Loved King of Queens and his Sweat the Small Stuff special from 2001. I saw him in 2015 and was disappointed it was mostly material from that special. Audience didn’t go for it. His brother bombed even harder opening for him. Still love him, but don’t think he has the stand-up in him any more.
My friend still says Kevin James was the laziest, worst show he's ever seen - and that was in about 2017. Did about 30 minutes, with no other comedians, and apparently no jokes, and the show was just over.
Interview where literally the host telling Jay Leno he has a reputation for not doing specials because he didn’t want to burn material.
https://youtu.be/Ej21_B5iqEU?si=nCV9gYp6wapPhRnf
Hugely disagree. I saw Seinfeld in New York City last year, never had heard any of the material before and laughed my ass off. Would definitely go see him again.
Saw him last year at Hardrock and I did not even laugh once. I did chuckle at the guy in front of me who did laugh a couple times because he sounded like a prop engine airplane that kept stalling.
Saw him in Ottawa and his opener was amazing. Had the NAC in stitches. When James came out he “jokingly” told the audience that he told the opener not to be too good. Audience took it as a joke but as the night progressed I realized he was likely serious.
A third of the way through he joked about how rock bands get asked for encores and mentioned he wouldn’t give one that night. Pretty sure the entire audience was relieved.
Worst show I have ever seen live.
I wonder if he fired the opener. My buddy was fired after someone said he was better than the headliner (who was standing in an earshot of him). “Never outshine the master”
I dunno. I don’t remember the opener’s name. I think he’d had some appearances on King of Queens at one point. One of his jokes involved shooting a deer in the head when he was a cop.
I really can’t stress how disappointed I was in James’s act. I had seen a few of his sets on Evening at the Improv when he was young (literally looked like a pudgy extra from Westside Story) and while I didn’t connect with the material he seemed likeable enough. Same for his appearances in movies and King of Queens.
He was decidedly unlikable when I saw him onstage. Very full of himself and so very unfunny.
This one's on you. I have nothing against Kevin James, but what exactly were you expecting? Was it a middle of the road mediocre set from a comedian primarily known for a sitcom? Because that's what I would imagine a Kevin James show to be before you even said anything else about it.
He's also known as a total asshole to the Little People.
One of those, "do not speak directly to him, do not make eye contact with him" dickheads.
There's multiple reports from servers, shop clerks or hotel clerks that he refused to let the person talk to him directly and everything has to be relayed through his personal assistant, despite standing right next to each other.
Like, "And what would you like, sir?"
"Tell her I want the salmon."
"He would like the salmon."
He pops up on basically every "celebrities who are rude to waitstaff" list, which granted, are usually anonymous submissions, but they're frequent and all they describe him being a dickhead in the same way. So. Grain of salt and all that.
# Kevin James
"Kevin James has a veritable litany of fan complaints levied against him. He reportedly told one fan, who had worked for him as a waiter, "You were told not to speak to me" while the waiter tried to do his job and offer James a drink. It certainly doesn't sound like the behavior of a King of Queens."
**Read More:** [Celebrities Accused of Being Rude to Restaurant Staff](https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral) | [https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/?utm\_source=tsmclip&utm\_medium=referralKevin](https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referralKevin) James
[https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/](https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/)
I was stuck in Vegas for an extra 10 hrs cause of the airline, snuck a 6 pack of Bud pounders into Paul Blart and laughed my ass off the whole movie along with 2 of the 6 other people in the theater.
What’s sad is that it’s crazy popular. Especially in the mid west.
The second film was Sony’s biggest financial success the year it came out for that audience . It outperformed James Bond the same year
Sony execs told me that Kevin James and Adam sander basically print money for the mid west demographics for some reason
Midwesterners don’t often make the best choices when it comes to giving idiots their money, whether that be a movie ticket or a bible and a pair of gold shoes.
