jim gaffigan tour reviews

Review: Midwestern Sensibilities Drive Jim Gaffigan’s The Fun Tour

• March 8, 2022
• Comedy , Review , Stages , Video

Full disclosure: I listen to standup to help me sleep. During these dystopian times, when I’m frequently unable to catch some ZZZs, I’ll play a comedy special on the bedroom TV. I close my eyes but can still hear the routine until I hopefully slide into slumber. It reminds me of dozing off while my parents talked in the other room, a bit of companionship and security, like falling safely asleep in the back of the Impala while Dad drove home from Grandma’s. My favorite soothing sleep aid is Jim Gaffigan, and he’s unknowingly rocked me to sleep with his comedy specials, including Beyond the Pale, King Baby, Mr. Universe, Obsessed, Cinco, The Pale Tourist, Quality Time and Noble Ape .

But there was no napping when Gaffigan played a three-show, nearly sold-out run of his new piece The Fun Tour  at the Chicago Theatre last weekend. Frequent opening act Ted Alexandro warmed up the lively, appreciative Friday night crowd, and shared that he had indeed achieved his “quarantine 15” pounds. To lose that weight, he buys bagged salad at the store, which he suggests that the cashier throw directly into the trash after purchase, to save him the trouble of doing the same at home a few days later. He also talked about being a new dad with a younger wife, and notes that, as an aging guy, he now pees sitting down, sometimes wakes up injured, and has increased the font size on his phone.

Gaffigan then took to the stage for his hour-long set. Perambulating around the empty stage wearing a black sweatshirt, brown pants and white sneakers, the self-professed super-pale guy (as noted in some of his show titles), he confessed that he had polished off a Lou Malnati’s pizza the night before. Gaffigan was born in the Chicagoland area, and grew up in Indiana, so knows his pizza as well as how to integrate local delicacies and regional knowledge into most of his sets. He shared some bathroom antics in this show, from stories about Montezuma’s revenge to musings about why the toilet is also called “the loo … perhaps a reference to Lou Malnati’s?”

Before COVID and the tyranny of The Former Guy, Gaffigan was mostly, famously, apolitical, but now, due to the aforementioned dystopia, some liberal opinions are (gratefully) creeping into his act, and the audience welcomed his jibes at antivaxxers—“we all used to know one.” He and his wife Jeannie, co-writer and co-producer of his shows (whom he calls a “Shiite Catholic”), also shared religious-inspired material about the plagues that are currently visiting our planet, and he riffed about how the frog plague is the most pathetic plague. (Ed. Note: it is.)

He owns up to being “white trash,” admitting that he had a dirty beer can collection at age nine, and refers to Indiana as merely “the road from Chicago to Michigan.” But now he’s fancier, sharing that he “just took out a reverse mortgage to afford a new phone.” He echoes some previous material about carting his five young kids around the world, and updates viewers on Jeannie’s new swallowing disorder following her life-threatening brain surgery a few years back. He talked about merch tables at funerals, how golf trips might make men gay, and the perennial conundrum as to why bikers ride motorcycles and cyclists ride bikes.

Gaffigan is deeply funny and insightful, yet his charm emanates from his calm, reflective and world-weary everyman take on the everyday: family foibles, mass culture, and now, a wee bit more politics. Keep talking, Jim. Thank you and good night.

Along with his wife and kids, Gaffigan added a “Let’s Get Cookin’” series of videos to his YouTube channel during quarantine. His hourlong pandemic special Comedy Monster is currently running on Netflix , and his live, in-person The Fun Tour continues around the US throughout 2022 (Hot Pockets not included).

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Karin McKie

Karin McKie is a Chicago freelance writer, cultural factotum and activism concierge. She jams econo.

Jim Gaffigan’s comedy doesn’t hide his Catholic faith. It also doesn’t weaponize it.

Six minutes into his latest stand-up comedy special, “Dark Pale,” Jim Gaffigan, having just transported his audience into the interior of a commercial aircraft in its final moments as it hurtles to the earth, punctuates the bit with the warning/promise: “Is that too dark? It’s going to get worse.”

Indeed, the aptly titled, “Dark Pale,” currently streaming on Amazon Prime , presents a decidedly darker, dirtier Gaffigan. This persona is not completely divorced from the innocuous, albeit hilarious, dad/schlub character that rose to fame in large part due to his family-friendly musings on American culinary phenomena like Popeye’s fried chicken, Hot Pockets and Cinnabon. Indeed, Gaffigan’s trademark musings on the unending and absurd manifestations of Americans’ unquenchable need to consume any and all things permeate his new hour-long special.

“Dark Pale,” released on July 25, anticipated Gaffigan’s series of live shows, titled the “ Barely Alive ” tour, that debuted on Aug. 25 in Las Vegas. The tour includes several shows with his fellow “clean and light” comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Gaffigan’s co-headlining with the iconic Seinfeld speaks to his growing reputation as one of the fundamental voices of American humor in this century. It also calls forth a question as to what Gaffigan’s prominence says about contemporary American culture.

Gaffigan’s aforementioned persona, overt Catholicism and whiter-than-white appearance serve as a diversionary tactic to the larger thematic agenda of his comedy. Gaffigan serves as a unifying figure between white, working-class conservative Christians, whom he cosmetically resembles, and the “liberal elite” secular community, whose point of view continually seeps in as he comically takes on anti-vaxxers and global warming deniers. Somehow, in this day and age of ideological polarization, Gaffigan has managed to avoid either pandering to or alienating either audience.

The special includes Gaffigan’s trademark musings on Americans’ unquenchable need to consume any and all things. 

It could be argued that Gaffigan’s schtick is so innocuous as to prove unthreatening to either side of the ideological or political spectrum. Yet that sells his comedy short, particularly as it relates to “Dark Pale.” This is a decidedly a post-Covid spectacle, as throughout he acknowledges the way American culture has changed in the wake of the pandemic. And this is where his stage persona offers him an assist, as he can diffuse the tension of any given hot topic through his own All-American absurdity, which in turn lays bare the absurd elements of both poles’ stances.

At the beginning of his set (recorded live in the less than politically neutral confines of Tampa, Fla.), Gaffigan comes onstage wearing that all-purpose totem of the pandemic’s ideological warfare, the face mask. After implying he was going to take the mask off, he simulates a striptease. When he finally removes the mask, he states matter-of-factly: “The only reason I was wearing this is because I have Covid,” whereupon he proceeds to cough all over the front rows of the audience. This whole sequence speaks to the absurd behavior of both sides of the ideological spectrum during the pandemic in terms of the enforcement and the dissent against enforcement of mask wearing, as well as the public behavior it incited .

He can diffuse the tension of any given hot topic through his own All-American absurdity.

Gaffigan then goes into a long segment on the question of mortality, which was brought to the forefront of popular discourse during the pandemic. That death and dying was constantly on everyone’s mind was due in no small part to TV news, which he says, “for two years was like the death lottery. We sat at home watching it like it was Powerball.”

Perhaps his strongest bit from this segment comes from his description of his own lived experience as a Catholic. He says, “At Catholic funerals you’re supposed to kneel next to the casket and say a prayer. That prayer goes like this: One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. (He looks at his watch) That’s got to be long enough.” Only you, dear reader, know how funny, callous and/or accurate you find that joke, but judging by the reception of his audience in Tampa, it seems to be a shared experience by many people of faith.

TV news during the pandemic 'was like the death lottery. We sat at home watching it like it was Powerball.'

