Jordan Klepper and John Hodgman came to Ohio University as part of the Performing Arts and Concert Series and sat down with The Post prior to the show.
Jordan Klepper and John Hodgman wanted to make their stand-up comedy show appropriate for Dads Weekend — and that meant standing on stage reviewing guidelines for a PG-13 show.
“So, we could do drugs during the show,” Klepper, a Daily Show correspondent, said.
The Daily Show comedians came to Ohio University on Saturday night as part of the Performing Arts and Concert Series. Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of the Campus Involvement Center, said about 1,450 were in attendance.
After a playful slap fight broke out, Hodgman let out the f-word — the only one allowed for the night.
“I’m sorry. I ruined it for both of us,” Hodgman immediately said.
The two comedians decided to work around the limitations by instead using another f-word — fornication.
Klepper joked about social media and asked fathers in attendance if they knew what “Netflix and chill” meant. He later admitted he wasn’t sure he was ready to be a father, adding that baby carriers means one is “wearing a human being as a decoration.”
“I was kind of surprised Jordan did stuff about not being ready to be a parent at Dads Weekend,” Scott Kelly, who attended the show with his son Andrew, said.
Andrew, a freshman studying visual communication, said he and his dad, who both watch The Daily Show, said seeing the comedians in person was “hilarious.”
During his set, Hodgman told the audience that he’s a “mustache dad” — a right earned as a father. The mustache, he added, sends a signal to all the people around him.
“I am ready to move onto the weird dad phase of my life, give up sex and take up other hobbies like obsessing over World War II trivia and terrible puns,” he told the audience.
Hodgman said he wanted to end the night with some rock ’n’ roll. With a ukulele in hand, Hodgman began singing “Roadrunner” by The Modern Lovers, a song he believed should be the official rock song of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The audience tried to repeat after him, which wasn’t right.
“Do it when I do it,” Hodgman said to the audience. “It’s not call and response. It’s not fornicating kindergarten.”
Prior to the show, The Post sat down with Klepper and Hodgman to talk about antiquing Uptown, The Daily Show and humor.
The Post: How did you get started in comedy?
Jordan Klepper: I got into improv in college. A college of 1,200 people. … I was not very good at the more academic of subjects. It turns out I really liked that people laughed at things I said. From there, I followed the improv and sketch route out of Kalamazoo (College in Michigan) into Chicago, into New York and then finally here in Athens.
John Hodgman: That’s the career trajectory that we’re all looking for.
P: How about you, John?
JH: I don’t know that I do comedy. … (I’d call it) humor. It’s a distinction, you know, because comedy requires laughter as an end result. Humor does not … It requires a low chuckle and maybe an arched eyebrow. The first time I started doing comedy was essentially on The Daily Show because I had been writing books of humor where if anyone laughed I would never know. I wrote down my fake trivia and my invented history books and then sent them out into the world. Occasionally I would get a loving letter from a weird socially marginal 14-year-old boy, the kind that I was, saying “This really speaks to me.” But who knows if that dude ever laughed or is even capable of it?
JH: After I went on The Daily Show for a while, they asked me to come back. After that, I grew to be more comfortable with the idea of doing comedy.
P: Do you two have favorite segments from the show?
JK: Part of the fun of the field pieces is the traveling element. We recently went to Mt. McKinley. … We talked to the natives up there who wanted to return the name to its original Athabascan name, which was Denali. … I had never talked with Athabascan chiefs about their desires and how the mountain itself affected their culture, which was really an eye opening experience.
JH: What chiefs?
JK: Athabascans. It’s a native tribe in the Alaskan region.
JH: They’re the ones that live in Azkaban prison?
JK: No, you’re thinking of that fictional one. This is Athabascans.
JH: Ashkenazis?
JK: Hodgman, it’s Athabascan. … Did you not watch the piece?
JH: No. Why?
JK: It’s pretty important. It’s a very important piece.
JH: Yeah, that one was also my favorite.
P: Was it?
JH: Yes, of all the pieces, including mine. I have to say that one where he goes to Azkaban prison and climbs a mountain or whatever. I like that one the best.
P: So what do you guys do to prepare for a show?
JH: I prepare by thinking about my set and writing down as much as I remember from memory. I hate doing that, but when I don’t do that, it’s not as good.
JK: Yeah, kind of running through how you think it’s going to go out there
JH: Because what you want is for it to come flowing out naturally and you want to leave room for digressions or something comes up in the room and you have a thought, which occasionally happens to me. But right now I am looking at this page and I’m like, I don't know. The first part is like my name. I’ll remember it I think, but I got to write it down ‘John Hodgman.’ then I have to go through this, like “Joke 1.’ *Hodgman writes ‘Joke 1’ on blank sheet of paper* I know that one.
JK: What comes next?
JH: Three comes next. I cut two last year.
JK: What was it?
JH: It was horribly racist I realized
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P: Have you two enjoyed Athens so far?
JH: It’s a beautiful town. Gorgeous campus. We went to Casa Nueva that was recommended to me. We did some antiquing … next to Casa Nueva.
P: Did you get anything good?
JH: I got four comic books from 1974: A Superman, a Tarzan, a Ka-Zar and the fourth one … was like Korak, son of Tarzan. I had never heard of that character, so I am looking forward to reading them on the way home tomorrow
JK: I got a framed picture of a space shuttle. … I was on the fence about it, but John kind of pushed me in. He was like “Do it.”
JH: You have a NASA thing?
JK: I was very into space shuttles as a kid and went down to Cape Canaveral. It was a picture of what looked like as I was growing when I got to go see a space shuttle and all of that. The space shuttle slowly moving toward and eventual takeoff.
JH: What if it’s a magic picture and tomorrow, you wake up and the space shuttles a little bit closer. … And one day you’re going to hear this *rocket noises*and look at the picture and it’s gone.
JK: It’s possible.
JH: A weirdly non-scary horror story.
P: Jordan, you recently did a bit about pumpkin spice lattes. Are you actually a fan of pumpkin spice lattes?
JK: I was for time, but then I burned too hot. My stomach couldn’t handle it. My energy level couldn’t handle it, and I had to walk away. … No more for me. My time is gone. I left that to the youth.
P: Do you guys have anything else you’d like to say to OU or OU students?
JH: I know they have a great time travel department here so I am looking forward to seeing some of those time travelers here tonight. Just don’t rip a hole in space in time … If you do, do it during Jordan’s set please.
JK: Really?
JH: Yeah, because then I don’t have to go
JK: So you don’t have to work?
JH: Yeah, then I can go back to Casa Nueva. I don’t know what else to say to the students at Ohio University. Go, Bobcats!
JK: Yeah! Go, Bobcats. Everyone has been so kind to us tonight, but again that’s before we’ve had a night after the show. I may have to call back and redact that depending on how tonight goes.
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