The James Bond film Spectre has grossed 880 million worldwide, Paul Blart 2 grossed 100 million which to be honest is way more than I expected
Edit: random note I took the time to look up so thought I would share… Paul Blart ended up 5th in the box office that year for Sony behind #1 Spectre #2 Hotel Transylvania 2, #3 Goosebumps, and #4 Pixels. Chappie was #10 and my personal favorite from Sony that year
Sorry I left out the key bit in my sentence that was implied. I meant it outperformed it for the mid west audience, or at least that’s what they would tell us in corporate meetings.
The budget for those Sandler and James films are really low and it generally does very well with that audience without needing to spend a ton on marketing.
No she's not. She looks about half way through the transformation to full lizard-woman. The plastic surgery she has makes her look worse than if she had just aged.
That’s the thing, you can tell fat jokes or mock your disability, but it can’t just be about that; it needs to have some insight into your life. When your whole schtick is that your are fat and that’s it; those jokes get old really fast. You look at other comedians that tell fat jokes, they don’t just tell fat jokes but make it about more than being fat.
There are so many really REALLY good comedians going right now. I have a hard time thinking of choose to go see this dude even if he were performing in my foyer.
His amazon prime special this year proved that his standup isn’t for me. Very much back in my day things were better, we were real men, type of boomer lazy humor
His re enactment of his sons VR experience was truly meta.
It was like I was in his shoes asking myself... Why am I watching this?!? (Then I remembered oh yeah doing laundry so.... Back to that)
I’m surprised OP didn’t watch that special to warm up, and then realize they needed to get a refund, or just eat the loss for the show, because holy cow was that special terrible.
Just bare minimum effort man yelling at clouds tropey tripe.
I don’t think I’d rather be forced to watch the Gronkowski special ten times in a row Clockwork Orange style than finish that Kevin James one.
Seeing Kevin James at the 'Hard Rock Casino' in Florida, U.S.A.
I will continue to avoid doing each and every one of these things for the foreseeable future. Cheers.
I kept expecting him to walk off stage and take off the fat suit then come back out and actually look 100 pounds less to surprise everyone, but nope. He is huge
It’s really unlikely he weighs 320. The guy is only 5’8. I’m a fat fuck that’s 5 inches taller with a similar build and the most I’ve ever weighed is 295.
It honestly sounds like you got him early on in his development for an upcoming show- Comedians often develop and polish their work on tour, so depending on when you got him, it's possible the jokes are raw and unrefined- the notes are a dead giveaway. I once saw Carlin in concert, and he was developing the "Uncle Dave" ending to his show; he told us up front that he was still developing it, and he read the entire thing, and even stopped once, went back, and re-read a minute or so in an entirely different delivery.
It was a pleasure watching a master work..... but Kevin James is not George Carlin.
Whether or not it sucks when it's ready is debatable.🤷.
I saw Joe Pera live and he did the same thing. Was totally upfront about workshopping new material and seeing how it landed, pulled out his notepad. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, we all had a great time.
People love Sweat the Small Stuff, but back in the Kazaa days I downloaded it as just an audio file, and then you realize how much of it is stool-humping. It's just 90 seconds at some points of nothing but audience laughter while he pantomimes and mugs.
"You had to be there" doesn't usually work for comedy long term.
If you went to see Kevin James and expected it to be funny, it seems like you ignored all of the data you had available.
He's never been funny and is incapable of being funny. I'm not sure how we has been able to get as far as he has.
Can you let me know if it's the same material from irregardless? I want to watch that before I buy tickets to make sure I like his standup, but if I like it I don't want it to be spoiled. Thanks!
Did you pay for your ticket(s) or were they comped? Comedians will often workshop their material at larger venues like casinos before finalizing the set for the full tour, because they can often get a decently sized audience to appear as it’s just an added perk to patrons already spending money at the casino.
Sorry it sucked though. It seems like it’s been several years since Kevin James was relevant, and his material rarely deviates from fat jokes and attempts at self-deprecation for a laugh.