After Gaffigan’s inquiry into the murky caverns of human mortality, he makes an unexpected and, as it turns out, unnecessary digression into the realm of toilet humor. The less said about it the better. It proves to be the most feeble moment of an otherwise exceptionally well-constructed comedic set. Perhaps Gaffigan felt his foray into the (for him) uncharted territory of death and dying comedy needed to be buffered by adolescent jokes about Montezuma’s revenge. Whatever the case, it brings the set’s comedic momentum to a screeching halt and is not at all helped by his own calling out of his own poor taste, which only further underlines the fact that he should have known better. Fortunately for Gaffigan and the audience, the last half of “Dark Pale” brings him back to his comedic sweet spots: consumerism, religion and family. He goes on a lengthy tangent on all things Starbucks, which he claims is not only a coffee shop but also “an upscale unemployment office.” This is followed by an analysis of the biblical nature of the fires, floods and pandemics of recent years from the perspective of an increasingly frustrated deity. He then goes into one of the mainstays of his comedy, his children: “Sometimes when people find out I have five kids, they think I’m good at parenting. Which is kind of like assuming that people with lots of cats are not crazy.” He calls Starbucks 'an upscale unemployment office.'

Gaffigan, like Seinfeld, is at his best when deconstructing the mundanity and minutiae of everyday American life. Unlike John Mulaney , that other (nominally) Catholic stand-up comic, Gaffigan never presents as the smartest guy in the room. Mulaney’s stand-up specials are elaborately constructed spectacles of wit and creativity which frequently leave audience members shaking their heads at the intelligence and creativity of such a masterful comedic technician. Gaffigan’s stand-up comes from a different place. He occupies the lower strata of the intellectual spectrum and seems to revel in that, as he ambles and stumbles from joke to joke, segment to segment.

But do not be deceived; Jim Gaffigan’s comedy is just as artful and constructed in its way as Mulaney’s. However, his agenda is not about being smarter and funnier than the audience, but rather about being one with the audience. Gaffigan actually is the smartest guy in the room; but that can be alienating to some, and he knows it. His comedic affinity is for bringing people together in a shared understanding of the absurdity of contemporary American culture.

Gaffigan is not about being the smarter than the audience, but about being one with the audience.

Gaffigan does not hide his faith, nor does he weaponize it. He presents himself as a flawed, albeit rational Christian in a society and media landscape that seem uninterested in putting sane, sensible Christians in the foreground. Gaffigan’s comedic stylings are not for everyone. But at the same time, in his low-status, schlubby take on the American experience, there is, in fact, something for everyone. [In his new special, John Mulaney is a modern day Prodigal Son with a message about mercy]

Jake Martin, S.J., is an assistant professor of film studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He received his Ph.D. in film studies from Trinity College, Dublin and is the author of What’s So Funny About Faith: A Memoir From the Intersection of Hilarious and Holy .

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Jim Gaffigan Reviews

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Total Ratings:

Too high on the list. You guys equate success to funny? The fact that Patrice aint even close up here is a good contrast

He is a bit repetitive on the material section (and the delivery section, come to think of it, but I find his whole ‘commentary on his own show’ thing charming, so I am ignoring this fact), but still manages to be funny. His newer special, Mr. Universe, branches out into more topics than food and is a bit of a step up from Beyond the Pale and King Baby- though I do love those two. Very funny and starting to branch out a bit, which is always a good thing. Would recommend.

One of the few family-friendly comics who isn’t totally lame! Lots of jokes about mundane topics like food, exercise, shopping, and holidays.

Jim Gaffigan was the first person I met when I moved to LA. I drove out to the Santa Monica pier and was walking along the beach when he tryed to get me to take a crappy broken kite off his hands while out with his family. He’s exactly the same on the street as on stage… funny and super quirky.

http://aubreydoesthings.blogspot.com/

Great Comic

Jim Gaffigan’s Beyond the Pale.

Jim Gaffigan is one of the best working comedians working today. He continually sells out shows and arenas around the country, and for good reason. He’s witty, he’s clean, he’s likable, and he’s downright funny, and Beyond the Pale is Gaffigan’s best work to date.

“Oh he’s a pale fella…”

He starts off the cd in his trademark “asides” voice, where he imitates a hypothetical audience members thoughts. He does this for quite a while (his actual voice doesn’t come in until 1:15 into the cd), and every comment he makes adds to the last, even to the point where he’s making fun of the fact that he hasn’t said anything of actual value yet. Throughout the cd (as is the case in all his acts), he continues to add his asides where appropriate. It’s a brilliant tool that provides a perfect segue into his next bit, no matter what it is. Yet even though it works best as a transition, he also uses it excellently as both filler and punchline in his set. He even expresses any fake hostility in the audience by mocking anything even slightly offensive he says (“Hey I like bologna…”), which puts any actual offense they take at ease. Though don’t be confused, there is nothing offensive in this album, unless you are particularly touchy about religion.

Now on to the bulk of the cd, FOOD! Gaffigan is probably the leader in jokes about food. Fourteen tracks are specifically dedicated to food related topics. The butt of most of his food jokes relates is the American eating habit. Among his targets are the simplicity of fast food orders, obsessions with desserts, and fake vegetarians. These tracks will keep you rolling, because they are topics that we are so familiar with, yet we often completely overlook the absurdity of them. It is in these tracks that you will find one of his bits that’s almost become his trademark bit, Hot Pockets! A very catchy joke because he makes fun of how terrible hot pockets are, and continually pokes fun at their oh-so-simple slogan. But because this is his most recognizable joke, I’d have to say it’s probably also his most overrated. Don’t get me wrong, the joke is funny, but I wouldn’t even put it in the top 10 tracks on this cd, which shows how much comic gold there is to find here.

While he takes a brief break from food, he goes on to lovingly criticize American holiday traditions. Even when some of the subjects are things many of us have already noticed and wondered (why chocolate eggs on Easter?), he puts enough spin on them to make them seem more ridiculous than we initially thought.

more food jokes more food jokes more food jokes

And now we’re getting towards the end of the cd, where his primary topic is religion (oh no, the R-word!). Now, as I practicing Catholic, there are times where I take offense to a comedian’s poking of my faith, but this is not the case with Gaffigan. His jokes center around Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and Catholicism itself, yet he does so in a way that is neither mean-spirited, nor derogatory. And not only are they benign, they’re funny! He recreates biblical scenes that aren’t in the bible(Mary telling Joseph that she’s pregnant), and adds a few funny things that transpose today’s culture to Jesus’ (what do you get the Messiah as a gift?). Its the closest he gets to shock value in his set, but manages to steer far away from that course.

Overall, I’d recommend this cd to absolutely everybody. What more can I say? Jim Gaffigan is a funny guy who knows how to keep an audience happy

best tracks: Presents, Eating vegetarian, Eat Like an American, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph worst track: Spray Cheese(also the shortest bit), The Case Against Cinnabons,

Overall rating: 10/10

Idiosynchratic and irritating delivery of material that is occasionally amusing, but more often just silly.

Jim doesn’t even have to be telling a joke to make me laugh. His myspace blogs announcing tour dates make me laugh. He really inspires me as a writer to always strive to be smarter, quicker, and funnier.

Jim also subscribed to my Myspace blog. Sometimes I like to pretend that he reads it.

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Jim Gaffigan: The King of Clean

America’s funniest dad, jim gaffigan, discusses faith, family and work-life balance, by fendi wang.

For 30 years, Jim Gaffigan has stood onstage before audiences laughing at his jokes as if he were the funny relative at a dinner table.

His humor is clean by stand-up comedy standards and “normie” (of the mainstream). His observations, which have the feel of an introspective child standing in a corner, are delivered with the cutting confidence of a middle-aged man who’s lived a hearty life — because that’s precisely what Gaffigan is.

Since 2001, he has released eight comedy albums commenting on pedestrian topics like being overweight and food. One of his most famous riffs is about Hot Pockets.

