I wrote a piece for Splitsider a little while ago about the unexpected commonalities between two of my very favorite things, Phish and Comedy Bang Bang. The improvisation, the child-like spirit of joy, the touring, the intensity, identity and sometimes/oft-annoying/sometimes-life-affirmingly-awesome community, Harris Wittels: there is so much that unites these two rich, insular worlds.

When Comedy Bang Bang gets into a righteous groove it is a thing of beauty. There is nothing better. You feel grateful to be a fan, to get to experience Scott Aukerman and his guests creating something blissfully, exhilaratingly new in the moment.

Scott Aukerman’s venerable podcast institution got into just such an epic, historic groove on its instant classic 2018 holiday episode. Aukerman’s podcast Christmas party was excessive in every way. On paper, it looks like a goddamn mess. Too many characters, too many bits, too many ideas, too many running jokes, too many guests, a wildly indulgent two hour, eighteen minute running time.

Thankfully that spirit of glorious excess extends to laughs. This is at once a weirdly cerebral, conceptually complex deconstruction of the Comedy Bang Bang universe and an oddly populist, crowd-pleasing laugh riot.