Review: "The Nasty Show"

Nick Gaza

Whether you know it or not, The Laugh Factory has silently entered our cultural lexicon. Whenever you think of standup comedy, The Laugh Factory is always floating in your subconscious. Every comedian who is impossibly famous has performed there and all the way down to up-and-coming comedians still incredibly talented (if you can call them “up-and-coming, that’s a pretty hallowed stage to be on if you ask me). When I suggested to my friends, one of whom had never been to Chicago before, that we attend the May 11th “Nasty Show” they jumped at the chance. The Laugh Factory had already trickled into their subconscious as a place for quality entertainment.

The venue itself is very well spread out and airy even when it is packed. It’s as though there are no bad seats. You get a great view of the stage and the performers no matter where you are. The acoustics are also perfect; you never have to strain to hear a word they say. You might object at first to the 2-drink minimum considering the drinks get a bit pricey, but I’ll be damned if those waitresses aren’t working their asses off. Pay for the drinks and tip generously, ladies and gents.

Aaron Foster

Tristan Triptow

I was a bit hesitant about “The Nasty Show”. I mean, how nasty are we talking here? Super fucking nasty? I’ve been going to open mics constantly and I hear new comics and old veterans say some of the grossest shit I’ve ever heard (I’ve found it’s the new guys who say the most offensive stuff, because they’re still learning what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes it takes a couple of open mic sets before you realize your “Margaret Thatcher going down on Hitler” bit isn’t 100% polished yet). So I was worried about what I was getting myself into, as I assumed these folks were professionals in talking “the nasty”.

I had nothing to fear, the show was absolutely great. Raunchy, sure, but who doesn’t love a few raunchy jokes at 11:30 on a Saturday? If you don’t, then why are you even in Lakeview on a weekend. Aaron Foster hosted a show of with some of Chicago’s finest: Danny Kallas, Joey Villagomez, Kellye Howard, Jeff Steinbrunner, Tristan Triptow and Nick Gaza closing out the show. They swung from topics as diverse as marriage, children, race and even mental illness while craftily sneaking in some raunchy bits here and there (unless the joke was just about fucking. Those were pretty straight forward).

The laughs came easy, which makes sense because the place should manufacture laughs with the
efficiency of a factory. Before I know it I was drunk, which is basically the reason I can’t remember any of the comics jokes verbatim. It’s not a bad thing that I can’t recite some of my favorite jokes from that night. What that means is that I came, I laughed, I drank and then my friends and I departed into the night looking for more fun to be had. You’re always looking for things to do to make your Saturday night fun, so add The Nasty Show as a piece of that Saturday night puzzle.

Contributing Writer 
Michael Shapiro