But after becoming a father — five times over — and supporting his wife through treatment for a brain tumor in 2017, his material turned toward parenthood, faith and family in his last five specials. Some comics may have retreated from the industry, but Jim did what comedians do best — find humor in life’s greatest challenges. 

During the pandemic, Gaffigan promised to upload a new video to his YouTube channel every day “until the world ends.” In July, he kicked off his latest tour, The Fun Tour, which will take him to 27 cities by the end of this year.

Here’s what he’s learned through it all.

On being a clean comic: I grew up in a small Midwestern town where you might curse if you stubbed your toe, but people would think, “Can’t you think of another adjective?” For some comics, it’s stylistically authentic to how they perform — it’d be weird if Chris Rock or Lewis Black didn’t curse. But it’s not like I don’t curse in everyday life, and audiences respond to authenticity. People look at me and think, “He could be from my town. I could hang out with that guy.”

On his relationship with Utah: I feel a connection with Utah. I think it’s because we share similar family culture. I find Mormons fascinating — even just their fry sauce, you know? I’ve had people bring me the Book of Mormon like a dozen times. They’re like, “You should be on this team.” My comedy is kind of self-effacing and the Mormons have a good sense of humor about themselves. I have a ton of material about Utah.

On juggling a career and five children: It’s pretty insane. Every three months I evaluate and readjust my schedule to find a balance between being involved in my kids’ lives and maintaining my independence through work and projects. Independence makes you a better parent. I bring my kids on the road with me when it makes sense. Every school break, they’re usually with me doing stand-up. They’ll come with me on bus tours and sometimes to international shows. Before my tour started this year, my family and I were in Hawaii on vacation.

On what his kids think of his comedy: We have fun, but I’m their dad, so I’m the bad guy taking the iPad away. I don’t go out of my way to expose them to my comedy; I’m not like, “Sit down and watch my stand-up!” All my kids, ages 8, 10, 12, 15 and 17, probably view me depending on their age. For example, they were all super excited that I was in the new movie “Luca.” My 15-year-old was impressed because it’s from Pixar, my 17-year-old was impressed because of the storyline, and the rest were for different reasons. I didn’t grow up with a parent in entertainment, so I don’t know what to compare it to — my dad worked at a small bank — but it’s funny being a parent and a comedian. I was in a parent-teacher conference and the teacher was like, “Your kids are funny,” as if that’s what I would care about. I want them to learn! I’m not caught up in if they’re going to follow the same path as me.

On being in the spotlight: I don’t mind if someone approaches me when I’m by myself, but when I’m with my family, it’s a little bit like, “Respect the family.” My older kids might find it annoying, or they’ll make fun of me. My eight-year-old will introduce himself like, “You probably want to meet me, too.” I want to be polite and not rude, but there is no universal approach from fans. I once had someone demand I go over to her friend’s table at dinner and perform for her birthday. I didn’t do that.

On parenthood: My general approach is, “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m trying my best.” I’ve found this makes parenting feel less overwhelming. When you feel like you know what you’re doing, that’s when you get frustrated, but if you’re like, for example, “I don’t know how to put together this table,” then there is less pressure on you. Another thing — there’s nothing official about parenting! My wife and I are constantly checking in and devising a strategy so we’re not caught off guard. Becoming a parent is also a normalizing force. The entertainment industry can be icky, but when you’re dealing with a baby you don’t have time to obsess on unimportant, self-centered things; you have to make sure this baby is fed. That’s the hidden gem of parenting. It keeps you grounded.

On the role of religion in his life: As a comedian, I never thought I would be religious. I lived across from a Catholic church for 15 years and never went in, then I met a woman in a bodega down the block, got married in that same church and had all our kids baptized there. The most rebellious thing I can do in the entertainment industry is be Catholic. I’m kidding, but the stand-up world is completely agnostic. I was raised Catholic, but never got into it until about 15 years ago. It sounds corny, but I wanted to believe in the notion of mercy, that you could be so imperfect and still embrace faith. If I were writing a joke, I’d blame it all on my wife.

On being a fish-out-of-water comedian: All comedians are fish out of water. We’re all in the anti-social social club, whatever that means. As society goes on, we’re just going to discover that all comedians are on the autism spectrum because we’re like this hyperfocused breed. Writers are, too. We find and embrace different points of view.

On finding inspiration: Mark Twain called it “the nub” (the point or punch line of a story), and it’s something that bumps into you whether it’s embarrassing, shame-ridden or ridiculous. Sometimes it sits in you, and you have to figure out how to say it, but sometimes it comes right out. I have this notepad on my phone, which we all have, where I’ll jot things down. Here’s a recent one: “They should bundle all streaming services and call it cable TV.” Someone’s probably thought of that before though. The more unique something is to you, the better.

This story appears in the October issue of  Deseret Magazine .  Learn more about how to subscribe .

Jim Gaffigan talks Nashville, his struggle with hot chicken and insulting marching bands

Jim Gaffigan is calling Nashville from Costa Rica — not the first place you expect to find a stand-up comedian who famously jokes about his pale complexion and propensity for getting severe sunburns.

But as it turns out, traveling close to the equator is actually a strategic move for the father of five. He had a gig in Mexico City during spring break for several of his kids, and turned the trip into a tropical family vacation. 

The journey continues next week, when Gaffigan will have a very special opening act for his show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on March 30.

During our conversation — which he joked would add roughly $80 to his hotel bill — we talked about touring with his kids, an uncharacteristically controversial joke from his last Netflix special, his takeaway from presenting at the CMA Awards, and his love/hate relationship with hot chicken (who can't relate?)

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'This fat guy is gonna want this food'

The bit that put Gaffigan on the map some 20-plus years ago was an extended riff on Hot Pockets, and food has remained a constant in his career. In fact, when KFC was using a revolving door of comedians to play Colonel Sanders on TV, his turn involved promoting the franchise's new "Nashville Hot" variety.

A self-made poster for his Nashville show boldly proclaimed that all of the city's hot chicken was still "not enough," and that's dangerous talk when you're dealing with seriously high spice levels. 

"I love hot chicken, but I'm somebody who can't pace themselves. So later that night, you know, the 'bill comes due' for the hot chicken. But I'm still that guy that if I'm in Nashville, I'm going to get hot chicken. The question is, 'Before or after the show?' The smart thing would be to do it after the show. But given that the promoters are Outback (Concerts), and they're from Nashville, I think they're probably gonna give me some hot chicken (before). I did a show in Lafayette, Louisiana, and they brought crawfish. They're just like, 'Whatever the local specialties are, this fat guy is gonna want this food.' That's my equivalent of touring with an entourage, it's the food."

Concert review: Morgan Wallen courts superstardom with Nashville run but shows potential for more

His new opening act

Gaffigan's Bridgestone Arena date falls right in the middle of weeklong jaunt he's calling "3 Men and a Bus." He'll be traveling with friend and fellow standup Todd Glass, as well as his 16-year-old son Jack, who'll be on his spring break next week. Jack has introduced his dad on stages from Alaska to Florida, but it sounds like he'll be even more involved at these shows.

"Jack is really funny, and I want to just force him to do it so that he has some experience," Gaffigan says. "I come from a small town, and I didn't really have an opportunity to discover performing until I was like, 25."

A snark-free take on the CMAs

Gaffigan was last on stage at Bridgestone Arena in 2019 — as an unlikely presenter at the CMA Awards. (He and Blanco Brown gave the New Artist of the Year prize to Ashley McBryde). The female-centric show was one of the best CMAs in years, and Gaffigan walked away with a sincere respect for the Music Row world. 

"I was blown away by the whole experience," he says. 

"The opening number of that year had probably 12 of the best, biggest female stars in country music. Dolly Parton was there, Kacey Musgraves and just down the line, and there was no real hierarchy. There really is this sense in country music that you can support your fellow artists. And that's not to say that people don't support each other in other aspects of the entertainment industry, but it's kind of woven into country music, and it's really reflected."

