SLUG Localized: Stand-Up Comedy Showcase

I feel very fortunate when I get to do shows with a talented bunch of comedians, many of whom I call my friends. I usually treat these interviews as a time to get to know the people I see most frequently but never seem to chat with beyond hearing their jokes. Most of the evening was spent playing a little pool, talking shop and recalling early memories in the comedy scene. As a comedian myself, it was comforting to hear that we all experienced similar moments of realization when it came to discovering our love for comedy. Tré Lamb, Tanner Nicholson, Hollie Jay and Michael Davis will perform at Urban Lounge on Thursday, December 21 for a hilarious edition of SLUG Localized, sponsored by Riso-Geist and hosted by me. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Get your tickets now!

I met with three of the four comedians at the downtown bar Johnny’s SLC. Davis, our sweet, Southern-monotoned belle, was away visiting family. The bar is where Nicholson spends most of his nights making drinks, cracking jokes and dealing with the overly intoxicated patron from time to time. It’s a bar that I’ve spent many a weekday night in. Under the low lights, the din of rock music blaring over the jukebox and the consistent beeps of credit card machines, Johnny’s provided a cozy and slightly damp atmosphere to talk to the comedians about their craft. Though Davis was out of town, local comedy favorite and renowned pedophile hunter Collin Schumaker tagged along with Lamb, mostly to tease Lamb about his answers to the interview questions. One interruption came while discussing when and why the comedians started doing stand-up:

Lamb: I just loved Louis [C.K], old Nick Swardson, old Patton Oswalt… I know, relax.
Schumaker, making a face: …Oswalt?
Lamb: The older stuff is good! I showed you the Dr. Pepper one, that one’s funny! Relax!
Schumaker: Yeah, I’ll let you tell it.
Lamb: Get over yourself, trying to get in on this interview. Thinkin’ he’ll fuckin’ write you up in there.

“You could go into a room with hundreds or thousands of people and be ‘the guy’ for a little while, and then go out into the world and you’re just nobody again.”

From the time he was a teenager, Lamb loved stand-up. He performed his first set while still in high school at a mixed open mic consisting of mostly poetry and music. Lamb would constantly get kicked out of bars when trying to get in to do stand-up, but he persevered nonetheless. Comedians, to Lamb, are like rockstars. “They just seemed so cool,” he says. He loved “the idea that you could go into a room with hundreds or thousands of people and be ‘the guy’ for a little while, and then go out into the world and you’re just nobody again.”

Lamb first established his comedy roots in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams there. After relocating again from L.A. to Utah, Lamb truly began to thrive here in Salt Lake. He’s accumulated a significant online presence, boasting over 90,000 followers on Instagram where he posts weekly stand-up clips. With the influx of followers came an increase in shows and bookings, taking Lamb across the country for gigs. “I just want to tour,” he says. “I want to never be home, and be on the road. Stand-up is it, baby.” Lamb can be found making people laugh at Wiseguys Comedy Club most weekends. He has shared the stage with names such as Trevor Wallace and Bryan Callen, and he also hosts a podcast called Deadbeat Son. Be sure to keep up with Lamb and check out his stand-up clips on his Instagram @trejlamb.

“It’s dark and dirty for sure—pretty alt and feminist too—but in a way I think most people can enjoy.” 

Jay has become a staple in the Salt Lake comedy scene over the past several years, from producing and hosting open mics, showcases and the occasional roast battle at Ice Haus in Murray, to hosting and curating an all-female comedy festival, the Funny Femme Fatale Festival. She got her start at Comic Con in 2016 when she happened to meet another local-favorite-turned-Comedy-Store-regular Jackson Banks, who told her she should try an open mic. That first open mic was hosted by yours truly at the old Ditta Caffé in Millcreek. Jay has a style of comedy that could be described as dark and dirty. In response, Jay says, “It’s dark and dirty for sure—pretty alt and feminist too—but in a way I think most people can enjoy.”

When it really comes down to it, Jay says, “I’m just telling jokes.” She has worked with names such as Skyler Higley and Jordan Thewlis. You can hear more from Hollie Jay on the Dirty Doves podcast with her co-host and fellow comedian Donnie Bonelli. Follow her on Instagram @cultclassicqueen for more show updates.

“Doing a sketch show with your funny friends would be the shit, and gettin’ paid to do it, that’d be dope. That’s the dream.”

Nicholson has been doing stand-up for nine years and is one of the most well known names in Salt Lake comedy. Nicholson has performed at Localized before, and with good reason, he is back. Having a long family history in Ohio, he is a diehard Ohio State fan, tattooed with their logo and often seen wearing the team’s merch. “The first stand-up special I ever saw was Eddie Murphy Raw,” he says. “I think I was like 10 years old. That doesn’t stand up to the test of time—there’s like 20 minutes they wouldn’t air [now]—but the rest of it is still fuckin’ funny. I make fun of my dad a lot [in my material], like him.”

One of my favorite things about Nicholson’s comedy is his stories. From topics and tales relating to bars, correctional facilities, family and recently traveling abroad, he never fails to keep me riveted. We all have dreams when it comes to doing stand-up. Some people want to play Madison Square Garden, some just want to have fun. Nicholson wants to bring everyone with him, whatever that might look like. “It just depends on what I’m watching lately. Doing a sketch show with your funny friends would be the shit, and gettin’ paid to do it, that’d be dope. That’s the dream,” he says. You can follow Nicholson for show dates and more on his Instagram @funnymanntann.

“When I was in high school, stand-up helped me laugh when it was hard to laugh … that’s what I want to do for other people.”

Even though Davis wasn’t at the initial interview, I was able to score a charming one-on-one interview with him later. Davis began his comedy career in Missouri at the Funny Bone open mic in St. Louis before moving to Utah four years ago. One of the funniest voices in the Salt Lake scene, he would describe his stand up as “dry, deadpan and vulnerable … make sure you say ‘vulnerable’ like three times in the article,” he says.

Davis began to love stand-up from a young age. “When I was in high school, stand-up helped me laugh when it was hard to laugh,” he says. “That’s what I want to do for other people.” Part of the fun of stand-up can be the bad shows, and when you’re first getting started, those shows are frequent. Often the sentence “and we got paid” is a surprising postscript to any story about an early-career show, bad or good. We talked about good and bad shows for a bit. Davis’ stance on hecklers, the people usually responsible for souring a show, is that “people know not to come for the king,” he says.

Davis’ dream gig would be headlining The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri, the first place he ever watched live comedy. If he can’t do that, then his next dream project is to be “alive in a week.”

In addition to performing at Localized, Davis will also be headlining the Rickles Room at Wiseguys on January 13. He has had chlamydia twice, and you can follow him on Instagram @allen_michael_davis.