Comedy review: Eddie Pepitone’s Bloodbath, Just The Tonic at The Tron (Venue 51), Edinburgh

Dubbed “The Bitter Buddha” in his native New York, Eddie Pepitone is a must-see for any committed stand-up fan.

Eddie Pepitone’s Bloodbath

Just the Tonic at The Tron (Venue 51)

Star rating: * * *

As he makes his first visit to Europe – still struggling to bridge a few cultural differences – failure and impotence are at the forefront of this bald, pot-bellied 
53-year-old’s persona.

Pepitone rails against the world with unbridled anger and despair. Arriving at the show like “a condemned man”, rarely does he finish a routine without becoming distracted and barrelling off on a tangent.

He’s plagued by concerns that he’s a talentless hack, and even coins a catchphrase, “Funny, no?”, essentially a way to check that the audience is still there.

Such a stop-start performance won’t be to everyone’s taste – he’s decidedly not slick – but he possesses tremendous routines that could storm any gig: an impression of a lounge singer suffering war flashbacks; his hilarious audition for a washing powder advert in which he repeatedly asks his wife just how she got his shirt so clean when there’s so much horror and suffering in the world; and his signature piece, in which he disappears into the crowd and heckles himself with uniquely personal insults.

He’ll only get funnier and more explosive as the festival progresses.

• Until 26 August. Today 11:40pm.