That experience stood in stark contrast to the Grammy Awards, where Gaffigan presented two months later.

"It felt like a day in high school. The hierarchy was so clearly defined. And as a comedian, I'm grateful to even be at Grammys, but I feel like in country music, people check on their ego when they get together."

Courting controversy...with marching bands?

Gaffigan works clean, and generally steers clear of politics on stage. It was surprising, then, that a portion of his latest Netflix special ruffled a few feathers — more specifically, plumes sticking out of hats. 

"A marching band can take a song – it’s impressive, really – any song, and ruin it," he jokes in 2021's "Comedy Monster."

“They’re always rehearsing. It’s amazing how much effort goes into creating something that no one really likes…"

His distaste for marching bands likely stems from his childhood in Chesterton, Indiana, where the local high school's Trojan Guard band won the national championship in 1981.

"The weird thing is, I feel like people in marching band generally got it," Gaffigan tells The Tennessean. "But there were some angry people (laughs)."

"I'm not an 'Us and them' kind of comedian, like, 'Those idiots over there,' which some comedians do.  But you’d be amazed about what people will be upset about. I always imagine, where are they in that situation when they're consuming it? I mean, are they going through a divorce? Are they 70 years old, and think that I'm being disrespectful of this time with my children? You're not going to please everyone. That's for sure."

His next special is planned, but still being written

In October, Gaffigan will tape his next stand-up special in Tampa, Fla. Which of the 50 streaming services will carry it? "I think the expectation is Netflix," he says. "But you never know."

What material he'll tackle next is also up in the air. He's already done the pandemic:  "Comedy Monster" had some sharp, gap-bridging material on emerging from lockdown life before Delta and Omicron sent him back in.  

"The pandemic is like a TV show you thought was canceled," he jokes on the special. "And then it got picked up by Netflix.

"Standup is very much self assignment," Gaffigan says. "And so that's the assignment that I've given myself, which is great, because otherwise I would just eat and watch TV. And I really do love coming up with new material, which is always a terrifying thing. It's a parallel to even performing stand up. It's like, 'Why put yourself in this position where you can humiliate yourself?' But the reward is so gratifying. Fear is a motivator. That's kind of my parenting style, too."

If you go: Jim Gaffigan performs at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, March 30. The show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets start at $34.65.

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Jim gaffigan: barely alive tour.

Diane and I drove to the Sheas’s Performing Arts Theatre at 5:00 P.M. and joined 2000+ Jim Gaffigan fans for Gaffigan’s Barely Alive Tour. Gaffigan had five performances in Buffalo–including an 8:00 P.M. show after our 5:00 P.M. show–and all of them sold out. Clearly, Western NY is Jim Gaffigan Country.

For those of you who watched Gaffigan’s 2023 Dark Pale comedy “Special” on AMAZON Prime Video (you can read my review here ), some of those routines were recycled on the Barely Alive Tour stand-up comedy.

Gaffigan repeated his jokes about Pat Sajak of Wheel of Fortune and told the story of his family getting a dog…despite his wife’s allergies to dogs. Gaffigan also explained his weight loss. He’s on Mounjaro (“Way better than Ozempic!”). However, people come up to Gaffigan’s wife asking, “Does Jim have cancer? He’s lost so much weight!”

Ted Alexandro, a comic who told us that he’s been doing stand-up for 30 years, 6 of those as the opening act for Jim Gaffigan, had the audience laughing for about 25 minutes. Most of his jokes concerned the life-style of being a 60 year-old comic married to woman who does psychic readings. They also have two toddlers.

Alexandro, followed by Gaffigan, delivered about 90 minutes of humor to an appreciative audience. Are you a Jim Gaffigan fan? GRADE: B

12 thoughts on “ Jim Gaffigan: Barely Alive Tour ”

So, the live standup was a lot better than his Amazon Prime show? I like him well enough, but his Wal-Mart ads are pretty lame.

Fred, Diane and I liked Gaffigan’s live standup act better than his AMAZON Prime Video show. The AMAZON show had a long, rambling story about a hot air balloon that wasn’t funny and seemed pointless.

I like his tv specials—although I didn’t see the Amazon Prime show which, iirc, was universally panned—and I’ve never seen him live (the twins went to one of his shows a couple of years ago and loved it). Humor can be a very subjective thing, dependent on so many elements, but Gaffigan (in 60-minutes doses) usually makes me laugh.

Deb, Diane and I have gone to standup performances with opening acts…and none at all. When we saw Jerry Seinfeld, he just walked out on stage and had us laughing for 70 minutes.

Yes, big Jim Gaffigan fan. I bought and read his book, DAD IS FAT. I didn’t think hsi last special was quite as good as previous ones (B is about right), but I’d watch any new one he did.

Over the years we have gone to see a number of comics live, though not Gaffigan – Robert Klein, Rodney Dangerfield (both of them more than once), Steve Martin (after “King Tut” – also twice), Lewis Black, Judy Gold (not strictly a stand up routine, but her one woman shows), probably others. Who doesn’t like to laugh? And laughter is good for your health. One of the people who made me laugh the hardest with his outrageous material was the late Robert Schimmel. I literally could not breathe.

Besides “King Tut,” we saw Rodney do “Rappin’ Rodney.” A lot of comics are frustrated singers, and Robert Klein always ended his set with a couple of songs. After all, he started as a singer with the Teen Tones, and he claims they lost on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour to a one-armed accordionist.

We’ve also seen:

Elayne Boosler – free concert. She was funny.

Jackie Mason at the height of his Jewish shtick before he went totally Trumpster. He was hilarious.

Lewis Black was still doing his Starbucks stuff then

The first time we saw Steve Martin was ca. 1978 at what was then the Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey. He was doing the “arrow through the head” and “let’s get small” stuff. He was, believe it or not, the opening act for Andy Williams, of all people, and most of the crowd was there to see him. There were a few of us Steve Martin fans scattered through the crowd, some with arrows through their heads, and we made a lot of noise.

Then Andy came out with his backup singers and started doing the theme from Rocky “Gotta Fly Now” – and we and our friends left.

Then “King Tut” came out and Steve sold out Radio City Music Hall. Now who’s out of place?

Jeff, sadly, I’ve seen very few comics live. Diane likes Steve Martin and I like Martin Short so we went to their live event at Shea’s a couple years ago. We saw Jerry Seinfeld live twice. He was great!

The last standup comic I saw was George Carlin circa 1973! Gaffigan’s name is familiar but I’ve never seen him, hermit that I am!

Bob, you need to get out more.

Most of my live comedian shows have happened after I was pulling down enough, after the first few years at TV GUIDE, to be able to budget for this…most often at this point, I’ve seen Jackie Kashian, Maria Bamford, and everyone else is a pretty distant third, though I’ve caught shows with Nikki Glaser, Michelle Billoon, Tig Notaro, Jimmy Pardo and Matt Belknap (the latter, as his co-podcaster, is more comedian-adjacent), Todd Glass, Eddie Pepitone and others. I like both Gaffigan and Alexandro pretty well, but I wouldn’t pay the fee to see them in the kind of place they’d perform, I suspect.

And it’s odd that I managed to forget Jackie’s podcast partner, and definitely a comedian, Laurie Kilmartin. One of the relative few that Alice and I have seen live, as Alice until recently has been Very Much Not a Night Owl (and she’s still not nearly as much of one as I am).

This week’s JACKIE AND LAURIE SHOW: https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/jackie-and-laurie-show/

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Jim Gaffigan is a seven-time  Grammy  nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer, two-time  New York Times  best-selling author, three-time  Emmy  winning, top touring performer, and multi-platinum-selling recording artist. He is known around the world for his unique brand of humor, which largely revolves around his observations on life.

