(Commentary) Adam Carolla talks standup, the magic of intimate venues ahead of Casper shows

CASPER, Wyo. — Two legendary comedians are coming to Casper this weekend, and they’re playing at The Rialto. Famed comedian Harland Williams is performing two shows on Saturday, Oct. 3. The night before, comedian/actor/author/podcast host Adam Carolla is also playing two shows, beginning at 6 and 9 p.m.

I recently had the chance to speak with Adam about a variety of topics, including his standup routine, returning to Casper, the magic of intimate venues and more.

Carolla has been to Casper before and, for him, it’s a chance to do something he’s not necessarily known for, but it’s something he finds immense joy in.

“Standups talk about standup comedy almost like Ilhan Omar talks about this country,” Carolla told me. “It’s like, this is the best place in the world. You’re not going to do any better than this. You travel around, people pay you, they give you food, they give you booze, they clap and they’re going to take a picture with you. If that’s a pain in the ass, then you should check out. I mean, people have real jobs. People are roofers and truck drivers. If you can’t appreciate touring this country doing standup, then you’re really a miserable person.”

Carolla, himself, is far from a miserable person, despite his sometimes curmudgeonly persona. He’s been doing standup comedy for decades, but he’s dabbled (and succeeded) in other creative ventures as well. He was the host of the famed “Loveline” show with Dr. Drew Pinsky. He hosted “The Man Show” with his friend and now late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel. He’s directed films. He created the show “Crank Yankers” for Comedy Central. And he has one of the most downloaded podcasts in the history of the media form.

Carolla lives to create and standup is just one of the ways he’s able to do that. It also happens to be one of his favorite ways.

“They’re all different,” he said. “There’s something different about all of them that are sort of equally as enticing. Writing a book is its own thing and making a documentary is its own thing, and being up on stage is its own thing. It’s not really about ‘what do you like most?’ It’s sort of ‘what did you do last, and what’s next?’”

What’s next for Carolla is two shows at The Rialto on Friday night. He’s been to Casper before, though his tour starts to blur after a while, but he said that he likes playing more intimate venues, likening a place like The Rialto to the comedy clubs that he grew up in.

“In general, there’s nothing better than a good comedy club, with bones and a low ceiling and a lot of history and stuff,” Carolla said. “It’s like a dive bar, ya know? There’s something about the club that’s intimate, and that’s a good thing.”

Ely Corliss, the promoter for Bandwagon Presents, which is the company that is bringing Carolla to The Rialto, said he has a lot of respect and fondness for the local theater.

“I’ve been to three or four of Casper’s Parade Days the last few years, and I was just talking to people on the corner of 2nd Street there, and it’s like, everyone knew The Rialto,” Corliss said. “Growing up, you went to movies there if you lived in Casper. You certainly knew where it was. So I think it’s great to give it new life like this, and big hats off to the ownership team that has invested a fortune in time and effort, and money, to get that thing to where it is today.”

For Jake Bigelow, one of the owners of The Rialto, hosting a comedian the caliber of Carolla is something he and his partners venture to do almost every single week.

“I think it’s just a continuation of what we’ve been able to accomplish over the last year,” Bigelow said. “We had Adam Carolla early on, when we first opened. So this is actually his second time back in Casper; he liked it enough to come back. But it’s a continuation of what we’ve been able to do. I don’t think, in the history of Casper, people have been able to, nearly monthly, see people like Adam Carolla, David Koechner, Harland Williams, Jeff Dye numerous times, Drew Lynch, Maria Bamford. The feedback that we’re getting from their agents and managers and stuff is that Casper is a great place.”

For Carolla, working on a stage the night before a name like Harland Williams is an honor in and of itself.

“I like Harland a lot,” Carolla said. “He and I have always been good friends. I’m actually doing his podcast next week, or the week after. I’m happy to have Harland. I think he’s the day after me.”

Carolla is putting on two shows Friday night and, he said, while the majority of the content is the same between the two shows, you never know how they will differ.

“They vary a little bit,” he said. “The material will be taken from the same hopper. Sometimes it’s like, there’s two hours of material in the hopper and I’m going to do an hour. I’ll take the newer stuff or the stuff I like the most that people haven’t heard, and I’ll do that.”

Carolla said stand up is one of his many ventures, but it’s also one of his favorites. And it will continue to be for as long as he can get on a plane or in a car and get on the road. He’s proud of his work as a standup comic, and he’s excited for people to come and see what he’s capable of.

“Be prepared to be surprised by Adam Carolla as a standup,” he said. “I think people think of me as a lot of different things, but don’t really think of me as a standup. But what you will see is a good, straight standup hour. And you will laugh. It’s not ‘An Evening with Adam Carolla,’ where I tell old stories about The Man Show. It’s a standup show. Actual standup.”

For more information, or to purchase tickets to Adam Carolla on Friday, visit https://www.rialtocasper.com/artists/adam-carolla.

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