Now, a local comedy showcase is always an adventure. It usually brings a modge podge of performers. Some good, some bad, some painfully unaware of just how bad. And this can add its own element of fun to the evening.
Sometimes I get excited for a bad performer because it gives me opportunity to exchange my own jokes with friends and perhaps even develop a deeper appreciation for the comics who get me laughing during their set. This is why I was excited to learn that Matt Storrs would be hosting the evening’s comedy show when I arrived at the FilmBar.
To be fair, momentarily, it had been perhaps a year since I’d last seen Storrs take to the stage for a decidedly bad performance… not the first I’d seen of his. He was just an unfunny person. I rushed off to tell my friends that they were in for a treat for they would certainly experience the awkward silence of an unsuccessful comic in front of a room full of people who paid hard-earned money to laugh that night.
We made sure to get to our seats early so as not to miss Matt Storrs' opening remarks. He spoke. We laughed. He spoke again. We laughed again. Somehow, this unfunny man had been transformed by exactly that quality. He was owning it. Working it. Storrs went beyond deadpan to some postmodern level, delivering jokes like a first-year physics professor. He achieves humor through juxtaposing factoids and life.
Everyone was laughing…except me. In Storrs becoming a respectable comedian, I was made to look like a bad critic. I hate that. Matt Storrs, a grown man who uses the word “delightful” without irony, had the whole crowd captivated.
Other crowd pleasers that night included Greg Kashmanian who evaluated his dating potential in the post zombie apocalypse. Casa Grande escapee Thai Rivera also made an uproarious appearance as prelude to his headlining appearance at StandUp Scottsdale the last weekend in January.
All in all, the FilmBar makes a great place for comedy as well as film and lounging. And, as much as it pains me to admit I was wrong, Matt Storrs can make you laugh.
You can catch Matt Storrs for Laughs and Drafts at Copper Blues every Tuesday night where the comic hosts an open mic. On February 21, Matt will also be taking part in a Comedy Club Crawl, performing at both Copper Blues at 7pm then again at the FilmBar at 9pm.