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Jim Gaffigan: The Fun Tour at Chicago Theatre

Jim Gaffigan: The Fun Tour

Jim Gaffigan is a five-time Grammy nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer, two-time New York Times best-selling author, two-time Emmy winning top touring performer, and multi-platinum-selling recording artist. He is known around the world for his unique brand of humor, which largely revolves around his observations on life.

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Jim Gaffigan , the comedian from Indiana, was performing live at the DTE Energy center. I would say that his performance highlighted his unique style. Jim speaks really well, and I can appreciate that as did every member in the audience. He was in tune with the audience who were always very amused or laughing a lot. His performance was very good, cracking jokes about being a father of many and being from Indiana. His jokes would be funny to almost everyone, that’s just the guy he is. You can be from any place and you would be laughing at his comedy wholeheartedly. His type of jokes are just relatable to any person, from any walk of life in my opinion. He is not only a gifted comedian, he entertains and is in sync with the crowd. It feels like we are all having fun together. The performance was outside, and many hundreds crowded around to hear his amazing performance. It felt very relaxed sitting by the comedian or just sitting on the grass a bit further away. Overall, it was just quality entertainment. His jokes are very relatable and you’ll find yourself laughing and having a god time for certain.

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Jim Gaffigan’s Quintessentially American Comedy Gets Darker and Better

He’ll still joke about fast food. But on “Dark Pale,” his 10th stand-up special, his evolution as a comedian is apparent.

By Jason Zinoman

Have we gotten Jim Gaffigan wrong all along?

A Midwestern-born father of five, Gaffigan is known for clean, family-friendly stand-up on the most inoffensive subjects (kids, food). He’s safe enough to open for the Pope and regularly grouse on “CBS Sunday Morning.” But his consistently funny new special “Dark Pale,” his 10th, pushes against that vanilla image. The pandemic, he tells us, has made him question mortality, and in one wonderfully macabre bit, Gaffigan, dressed in a black suit and shirt, imagines his own funeral. He wants an open casket, with him sitting up, crumbs on his shirt, arms occasionally rising like a marionette while a recording of him says, “Don’t worry, I’m in a better place” before adding, “Just kidding. I’m here.”

It’s an unexpectedly creepy visual, and after telling you about cremation, Gaffigan adopts his signature second voice, a gravelly whisper that operates like a critic in the crowd, asking: “When is he going to do the food jokes?”

It’s easy to miss if you aren’t a fan, but Jim Gaffigan has been on a roll. Already prolific, he’s become more so, putting out five specials in six years, with this new one on Prime Video the best of the bunch. Instead of resting on his laurels, he’s getting more ambitious. There are still jokes about chain restaurants (he calls Starbucks “an upscale unemployment office”). But the bristling tone and intricacy of the jokes demand attention, if not revaluation. He’s telling us in the title (his third using the word “Pale”) that he’s got heavier things on his mind than fast food. After revisiting his deep trove of material released over the past couple decades, what’s clear is that he always did.

Gaffigan’s patient delivery was there from the start, but his early albums might surprise those who only know his famous persona. He cursed, talked about sex and came off more as an annoyed son than a grumpy family man. In a 2015 interview with Marc Maron , Gaffigan said his earliest acting experience was pretending to be happy when his dad came home. This hints at his most fertile theme: The endless American capacity for denial.

His tone had shifted by 2006, when he had his first special, “Beyond the Pale,” which included his signature bit complaining about Hot Pockets. This set the course for a career of food jokes, with so many of them about how the cheap pleasures of eating fast food overpower our knowledge that it’s bad for us. At its best, like his bit about McDonald’s (“Momentary pleasure followed by incredible guilt eventually leading to cancer”) he broadens his sights to make points about our disposable culture. When he applies his comic eye to hotels or hospitals, he sees the lengths we go to to ignore how the towels were used by thousands of strangers and the gowns worn by the countless deceased.

Gaffigan, now 57, can seem like Jerry Seinfeld (the pair are actually touring together this fall) in his sticky phrase-making — an elevator is a “casket on a string” — and the ordinariness of his subject matter. His focus on single subjects can be knowingly, preposterously long. Who else does 10 minutes on horses? There’s an element of showing off — look at how I can make foliage funny — but also the excessiveness, the stubborn commitment of it, gets its own laughs. Gaffigan’s comedy has always been meta. His new special starts with a moody nighttime landscape that pans back to reveal itself as being inside a picture frame.

He constantly interrupts his jokes to comment on them and plays with expectations through formal trickery. (In a stunt that could have shown up in an early Steve Martin bit, he had a piano onstage for his last special so he could fool us into thinking he could play it.) Another common move is saying he’s pandering before doing the opposite. My favorite of this genre is when he told the crowd in his reasonable moseying tone that he was the salt of the earth before stating: “I just want a regular old private jet.”

Along with food, Gaffigan’s most consistent subject is religion. “Dark Pale” features an impression of a peevish, cocooned God shouting at his beleaguered assistant that his messages of climate disasters were not getting through (“I miss the days when you could send a plague and people would listen”). He sprinkles jokes about the Bible or Jesus into his specials. What he doesn’t do is organize them into a thematic, coherent hour, as if he’s making a grand statement. Gaffigan’s old-school act is allergic to anything that might seem pretentious, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t challenge himself. He plays with form by taking conventional bits that unravel into nonsense instead of building to a punchline and even turned his wife’s cancer diagnosis into material.

His new work reveals his move into more storytelling, elaborate act-outs and jokes built on deceptions (“My parents aren’t vaccinated. They’ve been dead for decades, but enough with the excuses!”). He’s also become slightly more political in the Trump era, even letting loose an uncharacteristic rant on social media addressing Trump supporters: “I’m sure you enjoy pissing people off, but you know Trump is a liar and a criminal.” His jokes make the point with a lighter touch, poking fun at how quickly we moved from panic to indifference over Covid. Gaffigan now performs the kind of interweaving jokes that only a seasoned comic could pull off. In his new special, he does bits about Starbucks, bells and diarrhea and then quilts them together. These are less like standard comic callbacks than variations on a theme. It’s the work of a pro.

The only time you see Gaffigan strain is in his personal material. When he moves into stories about his childhood in the second half of the special, you wish he had a director to draw him out. Then again, his buried anger is such a source of his comedy that you wouldn’t want him to go too deep.

In some ways, Gaffigan’s work gives you a better picture of the country than it does of himself. His comedy, rooted in a performance of buffoonish arrogance, is quintessentially American, a mixture of cynicism and innocence, cheerful salesmanship with an undercurrent of despair. Exploiting his wholesome image, he reserves his fiercest and most ridiculous anger for classic but mundane Americana. Last special, he raged against marching bands; this time it’s hot air balloons. If Gaffigan was a musical, he’d be a high-concept revival of “The Music Man” that teases out its bleaker themes.

In one bit that really resonates from this latest special, he considers a recent plane crash. He tells us that it took three minutes from nosedive to impact. In a minimum of words for maximum impact, Gaffigan places us inside the ill-fated aircraft, imitating the passengers screaming and screaming before pausing to wonder whether they could actually keep it up.

“Three minutes is a long time,” he said, his voice turning from yells to croaks to quiet. “You know someone on the flight rang the flight attendant button.” Then he impersonated a woman asking for a free drink before plummeting to her doom.

It’s a nice metaphor for how Americans handle crises. We scream for only so long, then we find ways to move on. Is this delusion or realism? Probably both.

An earlier version of this article misstated the number of children Jim Gaffigan has. It is five, not six.

How we handle corrections

Jason Zinoman is a critic at large for The Times. As the paper’s first comedy critic, he has written the On Comedy column since 2011. More about Jason Zinoman

Inside the World of Comedy

After two strokes, the stand-up Keith Robinson has recovered enough to make a new special. If anything, his health crises have sharpened his humor .

