The Scituate native headlines Nick’s Comedy Stop for the first time this weekend, and he’s got all the good feels about it
Zachary Brazão’s history with Nick’s Comedy Stop isn’t new. Over the course of his four years in stand-up, the Scituate native has worked on stage at the venue in nearly every capacity — and now, he’s about to get his name on the marquee, and he’s feeling pretty damn good about it.
Hitting up Warrenton Street for one night only this Saturday (July 20), Brazão headlines the legendary comedy club for the very first time in his young career. While the prospect of such a feat might seem intimidating in nature, given the club’s illustrious history, Brazão is excited for the opportunity, and he is feeling ready to slay.
“It’s my first time headlining at Nick’s, and I’m just very excited about it,” Brazão tells Vanyaland. “It’s a big honor to be able to do it, having hosted there, being featured there in the past, and seeing Bill Burr drop in to do a set, to be able to headline it is exciting. It’s really the first show I’ve invited my extended family to, because I feel like I finally have something that’s worth seeing that I can hang my hat on, and survive a roasting at a family barbecue.”
As a co-host of the Series Finale podcast, alongside Jack Burke and John Paul Rivera, as well as a contestant in the Boston Comedy Festival — where he reached the finals in 2017 — Brazão has worked hard to build himself up through the ranks, and earn his way into the local comedy lexicon.
He’s been on the grind for the entirety of his four years on the scene, and as someone who could be considered a student of comedy, as he soaks up anything that has to do with the historic background of Boston’s warlock-level legend status in the stand-up game, the significance of being able to stand on the same stage that his stand-up forefathers have graced in their own rise to stardom is certainly not lost on him.
“I’m always listening when someone who started out in Boston is on Marc Maron or Joe Rogan’s podcast, because I love hearing stories about what it was like when they first started coming up in Boston,” says Brazão. “To be able to headline at a club where all of those guys have been, and talk about fondly definitely adds some significance to [the show].”
This weekend is a big deal, and holds a good amount of weight for Brazão, both personally and professionally. He’s well aware of the magnitude of this event in his career, but he’s feeling an impenetrable confidence that, after a morning jaunt to Chelsea for a sauna and schvitz and Dillon’s Russian Steam Bath, he’ll be bringing his A-game to the Theatre District and give everyone who comes out to see him a chance to really enjoy the show.
“I’m feeling confident about it, but I would say there is a bit of an added pressure,” he says.“I’ve been doing this for four years, and any time someone asks me how I’m doing, I’ll talk about stand-up, and if they all came and I stunk it up, people might be pretty concerned that I’m a nut job. I do feel good about it at this point, though, and I really think people will enjoy themselves.”
ZACHARY BRAZÃO :: Saturday, July 20 at Nick’s Comedy Stop, 100 Warrenton St. in Boston, MA :: 8 p.m., $20 :: Event page and advance tickets