Shane Gillis at the United Center…
Last night, my wife and I went to see Shane Gillis at the United Center. I’ve never seen a comedian play such a big venue. I’ve seen some on Broadway or locally at the Chicago Theatre, but this had to be bigger. It seemed well full. At least 90% if not sold out.
The first comedian (sorry, I don’t remember his name) was funny. He opened with the standard “make a joke about the city they are in.” It was funny, but I’m not a fan of those. Ooh, he name-checked the Red Line. Whatever, minor nit. He was funny.
The second guy was Joe DeRosa. Funny. Not terribly memorable, but I was laughing and enjoyed his short set.
The third opener was a pleasant local boy surprise: Andrew Santino. He’s actually from the Chicago area—born in Chicago and raised in the suburbs—so the local jokes didn’t feel like the usual “insert city here” material. I’ve seen him as an actor and caught clips from podcasts, but I don’t think I’d ever seen his stand-up. He was funny. I could’ve watched him headline.
The last opener was also a local comic surprise: Hannibal Buress. He was terrible. Like awful. Like coke-fueled rambling or something. He did not look well (major sweating for a 10-minute set), screaming for no need, and just wasn’t funny at all. At all.
Shane was hilarious. It’s mostly bro humor, but my wife was cracking up too. She said, “Uh, he was alright, not my style,” but she definitely was laughing hard. He’s a storytelling comedian. No real punchline jokes per se—just telling hilarious stories. He was on for an hour, and it didn’t feel that long.
Good stuff.