Wisconsin native performs at Stand-Up Saturday

 

There is something about being at home that makes everything easier, which seemed to be exactly what comedian Pete Lee was feeling as he performed at Campus Programming and Relations’ Stand-Up Saturday event.

Getting the audience to laugh was easy for Lee because he was able to connect with them by being from Wisconsin. Even though Lee now lives in New York City, and has appeared on a variety of television shows including Last Comic Standing and Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, it appeared as though he still likes to perform for a WI crowd. With that, Lee was able to use material in his routine that only those living in WI could really relate to and the crowd seemed to really respond to this aspect.

“I loved the fact that Pete is from Wisconsin. I think that’s what gave him his charm that related back to myself and the audience. Almost everything was relatable and that is why I think he got such a good reaction from the crowd,” junior media studies major Matt Erickson said.

Lee started his routine by stating how happy he was to be back in WI and to eat Culver’s. He continued with making fun of the stereotypical WI accent, which seemed to get quite a few laughs from the audience.

Lee continued his routine by diving into more personal material that seemed to get the largest reaction from the audience. His jokes about his ex-girlfriends and people he has encountered on Tinder were a hit among the audience. Specifically, Lee’s recollection of how a woman he matched with on Tinder asked him if he could commit and he replied with a photo of him and his ex-wife at their wedding. This photo then led the women to asking for Lee’s phone number, which he gave her and soon regretted. After about 20 minutes or so, the woman messaged him 37 times which “was 36 times too many” according to Lee.

Lee performed for about an hour but left the crowd wanting more. Before Lee left the stage, he decided to talk with the audience a little more, specifically about sex. His final joke of running a church fundraiser by having sex in a car wash created an explosion of laughter amongst the crowd.

This was CPR’s fourth stand-up comedian of the semester and for some that attended, Stand-Up Saturday has become a tradition amongst friends.

“The reason that I went to Stand-Up Saturday is because my friends and I go every time there is a comedian on campus. It is a tradition for us to go to eat at the Haus beforehand then go to the comedian,” sophomore business administration major Shannon O’Halloran said.

Overall, the show was enjoyed by all in attendance. Lee stayed for a while after his show to meet and take pictures with those students that wanted to make the event a memory. However, for some students, Lee’s routine was memorable enough that no picture was needed.

“Honestly finding one favorite part of his routine is hard for me to identify. He had so many quotable lines that I find myself repeating even days after his show,” Erickson said.