Stand-up comedian Billy Gardell performed at MemAud Saturday for a crowd of fathers.
Saturday night was full of aching laughter accompanied by emotional stories, meaningful advice for the college students in the crowd and the occasional f-bomb. It wasn’t just a night of comedy.
Billy Gardell, star of the sitcom “Mike & Molly,” took the stage Saturday night at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Gardell’s hour long set of comedy left the crowd of 1,950 wiping away tears from laughter and clapping their hands together in approval.
Prior to the opening act, Gardell’s voice boomed over the speakers as he thanked the audience for spending its “hard earned beer money” to see the show. It was the first of many giggles.
While he talked about the absurd standards of Los Angeles and being able to better relate to people from the Midwest, specifically due to appearance, he also praised students for getting an education and offered his advice.
“When you’re in your twenties, it’s your time to be crazy, but get your education and move forward,” Gardell said.
The laughter soon took a twist. Often, the scary occurrences in life make people realize what they have in front of them, Gardell said.
When Gardell spoke of his wife’s scare with cancer, the crowd paused in complete silence, many probably wondering how something so serious could be related to a joke. But, Gardell again left the crowd nodding in agreement at the strength of women and laughing at the fact men will always be “pigs” regardless of the situation, according to Gardell.
Gardell made parallels from the past and present to create something more relatable for the students and fathers in the crowd. As Gardell grew up, his goals went from “drinking and dying” to eventually wanting to marry and become an old couple.
Again and again, Gardell posed questions to the crowd. Gardell picked out a man married for 33 years and continued to joke about marriage and the different roles of fathers and mothers.
Gardell said fathers were only on campus for one reason.
“(They’re) making sure that you’re not screwing anything up,” Gardell said.
The wide range of material and relatable stories created a common ground for the audience and many seemed to think spending their “hard earned beer money” to see the show was worthwhile.
“I thought it was a good show,” said Joseph Foster, a freshman studying communication sciences. “I didn’t have very high expectations, but it surpassed my expectations. I’m really glad I came.”
The opening act, Joe O’Connell, who is a close friend of Gardell, managed to win over the crowd in a quick thirty minute set. He poked jokes at Miami of Ohio and laid out the appropriate uses of alcohol.
Shots create a literal downfall, as in falling over, whiskey is good for regrets and restraining orders, tequila leads to blackouts and beer is good for angry wives, O’Connell said.
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