By Peter Lindblad
Jim Gaffigan has pretty much perfected the art of the comedy special.
“The Pale Tourist.” “Obsessed.” “Mr. Universe.” “King Baby.” Gaffigan can seemingly do no wrong when it comes to performing them, delivering strings of jokes that always land beautifully, using that unique inner monologue of his to keep a good rhythm going.
He makes it look so easy, like he’s just giving out snacks. What’s his secret?
“It has to be undeniable material,” said Gaffigan.
That seems obvious, right? It’s got to be funny or the special’s going to fail spectacularly. What Gaffigan does is he tests that material repeatedly to get it right. Never does he just preach to the choir. Gaffigan will take it to different parts of the country, to crowds that have different lifestyles, he said.
“Often, if I’m just performing in front of people who know me, that’s not a great clarifier of things,” said Gaffigan, during an interview earlier this fall with Out & About Wisconsin. “So, working in front of people who don’t know who I am or don’t even like my comedy is very valuable.”
Gaffigan has just embarked on what he calls “The Fun Tour.” It features all-new material and will stop at the Resch Center in Green Bay on Saturday, Nov. 13, with Gaffigan returning to Wisconsin for dates on Nov. 24 and 26-27 at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. Read our cover story on Gaffigan here.
The opportunity to do specials opens a world of possibilities to Gaffigan, who can go in any number of directions, depending on his mood. He might simply want to tell stories or be more autobiographical, he said. Or he might just talk about his favorite subject … food.
When he returned to the stage after the COVID-19 lockdown, Gaffigan said he initially decided not to discuss the pandemic, believing that people were sick and tired of dealing with it. But Gaffigan ended up discussing it during performances, because as he said, “COVID is not topical. It’s a reality. It becomes an observation point.”
Not at all rigid in his approach to comedy, Gaffigan reserves the right to change his mind.
“You have to be really flexible with what your gut is on things, and that’s what I love the most about standup is you can think an idea is one way, but when you get onstage, your brain just kind of kicks in and it might steer you another way,” said Gaffigan.
An audience, with all its diversity, can send Gaffigan down unexpected paths. So can being in any social setting with the right people.
“Like anything, if you’re hanging around friends you always have a good time with, you’re going to be funny,” said Gaffigan. “But if you’re around really funny people or people that understand what you’re talking about, you can top yourself. If you’re hanging around and telling your stories, if they’re going along with it … words might come out that you didn’t even think of.”
In the end, if the material is dialed in, it can win the day, even if a comedian isn’t completely on.
“Some people believe the material is for when you don’t feel something, if that makes sense,” said Gaffigan. “So that’s where it has to be bulletproof, and there is a certain rewriting that is important for me, where it’s not about wisdom or knowledge, it’s about living with something … it’s almost like you have to live with a joke long enough to be sick of it to really understand it.”
It’s a co-dependent relationship that works for Gaffigan.