Even if you didn’t have your parents come to visit you this past weekend, John Mulaney’s Saturday night Family Weekend performance in the Events Center was enough to make anyone feel at home. With the friendly demeanor of your favorite brother and the stories of a cool uncle, the Chicago-based comedian spent the night talking about getting married, “Family Feud” and even the city of Binghamton.
Brought to Binghamton University by the Student Association Programming Board (SAPB), Mulaney was able to paint a picture of the city in the short time that he was here, calling it a “model train town, if it had a meth problem.”
Whether or not audience members went into the evening knowing who John Mulaney was, they definitely walked out of the show both entertained and with a new knowledge of the comedian’s life and personality. The latter is what truly set Mulaney’s performance apart from the past two Family Weekend acts, Demetri Martin and Nick Offerman. From the moment he stepped on to the stage, his presence was captivating. From a crowd of photographers in front of the stage, to his suffering from a cold, Mulaney found the humor in every situation.
“We’ll have a great show regardless,” Mulaney said about his cold. “But when my head explodes, that’s why. It’s just a 24-hour thing … it’s like an iTunes rental.”
With stories ranging from his brief childhood interaction with Bill Clinton to a vivid description of his quirky boss at a temp job, Mulaney was never short of tales to tell.
Brendan Keefe, a senior double-majoring in human development and German, was impressed by Mulaney’s style.
On the topic of getting along with his father, Mulaney compared their interactions to that of the cop and criminal in the movie “Heat.”
“He was hilarious,” Keefe said. “He made a lot of really obscure but really good pop culture references.”
At one point in his routine, the comedian mentioned that he will basically start a conversation with anyone and everyone, and this was proven true as the night went on. Mulaney called out one audience member, sat down at the edge of the stage, and they began having a conversation.
Mulaney got a lot of audience feedback when he asked the audience where they were from. The overwhelming response from the crowd? Long Island.
“How did that work out?” Mulaney asked. “Just word of mouth around the mall in Massapequa? ‘We can all live in a clocktower!’”
Opening for Mulaney was David Angelo, a comedian who has worked on shows such as “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” and CBS’ “2 Broke Girls.” Whereas Mulaney is more of a storyteller, Angelo relies on one-liners to get the audience laughing. Although his style was different, he definitely warmed up the crowd with wordplay and insights. Describing a game of truth or dare between 30 year olds, Angelo suggested that adults have nothing to lose, and dares would go something like ‘I dare you to drive me to the airport!’
Additionally, Binghamton Stand Up Comedy Club began the evening with two student performers. The first was Liam O’Malley, a senior majoring in English. He was followed by Lyla Cerulli, president of the club and a junior majoring in classics.
According to Bernadette Machuca, vice president of programming for the Student Association and a senior majoring in biology, attendance for the show was around 2,500 people, and she was happy with how it turned out.
“The general response to the show was very positive,” Machuca said. “And honestly, he almost had me in tears laughing, so I definitely enjoyed the show.”
John Mulaney may have been new in town, but after his performance, Binghamton welcomed him with open arms.