Conan O’Brien is setting a new standard for what life after  late-night can look like. (Hint: It’s a lot like what he did on talk shows.)

Crowd work has grown more common, with some comedians now focusing their acts on it and sharing clips of their exchanges with audience members. But some comics say it takes away from the craft .

After he hit superstar status for his 2021 musical comedy, “Inside,” Bo Burnham has been conspicuously quiet. But he's managed to turn his supposed absence into a performance .

Netflix is giving comedy the live treatment . Sometimes that’s a good thing, as with John Mulaney’s variety show “Everybody’s in L.A.” But the Katt Williams special and Tom Brady roast were more uneven.

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Things to Do | Grandstand review: Jim Gaffigan brings skillful…

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Things to do | grandstand review: jim gaffigan brings skillful gallows humor to the state fair.

So what did Gaffigan decide to spend the first quarter of Tuesday night’s one-hour monologue at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand talking about? Death. Yes, for his first visit back to the Fair since before the pandemic, he decided to address a topic that you wouldn’t think easily mined for laughs. But he did so, and in quite funny fashion, too.

It kind of makes sense when you ponder that Gaffigan often builds his act around common experiences. And let’s face it: There’s no event more universal than death. And perhaps it’s particularly top of mind as the pandemic continues despite behavior that might suggest otherwise. As Gaffigan said, “Like many of us, I used to know an anti-vaxxer.”

But it was probably the funniest discussion of death that any of the 9,052 folks in attendance will have all year, and precisely what many of them needed. Was it edgy? Well, gallows humor is an ancient art, but Gaffigan did demonstrate his skill with it by pushing scenes into absurd realms.

Such as imagining what it must have been like to be on a jetliner that recently went into a nosedive for three minutes, speculating that the captain and passengers may have all been seeking some return to normalcy by minute three with calming cabin announcements and bad old in-flight habits. And then there was Gaffigan’s most outrageous bit of the evening, his proposed reality show called “Dead or Cake?”

As his 16-year-old son said in introducing him, Gaffigan has inherited the mantle of “America’s dad” once worn by Bill Cosby, who clearly isn’t using it anymore. That’s because so many of Gaffigan’s stories center around parenthood. And he does possess something of an Everydad persona, being a fairly laid-back, middle-aged, Midwestern-bred guy with a bit of paunch in his polo shirt and khakis, sharing stories from his family vacations and other travels, and making observations about the curiosities of modern American life.

Stylistically, Gaffigan has a lot in common with Jerry Seinfeld, although he’s much mellower and less incredulous. And he has a clever way of breaking the proverbial fourth wall by channeling the imagined internal responses of audience members to some line he’s just delivered, beating critics to the punch.

For example, he summoned up a mythical scenario in which “Montezuma’s revenge” was an actual ancient Aztec curse, but quickly voiced an imagined response from a Grandstand patron hoping that Gaffigan would be talking about more than death and diarrhea.

Building off myths also led to one of the best extended bits of the evening, as the comedian posited the possibility that the past few years’ difficulties have been messages from a conventionally biblical God that humankind must affect some changes or perish. And it was a grumbly God, with a voice comparable to Lionel Barrymore playing Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” calling down plagues and fires, but seemingly not getting anyone’s attention.

While Tuesday night’s monologue could have built to a stronger climax with a rush of strong material, it instead petered out a bit with talk of the price of cellphones. But Gaffigan was nevertheless very enjoyable company, the kind of clever storyteller you’d love to have regaling you with tales at a backyard barbecue.

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Jim Gaffigan’s The Pale Tourist is a pleasant trip

Jim Gaffigan may be one of the least controversial comedians of our time. A family man and a lover of food, his comedy rarely stumbles into blue or even political territory. His best jokes rely on simply making as many people laugh as possible. The philosophy of “funny is funny” serves him well in The Pale Tourist , his latest two-part special for Amazon.

One special takes place in Canada, the other in Spain, and in both Gaffigan answers the question: “What if the five minutes of city-specific material at the top of every comedy show was actually the entire show?” It’s possible that no one was asking that question, but nonetheless it’s a pleasant experiment. Throughout his international tour, Gaffigan spent extra time taking in the sights, sounds, people, and, of course, food of each country he was in, using that intel to create a completely new hour of material specifically tailored to that country’s audience. It may sound a little gimmicky, but it’s an admirable challenge for a stand-up who’s been in the game for three decades and a welcome break from jokes about America’s current moment—though Gaffigan can’t help but throw in a few jabs at his own country and its obnoxious residents.

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The trickiest thing about this approach is avoiding the “ugly American tourist” trap. On the surface, the optics of a white, American man coming into say, Spain, to tell jokes about Spanish culture aren’t great. But Gaffigan proves he’s done his homework and isn’t there to skewer anyone (well, maybe a few Americans along the way); he’s using this method to connect with people in the cities he visits. And for the times when he’s worried he may have crossed a line, he employs a tried-and-true Gaffigan bit: the high-pitched, whisper voice of the audience as an aside. “This guy’s a jerk,” he’ll say with a side-eye. “A jerk who’s done research.”

Part one takes place in Canada, arguably an easier leap to make from U.S. audiences, and all the funnier for it. He hits on some expected targets like Canadians’ politeness, hockey, and poutine, the last of which, though, is especially on brand for Jim Gaffigan: “What if we covered it in everything that causes heart disease? Let’s do it, we have free healthcare.” But as the set goes on and Gaffigan gets more comfortable knowing he has the audience on his side, he dives into hyper-specific references. Because of the research he’s done, the jokes not only hit hard in the room, but also serve as entertaining lessons about lesser-known aspects of Canadian culture for the at-home audience.

Part two in Spain is a little slower out the gate. The cultural divide is wider, and Gaffigan seems to be making that larger leap a little more trepidatiously with a quieter, more reserved presence on stage. Again, he starts off with some obvious targets—Spanish people’s touchy-feely nature, siestas—using a Spanish accent at times that adds to the discomfort of poking fun at aspects of a different culture. This is the only time things feel borderline inappropriate, and it’s as if Gaffigan knows he’s treading potentially dangerous waters, waters he certainly isn’t used to. But with encouragement and laughter from the crowd, he grows in confidence as he moves on to the more nuanced jokes and observations about specific cities, celebrations, and, yes, cuisines in the country.

The true marvel is that there is no overlap in either set. That might sound obvious based on the premise, but even the format feels completely new each time, not as if there was some sort of Mad Lib template into which Gaffigan simply punched new, nation-specific words. Even the material about his general experiences with traveling or jokes about his family feel fresh each time. It makes you wonder how many other countries he tried this approach in—even if the sets weren’t as successful as the two that made it into the special, it’s an impressive feat to even attempt to write that much new material about topics you’re not familiar with, an exercise that can only make Gaffigan a better comic.

The Pale Tourist is not the most raucous or laugh-out-loud comedy special from Gaffigan. But thanks to his ever-present charm, friendly approach, and endless relatability, the feel-good pair of specials reminds us that the funniest jokes are the universal jokes. Sure, the sets specifically relate to the countries he’s in, but more than geography, they speak to the human experience and all relate back to the core of any Jim Gaffigan act: jokes about family, food, and the absurdity of humanity.

No laughing matter: You can see Jim Gaffigan’s ‘Barely Alive Tour’ in Buffalo this month

• Updated: Feb. 01, 2024, 9:19 a.m. |
• Published: Feb. 01, 2024, 9:18 a.m.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan will perform five shows, Feb. 8-10, 2024, at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. He is seen here at the Fox Theatre in Detroit in 2022. (Photo by Andrew Potter | 313Presents)

• Deb Kiner | [email protected]

Comedian Jim Gaffigan will be in Buffalo, New York, with his “Barely Alive Tour” Feb. 8-10, 2024.

