The Campus Activities Board gave UCF students a great night of comedy on Thursday. Students ignored the terrible rainy weather, which had struck all day, and lined outside the UCF arena for national renowned standup comedian, Nick Swardson. Once the doors opened, students piled in making the arena a near full house.
The show started with opening act, Jay Larson. He was able to warm up the crowd with his jokes about being in the marching band and how there was a huge difference between being in “the band” and being in “a band” when it comes to impressing the ladies. He also went on to tell how he enjoys sneaking food into a movie theater and is able to get away with it by telling the employees he has diabetes. Finally he ended his half hour set with an amusing story of a group of business executives who had the wrong number and called him, and how we was able to convince them that he was one of their employees.
The next comedian to take the stage was Tommy Ryman, who was even funnier than the opener. He got the crowd laughing immediately after talking about his favorite show “The Deadliest Catch” and how it’s about a bunch of guys who catch crabs. He goes on to tell of how sometimes he likes to go down to the humane society and drop off stuffed animals, claiming they don’t love him like they used to and they should be put down. He ended his set strong, explaining how he enjoys making a bowl of soup with classical music in the background because it makes the process more epic and intense.
Finally the moment everyone in the arena had been waiting for. Students yelled and cheered as Nick Swardson took the stage, making this his fifth appearance at UCF. Nick made quite the entrance as he jumped off the stage and proceeded to high five students in the first couple of rows. He then went on to open up his set and goes on to praise the “gorgeous” Florida weather that he got to experience that day. Nick then goes on to talk about his amazement with how big of a school we are, boasting over 50,000 students. With such a large student body he jokingly asks why UCF students don’t gather together in a massive army like “Braveheart” and attack Disney World. He also explains how he wants to go to Epcot with everyone in the audience, each with a joint in hand, and smoke out the giant sphere in the park then push it down and roll it through Orlando. Nick also proclaimed his love for basketball and that he is a Magic fan because their name isn’t an animal like everyone else, but it’s something you can’t even see.
The audience cheered even louder when Nick claimed Florida as his number 1 party state. According to him, everyone in Florida loves to party, whether they are a baby doing a Jägerbomb or the old retired folks who just spend all their retirement money on booze. Then he describes his amazement with how many different kind of shots girls order at the bar. They are never regular shots he says, but rather something crazy like a “peanut butter burrito” shot.
Staying true to his love for partying, he explains his new fascination with day drinking. Just get really drunk by noon, he says, and then go about your regular errands throughout the day. Nick also touches on a topic that most college students have probably experienced once in their life. Waking up and receiving the “Are you alive?” text. He also points out an ad for Jack Daniels whiskey that he saw which read “Jack Daniels. Be Responsible.” Everyone in the audience agreed when he explains how being responsible in the last thing he can be on a Jack Daniels infused night. He goes on to say that the ad should be changed to “Jack Daniels. Good luck.” Nick also talks about a movie idea he wants to pitch that is based off of the blockbuster hit “Inception.” His version however is about invading wet dreams and it is called “Insertion.” He also describes his crazy life, living out in Los Angeles. The people there are different, he says. Some people are hardcore vegans and won’t even drink milk, but will more than happy do a line of cocaine.
Overall Nick put on a stellar performance and certainly did not disappoint. He stayed true to his roots in potty humor, and entertained everyone with his crazy party stories. Students were treated to a lot of new material along with some of his classic jokes sprinkled in as well. After a long day of nasty weather, the audience was happy to end it on a good note with this amazing performance. For those that missed the chance to see Nick Swardson live, you can still get your fix of his stand up on YouTube and fans can also look forward to a second season of his sketch comedy show “Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time” which will be coming back to Comedy Central soon.
