If beds were made of bacon, comedian Jim Gaffigan would be in heaven.
On Sunday, Gaffigan performed in the West Gym to a crowd of 1,600 to 1,700 people, according to the estimation of Sandi Dube, vice president for University Programming.
Comedian Rich Brooks warmed up the crowd as he briefly talked about Internet dating and his home state of Tennessee.
Gaffigan took the stage soon after, opening with his trademark high-pitched, piercing squeals and yelps directly into the microphone. Once he had the audience’s attention, Gaffigan immediately began ragging on Ticketmaster and the $25 ticket price for his performance, using his popular fake audience voices.
Gaffigan’s act revolved around how lazy he is and food. In the first ten minutes, he discussed his love of being in bed, then meandered from his passion for actual bacon to a bit about Kevin Bacon. Gaffigan said that bacon bits are like ‘fairy dust’ to put on food ‘ they just make everything better.
On the topic of his laziness, Gaffigan got the most reaction out of the crowd when he offered this bit of wisdom: ‘It’s hard to find time to work out when you really don’t want to. I’m too tired from eating.’
Gaffigan poked fun at many different religious ideals including circumcisions and holidays. He said cutting down a pine tree and placing it in homes is the act of a drunk person.
Talking about how awkward postcards are, Gaffigan asked why he can’t just send a postcard to his neighbor.
‘It’d be a picture of me holding a shotgun and it’d say ‘I still live near you.’
Of course Gaffigan did not disappoint the crowd and closed the show with his popular Hot Pocket routine.
Talking about how disgusting he thinks Hot Pockets are, Gaffigan went into a brief tirade stating, ‘Did I eat it or rub it on my face? My back hurts. Did my watch stop?’
‘Two Hot Pockets come in a box, one to eat and regret, and the other to stay in the freezer until you move,’ he said.
He also said Hot Pockets can be used as a measuring tool to see how drunk he is. Gaffigan said he assesses how willing he’d be to eat it in order to gauge his level of intoxication.
Though the show didn’t sell out, tickets sold well at the door and UPB was pleased with the turnout.
‘I’m so freaking happy! It was a major success. Everybody here had a great time so that makes me really happy,’ Dube said about the event.
Riding high on the success of both his Comedy Central special and his DVD, Gaffigan stopped in Binghamton while on the Comedy Central: Beyond the Pale Tour.
No stranger to college students, Gaffigan has made numerous appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, often with new episodes of the ‘Pale Force,’ a cartoon with the duo as pale superheroes.
He is currently starring in the acclaimed TBS comedy ‘My Boys,’ and has also appeared in many Sierra Mist commercials opposite other comedians.
Gaffigan entertained both new and old fans with a new voice and a mix of recent and older material.
Ted White, a sophomore physics major, enjoyed the performance, saying there was no way it could’ve been bad.
‘Nobody dislikes Jim Gaffigan,’ said White. ‘I was surprised by the balance of new and old material.’
Jessica Busboom, a freshman biology major, was impressed with the new material.
‘It was awesome. It was good that he did some new material because I had the old material memorized,’ Busboom said.
Ashley Morgan, a sophomore English major and avid Gaffigan fan, agreed.
‘There was a lot from the Comedy Central thing, but it was still pretty good. Definitely not a disappointment ‘ and he’s dead sexy,’ she said.