Female humor steals the show at Oddball Comedy Festival

Girl power reigned at the third annual Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival Sunday at Susquehanna Bank Center. It's a tradition. Sarah Silverman and Whitney Cummings stole last year's show. Bridget Everett and Amy Schumer, who are, not surprisingly, close pals, stole it on Sunday.

Opener Nikki Glaser had her moments, particularly when talking about her sex life. MC Big Jay Oakerson, born and raised in Philadelphia, talked sex, sex, and more sex, nothing new, but Oakerson was charismatic and a natural host.

Bridgett Everett, who closed the first half of the four-hour humor blitz, was a revelation. She's what the late Sam Kinison might be like if he came back as an oversexed, hyperactive female. Anything goes for the Manhattan, Kan., native, who specializes in the unholy combination of comedy and cabaret.

Clad in a backless red dress, the braless, shoeless Everett jumped out into the crowd. "Is this a family?" she asked, incredulous, speaking with a grandmother, mother, and what appeared to be a 16-year old boy she dubbed "Cookie."

After nuzzling with Granny, the strapping six-foot humorist picked up the teen, carried him onto the stage on her back, placed him under the lights, and sat on his face, while belting out one of her funny, ribald numbers.

Schumer is cerebral, thoughtful, and the hottest comic on the planet not named Kevin Hart. She had a number of very funny but unprintable lines, but she did point out that despite her rep, her material isn't all below the belt. She was at her most effective when pointing out how difficult it is for girls to grow up in a Kardashian-shallow era. She also had funny anecdotes about her unlikely turn as the star of Trainwreck, the film she wrote and Judd Apatow directed.

Co-headliner Aziz Ansari proved to be king of callbacks (revisiting jokes told earlier) during his half-hour set. He effectively played on small things that drive us crazy, the girlfriend who drinks his glass of water at restaurants or always uses his toothpaste. "Why can't she buy her own?" he asked. His tale of being an 8-year old Muslim boy first discovering bacon was one of the funniest bits of the night. Unlike his last solo show here, however, some of his material was predictable.

Dave Attell was hands-down the funniest male of the night. "What is it with Camden?" Attell asked. "That [referring to the train outside the Susquehanna Bank Center] is the saddest tram in the world. 'Next stop: carjacking. The stop after that is cash for gold.' I went to Atlantic City and I went to a strip club and it was so bad that it was $10 to get in and $20 to get out."

The most experienced comic on the Oddball bill, Attell always impresses with his preparation. The former host of the Comedy Central classic Insomniac riffed about Philadelphia and his two passions, porn and smoking.

On the other hand, Anthony Jeselnik's bits on the insensitivity of Philadelphians just didn't work. But when playing to his strengths - misdirection, non sequiturs, and dark humor - Jeselnik, who is from Pittsburgh and has the demeanor of a Penguins fan, hit it out of the park. His gun-control joke was the funniest of the first half of the show.

"This is a very diverse white audience," declared Saturday Night Live's Michael Che. He and fellow SNL guy Jay Pharoah were surprising and amusing. The latter's impressions and a tale of meeting with Eddie Murphy cracked up the crowd.

Oddball policy prohibits any use of a phone, which is welcome. There's nothing worse than fans with their Apple products obscuring your view. They weren't even allowed to text under pain of ejection - or subjection to routines on how creepy Philadelphians can be.