A Barstool Idol Competitor Beat Me To A Post On Tonight's Standup Show

Sonofa… Thanks a lot Dylan O’Keeffe. You beat me to the punch on a blog about tonight’s standup for Barstool Idol, which honestly, pretty good look. You can see his predictions HERE. And now, moving on like that didn’t happen…

Comedians like Ari Shaffir, Dan Soder, various SNL writers and the one & only Francis have graced the stage of Stand Up NY and tonight the remaining contestants of Barstool Idol will do the same. They have about 5 minutes each, which can seem like an eternity if you aren’t prepared or start to trip up, especially if you know a dream job is on the line. It will be broadcast LIVE at 7pm here on the main site with eliminations at the end.

I only made it onto main stages a handful of times, but spent a fair share of evenings in dark bar basements around NYC trying out jokes in front of other comedians who were just waiting for their turn. Even then it was a little nerve wracking… I heard plenty of crickets post punchline. Once I convinced the booker at Broadway Comedy Club to let me go up on a Saturday night & bombed so hard I went into shell shock & wanted to die. Anyways! I’m sure these guys will be fine. Here’s my thoughts on the seven in this lineup (in no particular order):

1)

Austin Taylor (@youngmantis2) can only stand up half way but if I’m rooting with my heart, my money’s on him to crush. He’s got the right amount of self-deprecation, genuine humor & he’s not afraid to put himself out there. As he says, his body is limited, not his brain and I think he’ll come out with something creative tonight. No pressure.

2)

If I’m rooting with my head, I’d have to go with Brandt Tobler (@Barstoolbrandt), and not out of fear because he almost killed his dad. Brandt’s been in the standup game for many years now; he’s comfortable on stage, has funny material & more experience than the rest.

3)
Tate Moore’s (@ohios_tate) been putting in the work with his Twitter following & blogging. He’s also got undeniable cockiness that could help on stage: “…I am simply a soon-to-be journalist on Friday when I win this competition that is reporting the facts. And the facts are that I had the last pick in the draft and got stuck with Crybaby, the girl, and the kid that quit.”

Yikes, getting stuck with a girl is pretty yucky. Hope the gals he’s stuck with in the audience tonight (who actually have jobs here) can find space to laugh with him & not at him.

4)

After puking yesterday I hope Matt Cahill (@Marty_mush) avoids mom’s spaghetti before the show. From clips I’ve seen there’s something endearing about his enthusiasm when he gets ranting, even if you can’t understand what the hell he’s saying. Mush has also performed stand up but “only about 6 times”. If he gets on a roll about something I think he’ll get a good reaction.

5)

Expecting to hear some impressions from Joe Romano (@joey_boats) tonight. If they’re bad, they’re baaaad. If they’re good, they tend to crush. Either way, his blogs have been strong. He’s got a gift for writing & a funny point of view throughout this competition. If that same humor comes through in his jokes he should be ok.

6)

I wanted to say good things about Dylan O’Keeffe but again, he beat me to this blog by a mile so I’m not feelin’ it.

7)

Rocky Taverna sounds like an over-the-top comedian’s name. I feel like he’s going to break out juggling or a unicycle or something off the name alone. But it seems like I’m wrong. Apparently he has something out of the usual in store & whether I laugh or hurt my face cringing, I’m looking forward to it.

Ah, wait… BREAKING NEWS: There might be an 8th back in the contest tonight. If he shows up there might not be tears from laughter, but there will probably still be tears. Again, you can catch it all tonight LIVE from this site at 7PM.