We’ve previously blogged about Joe Wong ‘s nationally televised debut on The Late Show with David Letterman. Earlier this week, I got a chance to see him perform live in San Francisco, and he was HILARIOUS, and unlike his Letterman appearance, not hesitant or nervous at all. He did have some “ethnic humor” during his act, but didn’t depend or use it as a crutch. Joe is originally from China and came to the United States for graduate school, and uses his background for comedic purposes, but is not totally dependent on it.
He did joke about about Six Flag’s ad and then subsequently try to reproduce the ridiculous ad. He joked about how his love of karaoke was ruined when William Hung appeared on American Idol, and whenever he got on a karaoke stage, people would yell, “Sing” and wondered how people knew his middle name. But one of his funniest joke was towards the very end of his set, referring to his first sexual experience, with a play on words and a reference to Darth Vader; he describes his humor as a “play on logic,” and I would definitely agree with that. Joe’s jokes can be subtle, but as he progressed through the set, he definitely had some down right hilarious jokes. (The alcohol didn’t hurt either.)
Good things are happening for Joe Wong — he mentioned he had a part in the recently released movie, The Invention of Lying (as Man #2…) and next year, he’ll be performing at The White House Radio & Television Correspondents dinner. If you want to keep up with what Joe Wong is up to, definitely check out his website and sign up for his email list. I thought that the opening acts of Edwin Li and Hari Kondabolu were pretty good too. I thought Hari was very talent and definitely liked his pacing and edgy humor.
