Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we will offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more.
Does it matter where a comedy special is recorded?
Absolutely, given that traditional stand-up relies on audience reactions to sell the experience, and that the mood of the crowd can dictate tone. In Denver, we’ve got some of the best crowds in the country, comics have told me repeatedly, thanks to our smart, not-easily-offended audiences, but also our willingness to party and laugh.
Over the years, we’ve become a mecca for stand-up albums and specials and, as such, many of my all-time favorites were recorded here.
Maybe you’ve seen some of the big, recent shows taped in Denver: Brian Regan’s 2018 special “Nunchucks and Flamethrowers,” or Tom Segura’s “Disgraceful” (both from the Paramount Theatre). Englewood’s Gothic Theatre has grown especially popular, despite (or perhaps because of) its relatively small capacity of 1,100. See releases from national crushers Roy Wood Jr., Iliza Schlesinger, Steve-O (of “Jackass”), and Mo Mandel.
My favorites tend to be from Denver comics, who can stand side-by-side with the best of them. All three members of Denver’s Grawlix comedy troupe (see their HBO Max-streaming sitcom “Those Who Can’t”) have recorded in Denver, both at the Bug Theatre — Adam Cayton-Holland’s “I Don’t Know if I Happy” and Andrew Orvedahl’s “Hit the Dick Lights” — and Comedy Works (Ben Roy, multiple sets).
Josh Blue, the “Last Comic Standing” champ who’s come to represent Denver’s scene to many audiences, recorded his fifth (and best?) album, 2020’s “Broccoli,” at Comedy Works. Coming up, and great-looking: L.A. comic Billy Wayne Davis, a Denver favorite, and his special recorded at the International Church of Cannabis, as well as Nikki Glaser’s November taping at the Paramount Theatre (releasing in May on HBO). The hilarious, boundary-pushing Kurt Braunohler also taped an album at the Gothic Theatre last year that I’m dying to hear.
On the national side, I’m a fan of Amy Schumer’s 2016 Bellco Theatre show, which resulted in her first Netflix offering, 2017’s “The Leather Special.” Comic, host and all-around delightful human Ron Funches also notched his first album recording at Comedy Works in 2015 (“The Funches of Us”).
There’s no shortage if you want more, particularly from Comedy Works. Now-huge and/or revered stand-ups have made it their taping home, resulting in albums like Dave Attell’s “Skanks for the Memories,” a classic by any standard, and releases from Kathleen Madigan, Dov Davidoff, Greg Giraldo and Doug Benson, along with newer names such as Natasha Leggero, Nick Thune and Chris Voth.
Denver’s just that funny.
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