I was in awe of him the last set I saw (leeds fest) but that was largely due to the stupidity he was faced with, and the bile he piled onto it. I got a few words with him afterwards and he was so disgusted that I knew he'd never be worth seeing over here again - he'll take the frat boys for all they're worth and that's that.
Having said that, his last set (commercially relased) was pretty average by his standards. He'll always be someone I like but I can't see him ever making the hard decisions that are necessary to grow artistically (change lifestyle, or leave stand-up for a few years) - and he doesn't have the self respect (or self-importance) of a Hicks, who particularly cares about his body of work.
He used to be jaded in a comical sense which informed his best work. Now he brings to mind someone like Hunter S Thompson; convinced his fanbase are just after the cheap laughs and have disregarded his message for his entire career - so careless with it himself.