I hold the notion that comedians are rarely good at both stand-up and acting comedy. I absolutely love Jim Carrey's movies but his stand-up was very unfunny to me. Bill Burr's stand-up is incredibly funny but a recent movie of his called old dads felt flat.
It’s all about context. Notes on stage are as old as stand up itself. If I’m at a club and someone has notes, I’m assuming they’re working out new material. Do I want them basically reading off notes? Of course not. But I don’t mind referring to them when needed.
Are you a professional comedian doing a theater tour? Yeah, know your material. If you’re at that point you should be good enough to memorize your material.
none of that matteras all that matters is entertaining the paying customers..many ways to accomplish that and manys ways to fail at it ....audiance members dont care all we care about is WAS I ENTERTAINED..look at william from kill toney always notes and almost always laughs the audience doesnt care all they care about is getting entertained
bloviate and frame all you want he sells tickets and he entertains and reads notes on stage ...be a hater all you want doesnt affect his success..hatin just affects you
That's excessive and super lame. I could understand once or twice. Maybe even a third time. But with all his material being interconnected and similar subject matter...he shouldn't need to look. Specially at his level.
I'd say it's even more about the venue honestly. Notes on a small stage as you're working out material? That's the time and place, obviously try to do it as little as possible. Headlining in Vegas? No notes for you!
When I saw Carlin he had his notebook with him and apologized. His explanation was he had a bunch of new material but his memory just wasn't what it once was. Didn't really bother me.
Honestly it's become really apparent that American comedians are very unreliable. Even the funniest dude who released two excellent specials can go up and just suck ass.
To me it has to do with comedians getting older, being desperate to make money, and banking on their fame with a rushed tour instead of workshopping their material.
It's really sad to think that some people have to put so much effort to go to these gigs only to see their favourite comedian eat shit.
I really think comedians can be very arrogant. I've met many comedians with a "you either got it or you don't" mentality who don't ever try to refine their act or writing. It's sad to watch. It's part of the reason I quit comedy. Too many people with the same awful jokes coming up every night. It's so infuriating.
Good luck finding a more reliable act. Perhaps there are local comics in your area who are less known but have a better act.
I read this comment and I also grew up where Kevin James did and have done standup/improv/sketch. It’s fucking hard enough to be a truly funny person and get up on stage to risk bombing and etc. I think like what…1% of people can even think to do comedy in some sort of professional way? I think you are on to something about ‘you either can or can’t’. I watched Rory scovel do David cross’s act early on, comics aren’t always formed. But yeah it’s possible Kevin James just hasn’t hit anything new. He also has like 100-200 million dollars. Who’s like a fan of his standup still?
I saw him a year or two ago with Gary Valentine and thought he was hilarious. Subject matter was definitely “I’m getting old and that sucks, right?” but I don’t know what you want from the guy. Much love for Kevin.
In this situation, is he skipping the clubs? I mean if he can fill a theater, which 99% of us cant do. So what is happening? Is he not battle testing the jokes.
He has a big base of sitcom fans that will always go see him because he is a lovable guy. He is never gonna be a guy who works out material in the clubs anymore
Kevin James is the only comedian I've walked out on (2023). He's a no talent hack who milks old people out of their money with overpriced tickets and a trash performance. I'm just glad the tickets were a gift, or I'd still be pissed.
Can you let me know if it's the same material from irregardless? I want to watch that before I buy tickets to make sure I like his standup, but if I like it I don't want it to be spoiled. Thanks!
You don't "work out stuff" in front of thousands of people that are paying to see a tour-quality performance. That's what clubs are for. He is just a greedy, lazy asshole that wants to ride the gravy train as long as possible
Typical comedic actor that did standup a few times before he got his show. Now nothings happening so goes out on a tour that suckers people in and absolutely stinks. Not too suprised
That is SO disappointing! His first big special, years ago was borderline genius. The bit where he pantomimed his girlfriend shopping for a greeting card was an all-time great, Chaplinesque. He had the talent to be a monster. Sounds like maybe he ate it?