The show will feature “all new material.”

Gaffigan has been nominated seven times for a Grammy Award and has won three Emmys. He is a best-selling author, recording artist and actor.

Shows are at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8; 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9; and 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 at Shea’s Performing Arts Center.

You can find tickets here - Stubhub , Vivid Seats and SeatGeek . Prices start around $35.

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Jim Gaffigan: Barely Alive Tour

Encore at wynn las vegas.

Actor and comedian Jim Gaffigan continues his hilarious “Barely Alive” tour on the Las Vegas Strip with selected dates in September 2024 at the Encore Theater.

Jim Gaffigan is a seven-time Grammy-nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer, two-time New York Times best-selling author, three-time Emmy-winning top-touring performer and multi-platinum-selling recording artist. He is known around the world for his unique brand of humor, which largely revolves around his observations on life. Gaffigan is the first comedian to reach one billion streams on Pandora.

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Information.

2024 Dates ‍

• September 4-7 ‍
• Performances commence at 8:00 PM

Venue Details

• This show performs at the Encore Theater, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore.

Show Duration

• This performance lasts approximately 90 minutes.

Age Requirements

• Guests under 12 years of age are not permitted.
• Guests 12-17 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

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Fourth Show Added: February 29

The Feb. 29 performance has the most seats available. Tickets are also available at the Portland'5 Box Office . Service charges apply.

Jim Gaffigan: Barely Alive Tour

Fourth show added february 29 at 7pm.

Jim Gaffigan is a seven-time Grammy nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer, two-time  New York Times  best-selling author, three-time Emmy winning top touring performer, and multi-platinum-selling recording artist. He is known around the world for his unique brand of humor, which largely revolves around his observations on life.

Gaffigan is a top ten comedian according to Forbes ’ most recent comedy list and top ten earning comedian in Pollstar ’s 2022 list. He released his 10th comedy special,  Dark Pale , this year on Amazon Prime Video, an unprecedented achievement for the comedian/actor. Dark Pale  was met with critical fanfare with The New York Times calling it, ‘his best yet.”

In 2021 Gaffigan released his 9th special,  Comedy Monster , on Netflix which was nominated for a Grammy Award. He was also recently awarded for being the first comedian to reach one billion streams on Pandora.

Gaffigan can currently be seen as the lead in the well-reviewed Sci-Fi dramedy,  Linoleum , and stars as Mr. Smee in Disney’s  Peter Pan and Wendy , opposite Jude Law and Yara Shahidi. He will also co-star Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, James Marsden, and Hugh Grant in Netflix’s  Unfrosted , and co-stars in  Susie Searches  which premiered at TIFF last year and in theaters this summer. Also premiering this summer, Gaffigan joined the cast of HBO Max’s  Full Circle , a limited series from Steve Soderbergh and Ed Solomon which follows an investigation into a botched kidnapping connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day NY.

On the silver screen, his many credits include  Three Kings ,  Super Troopers 1 & 2, and  Chappaquiddick . 2019 was Gaffigan’s biggest year to date with an astonishing eight films releasing, three which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival including  Troop Zero  with Viola Davis and Alison Janney,  Them That Follow  and  Light From Light  – with many festival goers and press calling Gaffigan the “King of Sundance.”  Gaffigan was also recently heard in Disney/Pixar’s highly anticipated animated film,  Luca , opposite Jacob Tremblay and Maya Rudolph.

Gaffigan also had two films recently in which he debuted as the lead. The comedic film  Being Frank , and  American Dreamer , a dark thriller which was the grand finale of 2019 for Jim and features him as a ride share driver who moonlights as a private driver for a drug dealer.

Gaffigan can also currently be seen opposite Ethan Hawke in IFC Films' Tesla , as well as opposite Josh Hartnett in Saban Films’  Most Wanted .

In addition to two seasons of the critically acclaimed semi-autobiographical  The Jim Gaffigan Show , which he wrote and produced with his wife Jeannie, Gaffigan has guest starred on many television comedies and dramas, ranging from  Portlandia  and  Bob’s Burgers  to the HBO cult hits  Flight of the Concords  to dramatic roles in  Law & Order .

Gaffigan regularly does humorous commentaries on  CBS Sunday Morning  for which he has won 3 Emmys. In 2018 Jim served as master of ceremony at The Al Smith Memorial dinner. In 2015, Gaffigan had the great honor of performing for Pope Francis and over 1 million festival attendees at the Festival of Families in Philadelphia.

Gaffigan and his wife currently live in Manhattan with their five loud and expensive children.

For more info on the tour, go to:  jimgaffigan.com/tour-dates .

Keller Auditorium : Upcoming Events

Broadway in Portland presents the musical  Company at the Portland'5 Keller Auditorium July 16–21...

Ben Platt: The Honeymind Tour

AEG presents actor/singer Ben Platt, The Honeymind Tour with guest Brandy Clark, at the Portland'5 Keller...

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars LIVE

Voss Events presents RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars LIVE at the Portland'5 Keller Auditorium on Sunday,...

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True West presents rock duo Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo at the Portland'5 Keller Auditorium on Tuesday...

Kevin Hart: Acting My Age

Live Nation presents Kevin Hart: Acting My Age at the Portland'5 Keller Auditorium Saturday, August 24,...

Broadway in Portland presents Peter Pan at the Portland'5 Keller Auditorium August 27–September 1...

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Portland'5 News

Portland'5 Hosts Art About Agriculture Competition and Touring Exhibition

View 60 jury-selected artworks from artists representing 20 counties throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho in the Hatfield Hall lobby through December 31, 2023.

Experience 'Wild Spaces'—Paintings by Linda Robertson & Kimberly Kent—through October

Wild Spaces , a collection of paintings by Linda Robertson and Kimberly Kent, is on display at the Portland'5 gallery, in the lobby of Antoinette Hatfield Hall (1111 SW...

Portland’5 Employee & Volunteer Appreciation Art Show

Portland’5 Employee & Volunteer Appreciation Art Show is on display in Hatfield Hall through August 23, 2023 and celebrates the many hardworking individuals that keep the...

Jim Gaffigan Excited to Help ‘Unknown Comedian’ Jerry Seinfeld on Joint Stand-Up Tour

By Jon Blistein

Jon Blistein

Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan will link up for a special run of arena shows this fall.

The joint, four-date stand-up tour will kick off Nov. 3 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, followed by stops in Los Angeles (Nov. 4) and Chicago (Nov. 10). The run will wrap Nov. 11 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

Tickets will go on sale next Friday, June 16, at 10 a.m. local time, though several presales will take place starting June 14. Full info is available on Gaffigan and Seinfeld’s respective websites.

In a statement, Seinfeld said of the tour, “Jim and I met doing Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and have been talking about doing this for years. We finally made the schedules work out.” 

Meanwhile, Gaffigan cracked, “I’m so excited to help out this unknown up and upcoming comedian who many may have never heard of. I know it will be an amazing bunch of shows.”

Seinfeld is also reportedly finishing up his new movie, Unfrosted , a comedy about the creation of the Pop Tart, partly inspired by his famous stand-up bit about discovering the breakfast treat as a kid. Seinfeld directed and co-wrote the movie, which will be his first major film project since the 2007 animated flick Bee Movie . Unfrosted will star Gaffigan, as well as Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant, James Marsden, Jack McBayer, Tom Lennon, Adrian Martinez, Bobby Moynihan, Max Greenfield, Christian Slater, and Sarah Cooper.

