It’s been nearly a decade since Brian Posehn last made his way to Boston, alongside Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. According to the man himself, it’s been even longer since he’s taken the stage by himself in the city. But even now, Posehn is still checking off firsts after more than 25 years on the grind, and to make matters even more exciting, he’s finding himself in a really good place with his ever-expanding batch of new material.
Bringing his latest hour to The Wilbur on Friday (April 29), Posehn is riding high on a bit of a fresh perspective. And while there will still be a healthy dose of the unbridled self-deprecating humor that he’s brandished generously over the course of his career, the Uncle Nick star has a lot to talk about in terms of how he spent these past few years, aside from overeating and binge-watching TV, so he’s shaking things up and expanding his horizons on how he’s delivering those reflections.
“It’s still going to be me up there, but I think it’s matured, because I’m looking at things differently now, as you do, and my act has evolved in not just what I talk about but also how I talk about it, so there’s more storytelling to it,” Posehn tells Vanyaland. “I used to do a lot more shorter jokes, but now it’s, like, six jokes that are big chunks. I have a story that’s almost twenty minutes long, and that’s not something I ever did before. It feels like how a prog band gets older and just keeps writing longer songs. I like writing a bit and letting it breathe longer, and without giving too much away, there’s one bit in particular that I wrote over the course of a couple months that has just expanded more and more, and that’s something I’m way more open to now, but probably wouldn’t have done ten years ago.”
As someone who has done comedy for as long as he has, Posehn is enjoying the new additions and tools he’s employing, like the comfort of allowing himself to flesh a bit out more than before, and explore every nook and cranny of the joke. With that reference on how a prog rock band writes longer songs as they get older, parts of his newest slate resemble something of a “2112” of his own.
With the new hour, he won’t necessarily be using those tools to dig too deep into COVID (that’s a big “don’t worry” for the folks who are tired of hearing about it), but he will be balancing out his experiences with and reactions to some of the happenings of the past two years with the same ultra-relatable demeanor he’s carried over the years, because although his tenure in the comedy scene puts him in the category of the “old guys,” he doesn’t want to fall into the same cliches that may come along with that label.
“I was coming from being a traveling stand-up, and I didn’t know what to do at first, and I didn’t know how to react to being essentially unemployed for two years,” says Posehn. “But it’s self-deprecating, it’s fun, and I’m one of those comics who is one of the old guys, but doesn’t want to be like all the other old guys. I’ve always been kind of a contrarian in that sense, so there’s also a big element of that in this hour while I still try to be myself.”
Posehn has definitely paid his dues over time in comedy clubs, and doesn’t mind revisiting those spots around the country from time to time, but his preference lies in his love for rock rooms and theaters nowadays. For one of those theaters to be The Wilbur, in a city that he loves, he’s really stoked to find his way back to Boston after entirely too much time away.
He’s found himself thinking about this trip more than others, and not just because he’s just stoked about it and he wants it to be full and fun. As a self-proclaimed foodie, he’s looking forward to devoting a chunk of the short time he has here to getting a true taste of the city’s culinary specialties.
He’ll be admittedly disappointed if he can’t get to a good spot specific to the city, but with the amount of anticipation he has for this show, nothing will stop Posehn from enjoying his time on stage.
“I’m just in a really good place right now, and that’s not always the case,” says Posehn. “With this past year of getting back into it, after taking a year and half off from the road, it’s been great to do this thing that I love doing, and to perform for crowds that are just happy to be out again.”
BRIAN POSEHN :: Friday, April 29 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston :: 7:30 p.m. :: Tickets are $30