Gabriel Iglesias

[Paint_It_Black]

I just got home from a Gabriel Iglesias show. It was freakin' awesome. I had no idea he would be that good. He was on stage for about two hours and I believe he genuinely lost track of time because he was enjoying himself so much. I think this was his first time in England and he really seemed to be having a great time. He did all new stuff for most of the show then at the end he asked if anybody wanted him to do any of his old stuff. Suddenly all these people are yelling out various bits of his which he graciously performs while a significant percentage of the audience say the jokes along with him. He was really surprised that so many people knew his stuff, and seemed surprised that people were yelling the jokes along with him. Maybe that's not a common thing? I have no idea, I don't see many famous comedians. He said it was the closest he'll ever get to being something like a rock star. The whole atmosphere of the show was excellent. Gabriel comes across as a really genuinely nice guy and it soon feels like a small gathering of friends sharing anecdotes rather than a professional performance. And this is a very, very good thing.

Early on in the show a drunk guy in the front row kept trying to get Gabriel to take a large glass of some kind of hard liquor from him. Gabriel patiently explained that he doesn't drink during a performance because the performance suffers. The guy kept pushing it. Gabriel eventually offered to pay the guy's bar tab all night if he'd just go away and I think he meant it. Got a little awkward for a moment. But here's the awesome part. At the end of the show Gabriel downed the drink and shook the guy's hand. Really impressed.

After the show I was waiting outside with my friend, just waiting for his girlfriend to catch up. Suddenly these two extremely drunk but very nice young ladies start talking to us, trying to get us to go party with them. Once they realized my friend had a girlfriend I got the distinct impression they didn't really mind if it was just the three of us. At this point I had been awake for about 30 hours, hadn't eaten in about 20 hours, and had only had one drink during the show. So, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I left them with nothing more than a hug. The highly important moral of the story? If you're a fat guy and want casual sex thrown at you, hang out outside a Gabriel Iglesias show. It's awesome.

[Llamas]

Aren't you married and live in the US? I'm confused...

[randman21]

Yeah, didn't realize you'd moved back!

I passed up the opportunity to see him for five bucks at my university a few months ago. Too broke. Sad days, but everyone I know who went couldn't stop raving about him for a while. I've been following him for ages, and he's always struck me as the most humble, awesome guy who would hang out with each of his fans if he had the time.

Suddenly all these people are yelling out various bits of his which he graciously performs while a significant percentage of the audience say the jokes along with him.

That's almost a unique feature of his audiences. He has an extremely loyal fanbase. I'm pretty surprised to find out that extends overseas, too, though.

Oh, and did you guys know he used to be on "All That"? Blew my mind when I saw an old episode.

[XYlophonetreeZ]

I'd always assumed he was horrible, because he's promoted on Comedy Central alongside so many other people who are, and they seem to do a particularly good job of making the ads look like he's an unfunny member of the crowd that appeals to fans of Carlos Mencia and Larry the Cable Guy. But then I watched some of his material on Youtube and discovered he's pretty damn good. I'd probably pay to see him if he came to my hometown, as well.

[Paint_It_Black]

I'd always assumed he was horrible, because he's promoted on Comedy Central alongside so many other people who are, and they seem to do a particularly good job of making the ads look like he's an unfunny member of the crowd that appeals to fans of Carlos Mencia and Larry the Cable Guy.

Yes, exactly. The fact that he can do impressions and make funny sounds seems to have blinded Comedy Central to the fact that he's actually got surprising depth and charisma. I also never had any interest in him for that reason and then one time I had the chance to go see him (which I sadly passed up) and checked out some of his stuff on Youtube. I particularly enjoy his racist gift basket bit. So then when I had the chance to see him today I figured I'd better not pass it up twice. Man, even watching his stuff on Youtube didn't remotely prepare me for how good he actually is.

That's almost a unique feature of his audiences. He has an extremely loyal fanbase. I'm pretty surprised to find out that extends overseas, too, though.

Apparently people traveled from all over the country to see him. I saw a few people wearing his tour shirt that they presumably got in London, his only other UK appearance. Before the show I had shown some of his stuff on Youtube to my friend and his girlfriend. Particularly the bit with the cop and the donuts, the bit about being pulled over and playing the theme from Cops, and the racist gift basket. He made numerous references to all those bits, and I could see my friend and his girlfriend were loving it because already it had taken on the quality of old anecdotes amongst friends, somehow. So I don't know, quite a few members of the audience might have just done the same thing, checked him out briefly on Youtube and then gone along because it was relatively cheap and local. But some of them clearly were familiar with all his old stuff and had traveled a long way for the show. But anyway, I bet everyone left there considering themselves a fan. His general positivity is contagious. Everyone was ridiculously cheerful and hyper afterwards, like we'd all been drugged.

It's awesome that he's building international recognition. Apparently it was really hard for him to break out of the American southwest as nobody was willing to give him a chance in other regions. But now he's touring an ever increasing number of countries and even visited Saudi Arabia and spent time being entertained in a palace by a prince. Oh, and he's going back in January. And he's just so damn nice. He doesn't do mean jokes. He doesn't pick on audience members. He doesn't do anything particularly rude or vulgar. He doesn't need to. I mean, my favourite stand-up is Doug Stanhope. So I wasn't expecting to love this guy at all.

Ugh, sorry if this is a mess. I've lost count of how long I've been awake now. On a bit of a manic thing.

Oh, and Bri, I'm separated and living back in the UK now. Specifically Nottingham for the moment.

[_Lost_]

I'm intrigued. I'm gonna have to check this guy out.

[Offspring-Junkie]

I just know him from Ray William Johnson, he hosted a couple of shows and they're all scripted (by RWJ), so it wasn't that awesome. I do think his own stuff performed by himself is funnier though. Any recommendation?