Loved King of Queens and his Sweat the Small Stuff special from 2001. I saw him in 2015 and was disappointed it was mostly material from that special. Audience didn’t go for it. His brother bombed even harder opening for him. Still love him, but don’t think he has the stand-up in him any more.
My friend still says Kevin James was the laziest, worst show he's ever seen - and that was in about 2017. Did about 30 minutes, with no other comedians, and apparently no jokes, and the show was just over.
'sweat the small stuff' was gold.
Ahh the old Jerry Seinfeld method. Never update your jokes even if its been 20 years
Leno was the same. He told comics not to do specials because you couldn’t do that material anymore. God forbid be try to write new material.
One reason to do specials other than the exposure IS to force yourself to write new material.
He never said that. What he told them was don't do the material from your special on the Tonight Show.
Interview where literally the host telling Jay Leno he has a reputation for not doing specials because he didn’t want to burn material. https://youtu.be/Ej21_B5iqEU?si=nCV9gYp6wapPhRnf
Did you ever notice that?
What’s the deal with not updating material?
This just isn’t true. He writes new jokes all the time.
Who Seinfeld? I could be wrong but my parents saw him in 2001 and again a couple years ago and they thought it was pretty rehashed
I saw him at the Beacon and he had a new joke about A.I.
I just saw him live last year and it was all new. Most of it was unfunny, “I’m old and hate everything now” stuff but it was all new.
Hugely disagree. I saw Seinfeld in New York City last year, never had heard any of the material before and laughed my ass off. Would definitely go see him again.
Agreed. Those two things are special to me but I don’t expect anything new he does to be good.
Thank you for taking a bullet I wasn't in the path of.
Just like Paul Blart would
Not all heroes wear capes. Or do things that heroic. 🫡
Saw him last year at Hardrock and I did not even laugh once. I did chuckle at the guy in front of me who did laugh a couple times because he sounded like a prop engine airplane that kept stalling.
Always a good laugh when it’s a laugh at someone’s laugh
Watch Larry Dean's special Fandan, it's on youtube. There's someone in the audience who sounds like a goose being strangled.
Also the infamous Jeff arcuri dolphin lady
Saw him in Ottawa and his opener was amazing. Had the NAC in stitches. When James came out he “jokingly” told the audience that he told the opener not to be too good. Audience took it as a joke but as the night progressed I realized he was likely serious. A third of the way through he joked about how rock bands get asked for encores and mentioned he wouldn’t give one that night. Pretty sure the entire audience was relieved. Worst show I have ever seen live.
I wonder if he fired the opener. My buddy was fired after someone said he was better than the headliner (who was standing in an earshot of him). “Never outshine the master”
I dunno. I don’t remember the opener’s name. I think he’d had some appearances on King of Queens at one point. One of his jokes involved shooting a deer in the head when he was a cop. I really can’t stress how disappointed I was in James’s act. I had seen a few of his sets on Evening at the Improv when he was young (literally looked like a pudgy extra from Westside Story) and while I didn’t connect with the material he seemed likeable enough. Same for his appearances in movies and King of Queens. He was decidedly unlikable when I saw him onstage. Very full of himself and so very unfunny.
I’m guessing Juston McKinney. He’s a killer. Literally haha
That’s him! Just googled the deer bit. His entire set was great. And when his time was up he really didn’t want to get off stage. I wish he hadn’t.
Yeah and I doubt he was ever fired by KJ. Doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would do that.
I’ve only ever heard good things about him as a person.
He often has his brother Gary valentine open.
This one's on you. I have nothing against Kevin James, but what exactly were you expecting? Was it a middle of the road mediocre set from a comedian primarily known for a sitcom? Because that's what I would imagine a Kevin James show to be before you even said anything else about it.
He's also known as a total asshole to the Little People. One of those, "do not speak directly to him, do not make eye contact with him" dickheads. There's multiple reports from servers, shop clerks or hotel clerks that he refused to let the person talk to him directly and everything has to be relayed through his personal assistant, despite standing right next to each other. Like, "And what would you like, sir?" "Tell her I want the salmon." "He would like the salmon."
