Despite performing in front of hundreds or even thousands of fans at every stop, life on the road for a comedian can actually be pretty lonely, which is why several of the comics booked on the fourth annual Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival tour are happy to be traveling and performing with nearly a dozen of their fellow funny people.
"I just did my first show on the tour last night in Texas and the first person I saw was my good friend Jeff Ross, who I’ve known since we were kids back in the village of New York back in ’93," Dane Cook, one of this year’s Oddball headliners, said during a phone chat last week. "It was cool to see him and to have him introduce me, that was really exciting. I’ve done so many of my own performances for so many years, that being a part of a great festival or even a benefit show from time to time, I’ve missed that. I’ve missed that camaraderie of being around my peers."
The large-scale outdoor stand-up comedy tour, created by website and production company Funny or Die in partnership with Live Nation and Laguna Hills-based event producer Synergy Global Entertainment (SGE), the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival has consistently featured top-notch talent from Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Amy Schumer and New Zealand-based comedy band Flight of the Conchords, to a slew of solid up-and-coming comics.
For the fourth incarnation of the fest, which started out as 21 dates around the country and had to be cut back to 13 because of numerous scheduling conflicts, the line-up features a robust rotating cast of performers. Hosted by Ross, the Roastmaster General himself, the Oddball stop at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Saturday is set to include performances by Cook, Sebastian Maniscalco, Nick Swardson, Ali Wong, Iliza Shlesinger, Kumail Nanjiani, Matthew Broussard, Tom Segura and include a fresh-talent side stage, dubbed the IFC Slightly Off Comedy Stage, hosted by Big Jay Oakerson.
With that many comics on the bill, each performer tends to bring his or her A-game. Cook said it keeps everyone sharp and noted that the massive amphitheater gigs tend to feel more like intimate club shows since having such a large line-up makes the event less about individual talent and more about the overall evening and atmosphere. He’s also excited to meet a few of the new comics during his stint on the tour.
"Oddball is a wonderful opportunity for comedy fans to get out there and support a few of their favorite comedians and they’re also exposed to new talent," he said. "It’s just phenomenal anytime you can use your recognition or if you’re somebody who maybe is a household name, when you can use that to facilitate younger comics that are hungry, sometimes literally hungry, sometimes creatively hungry, because they need to pay the rent, too. It’s nice to be able to do that after 26 years in comedy to also help some of these young men and women find their fans through the crowds we help bring in."
Comedian, actor and producer Nick Swardson has been working hard on the set of his next film, which will debut on Netflix. He recently starred in a few of his buddy Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions Netflix exclusives including "The Ridiculous 6" and "The Do-Over." He said he’s wanted to do Oddball for years, but his busy production schedule has kept him from it. However, he is excited to be a part of at least a pair of stops, including Irvine Meadows.
Swardson, who released his last comedy special, "Taste It," on Comedy Central last year, has definitely had experience with crowds of this capacity as he and Sandler embarked on several large-scale jaunts and he toured colleges with former Irvine resident turned comedy superstar, Will Ferrell as well.
"I’ve done some pretty crazy shows, but you have to know how to do shows like that," Swardson said of being prepared for an event like Oddball. "Luckily there are jumbotrons so people can see your face so you’re not just some ant to them. It is pretty amazing and funny to hear that roar from all of those people over, like, one fart joke."
Both Cook and Swardson will be sharing brand-new material with the Oddball audiences as they’re both plotting their next one-hour specials. With Swardson’s film schedule and with working on his Comedy Central digital series, "Typical Rick," he said his new stand-up special will probably be out next fall.
Cook, who just wrapped on filming his latest feature film role in the forthcoming drama "American Exit," which he noted "might be the best work that I might ever do in my career," has had a little time and opportunity to pop into small comedy clubs near his Los Angeles home to work out several of his new bits. He said that after his time on Oddball he has a string of shows in Canada, where he could very well film his next special.
"I’m still working on new material, but I definitely have a good chunk for my next special which, once again, I will produce it and direct it," Cook said. "If I get really cocky and I figure it out while I’m in Canada, I may just film the special in Vancouver. If not then, I’d still like to do it by the end of the year."
714-796-3570 or kfadroski@ocregister.com
Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival
With: Dane Cook, Nick Swardson, Sebastian Maniscalco, Jeff Ross, Tom Segura, Iliza Shlesinger, Kumail Nanjiani, Ali Wong, Matthew Broussard and Big Jay Oakerson.
Where: Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine
When: 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1
How much: $31.50-$125
Call: 800-745-3000
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