Jim Gaffigan at Nissho Hall, March 29th 2019

Stand up shows by international comedians are rare in Japan, when this one was announced I didn’t hesitate to get a ticket. Seeing stand up live, delivered from a true comedian, is an experience unlike any other when it comes to entertainment. I would say that is similar to watching a horror movie in the sense that your body will respond in ways that it’s not used to. Adding to that, the live aspect of it makes it even more unique and exhilarating. I enjoy watching the specials on Netflix, but the few opportunities that I’ve had of seeing stand up live have been a whole different thing altogether. You’re in a room laughing along with a group of people for over an hour or so while reflecting on the absurdity of most things. That’s hard to beat.

I was looking forward to this show so I got there early. It was my first time at Nissho Hall which is a serviceable appropriate venue, not far from the fancier Suntory Hall. Once inside it felt like if I was in another country with lots of Caucasian people in it. Over 95% of the audience were non-Japanese, it’s usually the other way around. Got to my seat, which was second row center, not too shabby, and a seven sharp the opening comic was announced. It was a Japanese comedian who did material focusing mostly on how westerners perceive Asians.

The opening act finished his 15 minutes and immediately afterwards, without any bells and whistles, we heard the announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Gaffigan!” He walked to the stage unceremoniously and proceeded to open the show taking shots at his appearance, as he usually does at the start of his other specials. He did a bit about tucked and untucked shirts that was quite funny.

The first part of the show was probably material exclusive to this Asian tour, because it dealt mostly with his observations of the culture during his trips to the area. The bulk of it was funny, but not really that hard hitting. You could tell by the more deadpan delivery, and Gaffigan is far from being a deadpan comic, that this material needed some work. The high pitched whispering character that he uses to represent the audience’s inner voice is mostly gone and its brief appearances emphasizes the whispering aspect to the point that you can barely hear what he says.

Things got tighter with anecdotes about an emergency operation he underwent while hiking in the woods in Alaska. That story connected with one of my favorite bits in his hour, when he described an encounter with a bear in the woods. At one point the story went meta with Gaffigan questioning the veracity of it as well of that of most of his material. It would have been really interesting to see him exploring that path with with the wittiness he used in one of my favorite stand-up bits of all times, his McDonald’s routine, but this commentary ended up just being a brief parenthesis. If one thing was missing from this particular hour was social commentary that felt more transcendent than a succession of anecdotes. Of course seeing a comedian of this caliber intertwining stories, transitioning smoothly from one to the next, it’s a treat. What was missing was that special point that would make this experience and unforgettable one.

After an hour and five minutes the show ended in the same unceremoniously way it started. Jim ran backstage after thanking the audience and never came back. I was hoping for a Hot Pockets encore but it seemed like the people there were in a hurry to leave. As soon as Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind started blasting over the PA system, they took it as a cue for running to the exits. Bear in mind that there was no congested parking situation here. All in all it was fun, but in honesty I didn’t quite get that stand-up thrill I experienced in other shows. I hope that comedians like Gaffigan will keep coming to Japan in the near future.

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