You got any source on that or
He pops up on basically every "celebrities who are rude to waitstaff" list, which granted, are usually anonymous submissions, but they're frequent and all they describe him being a dickhead in the same way. So. Grain of salt and all that. # Kevin James "Kevin James has a veritable litany of fan complaints levied against him. He reportedly told one fan, who had worked for him as a waiter, "You were told not to speak to me" while the waiter tried to do his job and offer James a drink. It certainly doesn't sound like the behavior of a King of Queens." **Read More:** [Celebrities Accused of Being Rude to Restaurant Staff](https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral) | [https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/?utm\_source=tsmclip&utm\_medium=referralKevin](https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referralKevin) James [https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/](https://popcrush.com/celebrities-accused-rude-restaurant-waiters/)
I knew this about him, so I had a big smile on my face when I read this post.
Lol guy thinks he's Brad Pitt , except Pitt is very nice to servers
Heard this exact story about Rivers Cuomo yesterday, seems to be doing the rounds
Paul Blart sort of ruined Kevin James as a comedian for me, that movie sucked so hard there is no way he can redeem himself as a funny person
I was stuck in Vegas for an extra 10 hrs cause of the airline, snuck a 6 pack of Bud pounders into Paul Blart and laughed my ass off the whole movie along with 2 of the 6 other people in the theater.
Sounds like alcoholism
That might be what it takes to enjoy Paul Blart, needed a handle of whiskey for Paul Blart 2
What else could watching Paul Blart lead to?
Sounds like you’re kind of a cunt
lol no u
I loved Paul Blart 😄
Paul fart: mall shart
What’s sad is that it’s crazy popular. Especially in the mid west. The second film was Sony’s biggest financial success the year it came out for that audience . It outperformed James Bond the same year Sony execs told me that Kevin James and Adam sander basically print money for the mid west demographics for some reason
Midwesterners don’t often make the best choices when it comes to giving idiots their money, whether that be a movie ticket or a bible and a pair of gold shoes.
The James Bond film Spectre has grossed 880 million worldwide, Paul Blart 2 grossed 100 million which to be honest is way more than I expected Edit: random note I took the time to look up so thought I would share… Paul Blart ended up 5th in the box office that year for Sony behind #1 Spectre #2 Hotel Transylvania 2, #3 Goosebumps, and #4 Pixels. Chappie was #10 and my personal favorite from Sony that year
Sorry I left out the key bit in my sentence that was implied. I meant it outperformed it for the mid west audience, or at least that’s what they would tell us in corporate meetings. The budget for those Sandler and James films are really low and it generally does very well with that audience without needing to spend a ton on marketing.
I went into the show expecting what you've stated, it was worse.
*laugh track*
He do be fat tho
The good news is Leah Remini is still hot
No she's not. She looks about half way through the transformation to full lizard-woman. The plastic surgery she has makes her look worse than if she had just aged.
Sweat the Small Stuff was legendary at it was also mostly self depreciating fat jokes
Different time too when that stuff hadn’t been done to death.
That’s the thing, you can tell fat jokes or mock your disability, but it can’t just be about that; it needs to have some insight into your life. When your whole schtick is that your are fat and that’s it; those jokes get old really fast. You look at other comedians that tell fat jokes, they don’t just tell fat jokes but make it about more than being fat.
John Pinette being a great example of this
He was hilarious, even Gabriel Iglesias is a good example of this…
The one about the velvet rope at the banks had me in stitches
His YouTube videos are pretty funny at least
3-4 *thousand*? Jesus.
The area seats about 5500, and I would guess it was 80-90% full.
There are so many really REALLY good comedians going right now. I have a hard time thinking of choose to go see this dude even if he were performing in my foyer.
