Opinionist: Under the Radar Festival

Idiosyncratic performer Reggie Watts first caught our eye at last year's Under the Radar, and we've been following his culture-blending, genre-defying, spoken word act around town ever since. Apparently, we're not alone, because he's reached that regrettable stage when a somewhat "underground" performer begins drawing irritating fans eager to demonstrate their hipness by laughing loudly and indulgently at the slightest onstage gesture. Oh well, it had to happen eventually.

Watts's newest show, Transition, continues along the same lines as last year's Disinformation, with his signature linguistic cherry stem-twisting in full comedic force. Abetted by an eager team of three performers and dancers, not to mention his indispensable video and voice sampling equipment, Watts's vision of an "absurdist theatrical cabaret" is fully realized here, albeit in slightly less cohesive form than Disinformation. But to describe Transition's lunacy would be to minimize it, so let's just say the show draws inspiration from such sources as Teen Wolf, Sasquatch, Stevie Wonder, and the apocalypse. Just trust us and go see Reggie Watts now, so you can join the annoying ranks of fans talking about how they caught his act before he became a big star. (Photo courtesy Noah Kalina.)