerned with getting in and out quickly than letting the crowd know what was going on. The result was a lot of loyal fans standing around with signs not knowing what to do with themselves. I overheard more than one person say, “Should we chant or something?”

After handing out all of his anti-Eugene placards, Mirman stood in front of the crowd with a loudspeaker and started protesting himself. About two minutes in, he admitted to the crowd that he was surprised the cops hadn’t stopped him yet. After 5 minutes and a round of “Boo-gene, Fuck you-gene” he led the crowd to the bar, where everyone piled in and started drinking. The whole protest had only taken fifteen minutes.

I was at Pianos in Oct 2005 when this album was recorded [review], and really liked it. I even think the protest/publicity stunt could’ve been a lot of fun; but it wasn’t, it was kind-of ‘eh’. I hate to say it, but I don’t think Mirman had the balls to pull this off. He should have been much louder, stayed there much longer, and taken it much further. However, I do think you should buy the CD and go see him in a regular venue, cause he’s usually funny as hell.