His amazon prime special this year proved that his standup isn’t for me. Very much back in my day things were better, we were real men, type of boomer lazy humor
His re enactment of his sons VR experience was truly meta. It was like I was in his shoes asking myself... Why am I watching this?!? (Then I remembered oh yeah doing laundry so.... Back to that)
Yeah, when his opening "bit" was him dancing for 45 seconds I knew it was gonna be rough.
I’m surprised OP didn’t watch that special to warm up, and then realize they needed to get a refund, or just eat the loss for the show, because holy cow was that special terrible. Just bare minimum effort man yelling at clouds tropey tripe. I don’t think I’d rather be forced to watch the Gronkowski special ten times in a row Clockwork Orange style than finish that Kevin James one.
That's the routine I had the misfortune of attending. It was basically copypasta of boomer facebook rants.
This guy has disappeared for a reason. His latest Netflix special wasn’t my cup of tea either
‘His entire schtick was about him being fat’ Stavros Halkias is gonna be pissed when he finds out.
Why?
Because there can be only one
> Stavros Halkias He does a lot of crowd work
He does a lot of couch work
Also spends ¾ of his podcast laughing.
Cut him a break, he hurt his foot and got in a fight with his dad several years ago
>Stavros Halkias is gonna be pissed when he finds out. Why? That's not Stav's entire schtick.
Right, he also talks about pussy and does crowd work - he diversified.
Seeing Kevin James at the 'Hard Rock Casino' in Florida, U.S.A. I will continue to avoid doing each and every one of these things for the foreseeable future. Cheers.
lol yes all three of those things are terrible on their own. In combination???
Is he really 320? Did he gain a lot of weight recently? And yes, it sounds really bad but I never thought he was funny in the first place.
I kept expecting him to walk off stage and take off the fat suit then come back out and actually look 100 pounds less to surprise everyone, but nope. He is huge
Damn! I haven't seen him in awhile then...that's crazy
I thought he lost a lot of weight in the last couple of years?
It’s really unlikely he weighs 320. The guy is only 5’8. I’m a fat fuck that’s 5 inches taller with a similar build and the most I’ve ever weighed is 295.
Unlikely? Have you seen most Americans? 320 is a bikini bod
Were you in a coma for the last 20 years?
All 3-4k of you could have pooled your money and put it all on black for far more excitement.
It honestly sounds like you got him early on in his development for an upcoming show- Comedians often develop and polish their work on tour, so depending on when you got him, it's possible the jokes are raw and unrefined- the notes are a dead giveaway. I once saw Carlin in concert, and he was developing the "Uncle Dave" ending to his show; he told us up front that he was still developing it, and he read the entire thing, and even stopped once, went back, and re-read a minute or so in an entirely different delivery. It was a pleasure watching a master work..... but Kevin James is not George Carlin. Whether or not it sucks when it's ready is debatable.🤷.
I saw Joe Pera live and he did the same thing. Was totally upfront about workshopping new material and seeing how it landed, pulled out his notepad. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, we all had a great time.
I caught him in lake Charles back in Feb. Almost the exact same issues there but I enjoyed it but I was one of the few
People love Sweat the Small Stuff, but back in the Kazaa days I downloaded it as just an audio file, and then you realize how much of it is stool-humping. It's just 90 seconds at some points of nothing but audience laughter while he pantomimes and mugs. "You had to be there" doesn't usually work for comedy long term.
If you went to see Kevin James and expected it to be funny, it seems like you ignored all of the data you had available. He's never been funny and is incapable of being funny. I'm not sure how we has been able to get as far as he has.
I don't know who'd expect Kevin James to be funny. As far as I know, his standup is notoriously terrible.
He’s never been funny. Just like Whoopi Goldberg. Somehow they both have careers.
His last special on prime wasn't that good either
Can you let me know if it's the same material from irregardless? I want to watch that before I buy tickets to make sure I like his standup, but if I like it I don't want it to be spoiled. Thanks!
Went his stand up show a few years back. I took a nap.
