[September 09, 2011] Dennis Miller comes to Gallo Center Tweet Sep 09, 2011 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- If you're the kind of person who gets upset at a Mexican restaurant because you can't order baklava for dessert, Dennis Miller's stand-up act might not be for you. The vast majority of the people attending Miller's show on Sept. 18, at the Gallo Center for the Arts know what they're going to be seeing and hearing. They're anticipating biting political commentary from the conservative side and social observations with pop-culture references both wide and obscure enough to send Alex Trebek into Wiki seizure. And it will be delivered in a snarky manner punctuated by the rant, a Miller trademark that sends the comedian into a 30-to 40-second stream of consciousness, during which the audience is afraid to laugh or even breathe for fear of missing a word. "There's a samba going on here," Miller said in a phone interview. "Like Ginger Rogers said, 'I do everything Fred does, backward, in four-inch heels.' I'm Ginger at this point. The audience knows my moves. I can't change my monkey trick at this point. There's nothing sadder than a 57-year-old man doing Emma Stone references." After several years as a stand-up comedian, Miller -- born and raised in the Pittsburgh area -- broke onto the national scene in 1985 as the "Weekend Update" anchor on "Saturday Night Live." Since then, he's been an author, actor and talk-show host both on television and radio. His current gig, "The Dennis Miller Show," is syndicated through Westwood One to more than 300 radio stations across the country and is heard in most major markets. But not Modesto. Or San Francisco, for that matter. "I don't think my radio show will ever be in San Francisco again," Miller said. "I was there and got cancelled. I don't think they're a fan of my politics." Yes, Miller's decided slant on everything makes him a 50-50 guy. You either love him or hate him, and there seems to be no fence-post-sitting allowed. Even his constituency has changed, with Miller moving swiftly from the liberal to conservative ranks around the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. Miller's polarizing effect made him a curious choice to join the "Monday Night Football" broadcast booth for the 2000-01 seasons. That those years are viewed in retrospect as a grand ABC folly perplexes Miller. "I don't know why there was so much criticism," Miller said. "I made it two seasons and was picked up for a third season before I got whacked for Madden. I got paid for that third season. When John Madden wants a job, he should get it. I would have whacked me, too, for Madden." Some people complained that Miller's booth references were too obscure for the football crowd. Tuesday morning newspapers ran stories deciphering Miller's comments from the night before. But he's as unapologetic now about those days as he is about his stand-up act. You'll either get his references or you won't. Either way, he's invited you along for the ride. "I have a window-down theory when it comes to my references," Miller said. "The mother ship of the joke needs to be accessible to 90 percent of the audience. The second reference in, I try to get about two out of three people. The third reference might bring me down to40 percent, and if I get to a fourth reference, it's for me and one other guy who I hope busts a rib." It's a dangerous way to make a living. If a crowd considers Miller so erudite as to seem insincere, he can lose them in a moment. On the other hand, Miller says he's not really playing off the audience. He hears and responds to crowd reaction, but not in a give-and-take manner. He gives, the crowd takes. "When I'm on stage, I hear the audience the same way Charlie Brown hears his parents in the other room," Miller said. "I figure that I'm the one doing it and I'm hearing my own inner voice. "Then there are periods when I'm like the pilot flying from New York to L.A. If it's calm and I'm in the lane, it's not exactly autopilot, but I'm not up there freaked out. The moment you stray too far from paying attention to the crowd, you know you've screwed up." Such is the fear of every stand-up, but Miller's moved well beyond bomb-phobia. He's comfortable on stage, exuding a confidence to his fans that puts them at equal ease. "After 30 years of doing this, I've winnowed my audience down to a sardonic, indefatigable few, who I figure when they sidle into the room know what they're getting," Miller said. That's it. No surprises. No baklava. Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at [email protected] or (209) 578-2300. Follow him at twitter.com/modestobeek. ___ (c)2011 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) Visit The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) at www.modbee.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]