When Dan Soder made his way to Laugh Boston in January of last year, he had a feeling in his gut that the six-show stint was the last stop before leveling up to a larger room. But as you may know, the universe had different plans.
But looking at it now, Soder wouldn’t really consider the setback a “setback” at all.
Returning to Laugh this week for another six-show stint starting on Thursday (December 16), Soder has a brand new hour up his sleeve, and while it’s always exciting for a comic to unleash fresh material for fans, the down time helped Soder figure some stuff out, which in turn has him looking at things a little differently. Whether it be the feeling of checking in on crowds as opposed to performing for them, or examining what made him wear himself so thin before the shutdowns, The Bonfire co-host is unleashing not only a new hour, but also a fresh perspective, and he’s excited to continue becoming a better comic by becoming a better person.
“Coming back to Boston, my perspective is different now,” Soder tells Vanyaland. “Last time I was there, I was like ‘so I kind of got a girlfriend, and blah blah blah,’ but now I’ve spent the last year being a in a great relationship with someone who has helped me become a better person, and I got a dog, and now it’s just different. I feel like I’m more of a human being now than I ever was before.”
While anyone’s personal life is really none of our business, Soder is quick to point out the affect of joining forces with ESPN powerhouse Katie Nolan, where he feels the relationship has helped him “take things in” differently, and stay in the moment. The shift in perspective has what he feels is a profoundly positive affect on his joke writing, and as a result of that, he feels able to now be more naturally funny instead of forcing punchlines.
But the power of love (cue the Huey Lewis synth) isn’t the only thing that has him operating on a whole new level. With live entertainment coming back closer to full swing every day, Soder is hoping that along with it comes the end of “poser” comedians not taking comedy seriously.
There’s a certain inspiration, Soder explains, in seeing people who get into stand-up on the coattails of fame in other mediums. It truly pushes the Billions actor to better himself and his material, while seeing friends like Joe List, Sam Morril, Mark Normand, Shane Gillis and Nate Bargatze put together top-tier specials amidst the pandemic insanity.
And while there were comedians carving out their own avenues to creating content over the course of the last two years, Soder found that, for himself, the best answer to creating quality comedy was to not do it at all for a bit. The way he sees it, the art of disappearing is a lost art, and he’s happy to have taken a bit of time away from the mic in every way possible.
“I think right now, and even before the pandemic, a lot of people were in a rush to put out content, and I did it too with Big Jay [Oakerson] and Ari [Shaffir], where we had a podcast about watching 21 Jump Street from the beginning,” says Soder. “After doing that for a while, it really resonated with me that maybe I should just go into the shadows, write jokes and just kind of be quiet. It’s been rewarding to back up a little bit, and not push, because a lot of people are pushing, and some are pushing so hard that they don’t realize that they’re starting to get on everyone’s nerves. So for me, it became all about going away, writing better jokes, and coming up with a new hour that nobody has seen before, and that they’ll really enjoy.”
He isn’t exactly sure where his mind would be if he hadn’t taken a step back when he did, but regardless of the “what ifs,” Soder is focused on the here and now, and that is something he’s loving all the way around.
“I started to get crotechedy and protective over stand-up, but then I realized that I was channeling things incorrectly, and now I just appreciate being able to do it and have shows again, and it’s just awesome,” says Soder. “For so long, everyone was like ‘stand-up will always be there,” but we’ve seen how that’s not really true. So there’s just this part of me that I’ve been working on in my personal life and on stage where I’m okay with slowing down, staying present and just enjoying the moment.”
DAN SODER :: Thursday, December 16 to Saturday, December 18 at Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. in Boston, MA :: $40 :: Laugh Boston event page