"Comedy Bang Bang!" Live Once Again Does Not Miss

For the third time in the past five years I was able to see "Comedy Bang! Bang!" live last night. This is my favorite podcast to listen to. It was one of the first ones I found when I dove into the world of podcasts, and it is the one I've stuck with for the longest time. I think it is hilarious. I love that it is pretty much all improvised. I have found new actors, improvisers and writers through this podcast that I adore. And Scott Aukerman is one of the best hosts to ever do it. So, when they announce a tour, and they come to Saint Louis, I'm going to do whatever I can to see it performed live.

I went back in 2022 the first time they came to Saint Louis. This was one of my first live outings during the pandemic. But I was determined to see the show live, and it did not disappoint. It was great to be out of the house back then, seeing a live show that made me laugh very hard. I saw the show again when they came back to Saint Louis two years ago. It was even better than the first time. They were looser and seemed to be having a bit more fun. They also have done the show so much that they are in a groove. Last night was no exception.

"Comedy Bang! Bang!" live is my favorite live podcast to watch. I know that it's going to make me laugh and put me in a good mood for the rest of the week. As the show started, Aukerman walked on stage, read the catchphrase submission and just fell right into his hosting duties. I like Aukerman's hosting so much. He is such a pro. He commands the stage and the audience. He did the catchphrase, we all cheered. He did the balcony report, we all cheered. He asked his question about any first timers in the crowd. We all laughed. And then he went right into the guestlist for the night and the show was officially underway.

His first guests were Hannah Pilkes, and tour mainstay, Paul F Tompkins. They were parents from some small town in Alabama. Putting these two out first was a perfect way to start the evening. I have never seen Pilkes live, and she was hilarious. She made me laugh harder than PFT I must say. She is very funny and very good at improv. What I liked most about her last night, she was game for any task that Aukerman or PFT gave her. They tried to mess with her, but she always had an answer. PFt is so reliable and so funny. He and Aukerman have a great rapport. The two of them have known each other forever, and it is so easy to see how much they like doing comedy with one another. And seeing PFT work with Pilkes was a fun new wrinkle for me. They did such a good job setting the table for the evening and they were on stage for a good long time. The first segment usually only goes about a half an hour. I believe Pilkes and PFT were on stage together for almost an hour. It was wonderful.

Then Mike Hanford came out playing a character he did over 10 years ago on the show, a hay salesman who is allergic to hay. But what makes this show so great is that they barely touched on that fact. Hanford was my favorite part of the whole evening. He made me laugh harder and longer than anyone else who took the stage last night, The bits he was able to come up with on the spot were uproarious. The whole thing with the wizard harassing him hurt my stomach because I was laughing so hard. I was first made aware of Hanford when IFC had "The Birthday Boys". I have been a fan ever since, and to see him do "CBB" last night was a bucket list thing I didn't even know I had. He was so good, so funny and his performance makes me want to see The Sloppy Boys perform live now.

The final guest for the night was Connor Ratliff. He was on the bill last time playing a Saint Louis specific character. He did that last night too, but he was a different character, obviously. He was Saint Louis, the namesake for this city. He did a French accent the whole time and based his character around what he has done since he has been in heaven. And like most Ratliff stuff, he talked a lot about movies. He and Aukerman had a running bit last night where they mentioned Martin Scorcese movies, but never the super popular ones. That made me laugh pretty hard. Ratliff also walked on stage with a small Imo's pizza and some Fitz's sodas, giving the crowd some local references. Ratliff has become a mainstay in Scott Aukerman's podcast world and that is a good thing.

The best part about the night, and my wife pointed this out after the show, was when all the performers were interacting with each other. They had their alone time, but when they all got involved on a bit, that was when the show would sing. It was the perfect amalgamation of all of their talents.

"Comedy Bang! Bang!" is an awesome and wonderful podcast. It makes me so happy that it is still so popular and big enough to tour all over the world. Obviously I'm a fan, but if you haven't seen a live performance yet, change that. And when they come to Saint Louis for a fourth time, you better believe I will be in attendance once again. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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