Of all the food in Athens, Jim Gaffigan chose Avalanche Pizza as the fare to sample Thursday.
But instead of giving him the energy he was hoping for, the pizza made him lethargic — though it could have been something else Gaffigan ate that slowed his act at the first Convo Comedy Night.
“They gave me an (Ohio University) shirt, and I ate it. And it was delicious,” Gaffigan said. “Then they gave me another. And I ate it, too.”
The show was anything but slow and lethargic, however, as Gaffigan and Kenan Thompson entertained a crowd of about 5,300 students and Athens residents.
The show was the brainchild of Zach George, president of Student Senate, who was allocated $150,000 of leftover General Fee money for the show. His goal had been to have 5,000 students attend at $5 a ticket to cover operating costs.
“It was nice coming off a sold-out Phillip Phillips (concert) yesterday and this tonight — we were thrilled,” said Andrew Holzaepfel, associate director of the Campus Involvement Center, which helped organize the event. “They were both very funny. People just ate it up.”
The show was the biggest spring event Ohio University has held in The Convo in years, Holzaepfel said.
“Back in the day, they had comedy events in The Convo, like Jay Leno and George Carlin, (but that was) at least 15 years ago,” he said. “In recent history, we have nothing to compare it to.”
Last year’s Spring Convo Concert, headlined by Wiz Khalifa, sold 4,750 tickets, while the previous year’s Convo concert, headlined by B.o.B., sold about 2,900 tickets, according to previous Post articles.
The show was a success despite the fact Whitney Cummings, scheduled to be the event’s opener dropped out during the day Thursday due to illness.
Gaffigan was paid $65,000 for his performance, while Thompson took home $35,000, according to a previous Post article. Cummings’ $42,000 will stay with the surplus General Fee money allocated to funding the show; Holzaepfel said there are no plans yet for using the money.
Thompson, donning sweatpants and an Ohio Athletics T-shirt, opened the show instead, engaging the audience for about 35 minutes with a conversation about his past.
“I don’t know if you know this, but slime is delicious,” Thompson said, reminiscing of his time at Nickelodeon. “It’s cold and gets in the weirdest places.”
After Thompson brought up Fat Albert and the fact that he wore a fat suit, the jokes got dirtier.
“If you big, you probably big everywhere,” Thompson said, drawing big laughs. “I’m just kidding, that’s not true — except in my case.”
Gaffigan took the stage immediately after Thompson, running more than an hour as he made fun of the college lifestyle and brought his standard food gags.
“No one’s ever drank a shot and done something they’re proud of,” Gaffigan said. “Like, ‘Hey, I got wasted last night and built some low-income housing’ — that never happens.”
Gaffigan’s standard Hot Pocket quips and high-pitched bacon yell also made their way into his performance.
George didn’t stop grinning during the entire show.
“I was absolutely ecstatic about the turnout from students and community members, and I was even more pleased (with the comedians),” he said. “To see 5,000 students laughing and having a good night at this comedy night hosted by Student Senate and the CIC … was very rewarding.”
dd195710@ohiou.edu
