Laughing matters; Sandra Bernhard - still evolving.

Byline: Richard Duckett

Sandra Bernhard has been called a lot of things during the course of her career.

As a way of introducing his interview with her in 1998, former Worcester Telegram & Gazette arts reporter Frank Magiera noted that words to describe the comedienne, singer, actress and author have included "fierce, tender, confrontational, vulnerable, funny, unpredictable, foul-mouthed and - after all that - generally beyond categorization." "Femme terrible of the talk show circuit" was another term used in the story about Bernhard bringing her then new and also highly acclaimed one-woman show, "I'm Still Here ... Damn It," to Boston for a five-day run at the Avalon Ballroom.

Thirteen years later, Bernhard is still performing, writing and acting. She's on the road again, has a new album titled "I Love Being Me, Don't You?" and is coming to the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley for a show at 8 p.m. Saturday.

And ...

Pleasant, sensible and intelligent were the words that came to mind regarding Bernhard following a recent telephone interview. Which is not to say there won't be some comedic fireworks on Saturday, nor that she was in any way boring to talk to. She was thoughtful - which is not to suggest she hasn't always been. Is she evolving? "I don't think you ever stop evolving," she said last week.

One thing that hasn't changed is her love of performing. Which is why she's out and about. Tomorrow she'll perform in Londonderry, N.H., while working her way to Shirley.

"I'm working on things. I'm up for things. There's a lot of things I haven't done yet," Bernhard said. Does performing ever get old? "No, it never does if you love what you do."

"I Love Being Me, Don't You?" is a live recording of a performance she gave at the Castro Theater in San Francisco that features comedy as well as musical covers of "Beautiful People" and "Kiss Me Deadly."

Bernhard often mixes music and comedy in her live performances, and there will be some of that on Saturday at the Bull Run, but rather than appearing with a band, she'll be accompanied by a keyboard player.

She said there will be elements of "I Love Being Me, Don't You?" in Saturday's show, but she is constantly adding new skits (all of which she writes herself) for her performances. "A lot of stuff I draw from the news, and my own life, which is ever-shifting," she said.

Asked how she knows if her new material is up to par or if she has people she tries jokes and routines out on, Bernhard said she...