Last Post: John Mulaney

Hey everyone, it's Matt for one last time.

The semester's almost over which means there aren't many events to look forward to until next year. Hopefully next April has comedians as good or better than what SPA offered this year. It was all great.

On that note, I'd like to review the last show from Tuesday, John Mulaney. Before John went on though, a friend of his, Joe Mande, took the stage first to also do some comedy. Just like music, it's common for bigger comedians to have an opener and just like music, they can be really hit or miss. I've seen some terrible openers in my time, comedy and otherwise. I actually saw Joe Mande last year when he opened for someone else here at PSU (Mike Birbiglia?). I remember him being very funny and as a result I've been following his hilarious twitter for the last year or so (@JoeMande).

Joe once again did not disappoint. All his material was new and hilarious. Joe's comedy style is to tell funny stories that personally happened to him. Two stand-outs include having some GI issues late at night at a Jewish Summer Camp when he was a kid, and accidentally using the toilet after cutting up peppers for dinner. The latter story had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Part of what made it so funny was how you could anticipate where the story was going to go. Needless to say, the story ends with his girlfriend walking in on him naked, crying, and covered in milk.

John Mulaney during his most recent 1-hour Comedy Central special.

After Joe's short and sweet 30 minute set, John Mulaney took the stage. The funny thing about John Mulaney is that for being almost 30 years old, he could blend in with the crowd of student that was there that night.He looks very young and he often brings it up in his jokes for comedic effect. One of the more entertaining aspects of the show was Mulaney's almost reverse heckling of the audience. He would ask audience members questions about their majors and job ideas and then make fun of them when they were a graduating senior with no idea what to do with their degree. It was very entertaining and John apologized so it wasn't hurtful.

Mulaney is also a story kind of comedian and he has some of the funniest stories I've ever heard. I already mentioned the Salt & Pepper diner story earlier in this blog. Imagine stories of that caliber for almost the entire hour. That can give you a good idea of how great he is. I had actually heard a large portion of his routine already, but the way he presents the stories keeps them fresh and almost as funny as the first time you hear it. He also had a fair share of funny tangents that kept the audience entertained for the whole show.

But that's it for comedy. Don't forget to check out Movin' On tomorrow like Maria said! It's free and a great stress relief before finals weekend. I'll leave you with another one of my favorite Mulaney jokes about waking up the next day from a black out. Good luck and goodbye!