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Marsden also offered a few details about the movie in a recent interview with Rolling Stone , saying, “I love the story, it’s the race to invent the Pop Tart in the early sixties. I was playing a ridiculous character, Jack LaLanne, who was the first television fitness guru guy back in the 1950s. I knew him only because later in life he was swimming from Alcatraz towing 70 boats in his mouth. I’m in a full-on leotard with dance slippers. You don’t gotta put a nickel in me if the character is ridiculous. The more absurd the character is, the more I’m gonna jump at the chance to do it. They’re literally giving me pin curls with a curling iron, and I was like, ‘Yeah, sign me up.'”

Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan Tour Dates Nov. 3 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center Nov. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum Nov. 10 – Chicago, IL @ United Center Nov. 11 – St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center

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Hakeem Says JaNa Is the "Mastermind" of ‘Love Island USA’ Season 6 [Interview]

10 tv shows that are perfect from start to finish, the 10 best house flipping shows, ranked, the big picture.

• Full Circle is a six-episode Max series that follows an investigation into a botched kidnapping and the secrets surrounding it.
• Jim Gaffigan plays the role of Manny Broward, a U.S. Postal Investigation Service agent in the series, and discusses the subtext and character development in the scripts.
• Gaffigan's character has a toxic dynamic with Zazie Beetz's character in the series that explores generational conflict and the consequences of their actions.

[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Full Circle.] From director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon , the six-episode Max series Full Circle follows an investigation into a botched kidnapping, the individuals connected to it, and the secrets that have long been hidden. As the puzzle pieces come together, revelations make the three seemingly unrelated storylines take shape as a more intertwined crime drama that runs as deep as the ties that bind family.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Jim Gaffigan (who plays Manny Broward, the U.S. Postal Investigation Service agent who is Harmony’s supervisor) talked about the subtext throughout the scripts, expanding his role after filming began, the shifts that happened to his character as things evolved, the toxic dynamic he got to explore with Zazie Beetz , and how he feels about the fate of his character.

This interview was conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Collider: This is such a fascinating character study. It’s one of those projects where, as the audience, we start not knowing what’s going on or how any of the pieces, which really are these characters, fit with each other. How much did you know? Were you able to read it all, or did you just trust that Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon know what they’re doing?

JIM GAFFIGAN: I read the whole thing, but that being said, Ed writes with a lot of subtext, so it’s not immediately apparent, what’s going on. It was fun to go in, particularly at the beginning, and try to piece it together. I thought it was just me, but I’d be sitting with Zazie [Beetz] and be like, “Wait a minute, who is Garmen Harry?” And I’d have the same thing with Claire [Danes]. You didn’t wanna not have that piece of information. The mathematics of it were very similar to going into a final exam, and then turning to someone and saying, “When did they kill Trotsky? I think I know that, but I’m not sure.” Maybe there’s a better example, but it was really fun. It was fluid. We shot a couple of days, and then they were like, “We’re gonna add your character for a couple more days.” There was an excitement around it because things were changing and being fleshed out and clarified. It was similar to being at a birthday party, as a little kid, and you’ve opened up all your presents, and then you realize, “Oh, there are two more presents?” So, there were two more days that they added on.

How much did those additional days change things for your character?

GAFFIGAN: There would be shifts on what would happen to a character. At one point, my character was killed by a machete, but you didn’t see it. And then, they were like, “Now, your character is gonna get shot,” and you did see that. With Ed Solomon, and with Steven, I would ask them, So, why are we not seeing this, but we’re now seeing this?” They were like, “Another person was killed with a machete, and we don’t wanna portray him as too barbaric. We also don’t wanna weaken the impact of him taking the machete to Garmen Harry.” I was like, “Oh, that’s interesting.” They were like, “We wanna reach a point where his behavior is heroic, and not like he’s this out of control lunatic now.” It was really fun. Because it’s so multilayered, you would find out a piece of your backstory in episode five. Sometimes you could develop a timeline, but then that piece of the timeline would be removed, even though it was ingrained in your memory.

Because this was such dense material to work with, how did that affect the way that you approached it?

GAFFIGAN: I definitely wanted to work with Steven Soderbergh, but I was like, “He’s a postal inspector and he’s Zazie Beetz’s boss. Am I gonna be just doing exposition?” The writing is so dense, and it’s not that, but there was this great scene that was explaining all this stuff when I was in interrogating Xavier, and they got rid of it because, what I imagine because no one has told me this, it was too much exposition just to be exposition, like the Dateline recap after the commercial break. But selfishly, I loved it because it was a couple page speech. It was fun.

There’s something so weird and toxic about what’s going on between your character and Zazie Beetz’s character. What was it like to explore that with her?

GAFFIGAN: She’s great. Some of it is knowing what we learn about Manny in episode one versus what we eventually learn about him. In episode one, Mel is bad-mouthing him and painting this picture of what Manny is like. We know from seeing the whole series that, in a lot of ways, she was exactly right. I wasn’t gonna play that. Some of it was in the writing, but I didn’t want Manny to be just this boss that was a problem. So, in that initial scene, it was very apparent that I’d rather have the audience build empathy for this mid-level boss that’s dealing with the maverick employee. I also saw it as an opportunity for a generational conflict, where it was this Gen X guy, dealing with the millennial that didn’t wanna wait their turn.

How did you feel about the fate of your character?

GAFFIGAN: I also love the fact that, in Ed Solomon’s writing, there are dimensions to these characters. The reason Manny doesn’t initially turn in this psych eval is because that would have been a death sentence for her. It would have ended her career. He didn’t turn it in because he is a nice guy. He didn’t hold it back because he knew that it was a piece of leverage that he could use, if she ever found anything out. He did not expect anyone to ever find out about his involvement in the Guyana cover up stuff. Even at the end, when he talks to Sam at the park and she is like, “There’s no proof,” he’s like, “Oh, then all we have to do is nothing.” In this show, with the crimes or the misdeeds you do in the past, karma comes back. But for Manny, he doesn’t think that he’s gonna face the consequences. In a way, his death is a way out of the true consequences of his corruption.

Full Circle is available to stream at Max.

• Full Circle (2023)

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‘my life with the walter boys’ book is getting a sequel – how will it impact season 2 of netflix series, comedy dynamics acquires tony rock’s debut stand-up special ‘rock the world’.

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EXCLUSIVE : Comedy Dynamics on Wednesday announced its acquisition of Tony Rock : Rock the World , the debut special from comedian Tony Rock, for release later this year.

Rock detoured from his “Rock The Mic Comedy Tour” to tape the special at The Long Beach Laugh Factory. In it, he offers a fresh take on post-pandemic life, covering Black culture, gender, and relationships.

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Stated Brian Volk-Weiss, Founder and CEO of Comedy Dynamics, “I’ve wanted to work with Tony Rock my whole career, and I still can’t believe this is. They better put seatbelts on the La-Z-Boys!”

A comedian, actor and producer known to some as the younger brother of comic Chris Rock, who has been performing stand-up since the late ’90s, Tony recently starred on CBS’s sitcom Living Biblically and has also been seen on series like Everybody Hates Chris and All of Us . Notable feature credits include Killing Hasselhoff and Think Like a Man .

Also seen hosting for programs like HBO’s All Def Comedy and NBA TV’s The Warm Up , along with BET’s Black Card Revoked and Apollo Live , Rock hosts the podcast Live from the Green Room and is also the founder of the MyROCK Diabetes Foundation, a charity organization established in honor of his late father.

Most recently announcing its acquisition of specials from Raanan Hershberg and Tommy Tiernan, Comedy Dynamics has also previously put out stand-up from the likes of Ali Wong, Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Jim Gaffigan and Pete Davidson, among others. Additionally, the company has produced Netflix’s Daytime Emmy Award-winning series Down to Earth with Zac Efron , among many other projects for film and TV.

Rock is represented by Independent Artist Group and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.

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