On Sunday night I got to see one of my favorite comedians, Pete Holmes, perform live at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, MN. Pete may be best known for his voice-over work including that of the e*trade baby, but he is also the host of a popular podcast on the Nerdist network called ‘You Made it Weird.’ He interviews guests on the hour-or-so long podcast, where they talk unscripted about their inner and outward weirdnesses. Pete likes to bring up things that are uncomfortable and awkward, such as relationships, sex, masturbation, religion, and any possible misunderstandings or grievances between his guests and himself. He always does this in an open, honest, humorous way which seems to reflect his natural character as a quirky and nice guy. He’s often cited Marc Maron and his podcast ‘WTF‘ as major influences in his own podcast. Both Pete and Marc discuss their loving yet limited relationship frequently. The podcast is unique, thought provoking, deeply honest and reflective, and incredibly hilarious, and Pete Holmes’s standup is exactly the same. Pete Holmes was also named one of Variety’s Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2011, and rightly so.
So, after many weeks of waiting excitedly to see his live stand-up show, my friend and I arrived at the Cedar Cultural Center in the early evening and waited with our fellow ‘Weirdos’ for the doors to open. While we waited, we were subjected to some of the more colorful nightlife of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis when my friend was approached by what he described as a “tooth-less old man” who asked, “Hey man, do you know where I can get sucked off?” He politely declined the request and the man continued walking down the sidewalk as we, and several people around us, laughed hysterically.
After great opening performances by both Bryan Miller and Shane Mauss, Pete Holmes took the stage and proceeded to delight his audience with bits about being “gay for [Ryan] Gosling”, doing his favorite impersonations while in the shower, how his best-received jokes fell flat the previous night in Appleton, Wisconsin, and how he’d accidentally dropped a Boston Terrier recently (and he felt really bad about it). Doesn’t sound funny? Well, it was! STFU and see for yourself:
If you liked that, or if you didn’t, go to iTunes and subscribe to his podcast for free. The next time Pete’s in Minnesota I plan to be there, and to either drive alone or with someone who doesn’t have to leave immediately after the show, because I’m heart-broken I didn’t get to stick around to meet such an amazingly hilarious man as Pete Holmes.
Patti Lynn Henry
Patti Lynn Henry was delivered in a blizzard in February of 1984 by a drunk doctor who nearly fainted at the sight of a baby with a disintegrated umbilical cord. She’s faced countless tragedies, both real and imaginary, ever since. She’s a hostage of her home town of Northfield, MN. When Patti isn’t busy writing, she’s dressing her cats up in costumes and burying the photographs in her garden. Email Patti at pattihenry@secretlaboratory.org and visit her website at www.pattilynnhenry.com .
