No need for the glitz and glam — just give Brian Glowacki a microphone and a stage, and he’ll be happy. So we can all expect an abundance of happiness when the bearded big man holds court this weekend (May 4 and 5) at one of his favorite venues to perform, Nick’s Comedy Stop in the Theatre District.
While the Nantucket native has had the opportunity to perform in a handful of larger theaters around New England while opening for some of comedy’s heaviest hitters — Big Jay Oakerson, Chris D’Elia, and Russell Peters, just to name a few — he certainly prefers the intimacy, and the gritty energy of smaller comedy clubs, as opposed to the larger stages.
“I would much rather be in a place like Nick’s where, like, real fans of comedy come to see you perform,” Glowacki tells Vanyaland. “I’d rather play a road house than some sterilized environment any day of the week. But on the other hand, it’s fun when I play theaters, because I get to have that moment of thinking ‘this is what I’ve worked towards all these years. This is why I’ve done shows in front of four people and worked this certain joke out so much,’ so that when I get to a place like The Wilbur, I can walk out there confidently and know that it works.”
As Glowacki looks back, he remembers a time where there wasn’t much of an outlet for comedy on Nantucket, leading him to move north to Boston for a year.
But since the conception of his career on stage, Glowacki has cherished the amount of support he has received from his hometown community on the island. And while a variety of successful marketing strategies have helped him bring his material to a larger audience — including an ongoing sticker campaign, comprised of friends and fans travelling all over the world, and sharing his brand in places like Colombia, Paris, and South Korea — his hometown following is there for him at every turn, and continues to be a big part of the growing crowds that come out to see him perform.
“I wouldn’t trade being from a small town for anything,” Glowacki admits. “When I was first starting out, I could be doing a Tuesday night set at Dick Doherty’s in Boston, and it was like I was shooting an HBO special, because my friends in my hometown have been behind me since day one. They’ve pushed me from the very beginning, and have carried me to where I am now. Their love and support kept me motivated early on, and has given me the confidence to go out there and keep doing my thing.”
His relationship with stand-up comedy was love at first sight, and Brian Glowacki still looks at his time on stage as a chance to help people have a good time, and to cheer as many people as he can with his time on the planet.
“With me, you’re not going to be leaving my shows thinking about how you learned a lot about politics,” he says, “but you’ll most likely be thinking ‘man, that was a lot of fun, and I probably drank too much.’”
BRIAN GLOWACKI :: Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5 at Nick’s Comedy Stop, 100 Warrenton St. in Boston, MA :: 8 p.m., $20 :: Nick’s Comedy event page :: Advance tickets: Friday + Saturday