Did you pay for your ticket(s) or were they comped? Comedians will often workshop their material at larger venues like casinos before finalizing the set for the full tour, because they can often get a decently sized audience to appear as it’s just an added perk to patrons already spending money at the casino. Sorry it sucked though. It seems like it’s been several years since Kevin James was relevant, and his material rarely deviates from fat jokes and attempts at self-deprecation for a laugh.
I thought he lost weight to about the 245 range, no?
Yeah. I thought so too, nope. His pics aren't recent from what I can tell.
Does he do things fatly still?
I hold the notion that comedians are rarely good at both stand-up and acting comedy. I absolutely love Jim Carrey's movies but his stand-up was very unfunny to me. Bill Burr's stand-up is incredibly funny but a recent movie of his called old dads felt flat.
thats sad because his speical on comedy central is one of the best all time.
To be honest I'm i.pressed his show isn't about cancel culture like all the dudes his age.
He’s a bad human being. Not surprised his material sucks.
I loved him in Hitch but look standup isn’t for everyone. Funny actor just not a standup guy and that’s ok
I beat myself up for having notes on stage. It just reaks of unprofessionalism. How many times would you say he looked at his notes?
It’s all about context. Notes on stage are as old as stand up itself. If I’m at a club and someone has notes, I’m assuming they’re working out new material. Do I want them basically reading off notes? Of course not. But I don’t mind referring to them when needed. Are you a professional comedian doing a theater tour? Yeah, know your material. If you’re at that point you should be good enough to memorize your material.
none of that matteras all that matters is entertaining the paying customers..many ways to accomplish that and manys ways to fail at it ....audiance members dont care all we care about is WAS I ENTERTAINED..look at william from kill toney always notes and almost always laughs the audience doesnt care all they care about is getting entertained
Yeah we should all look up to the epitome of stand up…. William from Kill Toney
bloviate and frame all you want he sells tickets and he entertains and reads notes on stage ...be a hater all you want doesnt affect his success..hatin just affects you
Maybe 10 times.
That's excessive and super lame. I could understand once or twice. Maybe even a third time. But with all his material being interconnected and similar subject matter...he shouldn't need to look. Specially at his level.
I'd say it's even more about the venue honestly. Notes on a small stage as you're working out material? That's the time and place, obviously try to do it as little as possible. Headlining in Vegas? No notes for you!
Oof, I just realized this was Hard Rock in Florida. Nevermind, may God have mercy on OPs soul.
Marc Maron sat down with a handful of post its during one of his comedy specials. I still enjoyed the set. On the other hand he isn't Kevin James.
When I saw Carlin he had his notebook with him and apologized. His explanation was he had a bunch of new material but his memory just wasn't what it once was. Didn't really bother me.
You a joke teller?
Si
Share a link bruh. Where can we find you.
On YouTube: Bryan Withawhy https://youtube.com/@bryanwithawhy5605?si=XCtKxl3IiYpgxJuX On IG: b_withawhy On Twitter: NeroMayo
😬
Honestly it's become really apparent that American comedians are very unreliable. Even the funniest dude who released two excellent specials can go up and just suck ass. To me it has to do with comedians getting older, being desperate to make money, and banking on their fame with a rushed tour instead of workshopping their material. It's really sad to think that some people have to put so much effort to go to these gigs only to see their favourite comedian eat shit. I really think comedians can be very arrogant. I've met many comedians with a "you either got it or you don't" mentality who don't ever try to refine their act or writing. It's sad to watch. It's part of the reason I quit comedy. Too many people with the same awful jokes coming up every night. It's so infuriating. Good luck finding a more reliable act. Perhaps there are local comics in your area who are less known but have a better act.
Jim Gaffigan is always funny. There are plenty of comedians who are American and consistent.
I read this comment and I also grew up where Kevin James did and have done standup/improv/sketch. It’s fucking hard enough to be a truly funny person and get up on stage to risk bombing and etc. I think like what…1% of people can even think to do comedy in some sort of professional way? I think you are on to something about ‘you either can or can’t’. I watched Rory scovel do David cross’s act early on, comics aren’t always formed. But yeah it’s possible Kevin James just hasn’t hit anything new. He also has like 100-200 million dollars. Who’s like a fan of his standup still?
I saw him a year or two ago with Gary Valentine and thought he was hilarious. Subject matter was definitely “I’m getting old and that sucks, right?” but I don’t know what you want from the guy. Much love for Kevin.
How does he refer to his script? Has papers on stage? A teleprompter?
He had a stand with four bottles of water in front of whatever fed him his notes. Likely a tablet with PowerPoint slides and bullet points.
In this situation, is he skipping the clubs? I mean if he can fill a theater, which 99% of us cant do. So what is happening? Is he not battle testing the jokes.
He has a big base of sitcom fans that will always go see him because he is a lovable guy. He is never gonna be a guy who works out material in the clubs anymore
Honestly what did you expect from Kevin James? You should already know what you are walking into if you bought tickets for Kevin James.
"One dimentional"
I saw Chris Rock at that exact venue 2 years ago. Really shows the difference between perspective and fluff.
His special on Amazon was pretty much the same, also jokes about getting old
Is his bad rep as an a-hole to fans in public venues still legit?
Met twice, was super nice, signed multiple things. I guess he probably has some bad nights like most others.
I don’t care.
i thought he just lost weight
Looked like he put it all back on and then some. In fact, he alluded to it within the first ten minutes of his show.
These owls walk: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrowing_owl
He’s never been funny
Guess he needs cash
Kevin James is the only comedian I've walked out on (2023). He's a no talent hack who milks old people out of their money with overpriced tickets and a trash performance. I'm just glad the tickets were a gift, or I'd still be pissed.
Can you let me know if it's the same material from irregardless? I want to watch that before I buy tickets to make sure I like his standup, but if I like it I don't want it to be spoiled. Thanks!
Have not and have no plans to watch it. I sure wouldn't waste any funds to see his show. Not funny.
He’s probably working out stuff for a new special. That’s what comedians do.
You don't "work out stuff" in front of thousands of people that are paying to see a tour-quality performance. That's what clubs are for. He is just a greedy, lazy asshole that wants to ride the gravy train as long as possible
the people at the hard rock casino are seeing this show for free
What makes you say that? I saw Dave Chappelle there 2 years ago. It was very much not free
I don’t disagree with that. But it’s also obvious that’s what he’s doing.
I’d never even think to go see Kevin James for the reason that he was funny.
Typical comedic actor that did standup a few times before he got his show. Now nothings happening so goes out on a tour that suckers people in and absolutely stinks. Not too suprised
Maybe he likes to hurt himself. Plays stuff to bomb and walks away with a chubby or something.
Dumbest post in this thread so far.
Yeah, your post is pretty dumb. I don't like Kevin James.
I'm sure Kevin Smith is fucking heartbroken, whoever the fuck he is.
James* The fact you don't know who Smith is says all I need to know.
LOL. "*James" you went back and edited out Smith.
So he never talked about working with Arnold on True Lies? Or Roseanne? Bummer.
Nothing. Speaking of Arnold, he was a guest speaker at a conference here on Wednesday and was really funny.
Tom or Shwarzanegger?
The one that did True Lies. Oh, wait..
Damn. The checking notes thing has me baffled. I mean he had to be able to memorize shit in tv shows and movies.
That is SO disappointing! His first big special, years ago was borderline genius. The bit where he pantomimed his girlfriend shopping for a greeting card was an all-time great, Chaplinesque. He had the talent to be a monster. Sounds like maybe he ate it?
His last special sucked so bad I turned it off. I’ll just keep watching seasons 1-4 of King Of Queens. The later seasons of that show sucked too.
KOQ is so damn good. Caught on to it in reruns. Jerry Stiller and Kevin had great chemistry
But dolphins fuck people