Situated not too far from where Brian Glowacki grew up, the Cape Cod Melody Tent beckons his name as the next comedian to bring the goods in the round. Although he’s currently in the “waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and wondering if people are going to show up” phase of his preparation, he knows deep down that he’s got this, with literal Islands-worth of people behind him every step of the way.
In elevating his career with a DIY drive, Glowacki has had his eyes set on the Melody Tent, which he headlines for the first time this Sunday (July 21), for quite a while. The way the Nantucket native sees it, there’s no better place to be in the summer than the Cape, and he’s just trying to make the experience even better for those taking the time out of their weekend to come see him. He also knows, just as he realized when he saw his name on the marquee at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, that a long line of legendary performers stepped onto the Melody Tent’s stage long before he even picked up a microphone, but now, after more than a decade on the grind, he’s now on the list next to them.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a comedian from the Cape and Islands that has even attempted to do this, and the Melody Tent is just legendary,” Glowacki tells Vanyaland. “For me growing up, it was a place where you saw real national names come through, with musicians like Ray Charles, and comedians like Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, and George Carlin, so to have the opportunity to play there is just mind blowing to me.”
As someone who has occupied the famed spotlight of The Wilbur, and being the first independent, unsigned comedian to headline the space in its storied history, Glowacki is certainly no stranger to bringing down the house when the stakes are at their highest. With this show being so close to home, he’s fully aware of the added intensity it brings, but the biggest thing he holds with him when it comes to handling a hometown crowd is the fact that the people staring back at him know him and his family too well for him to get too far away from who he is not just as an artist, but also as a person.
“One big thing, which I’ve found important in the years leading up to this with shows at The Chicken Box and other shows around the Cape, I try to make sure my act is fresh every time. I try to make sure there is a bunch of new stuff in there so that if they do come see, and I ask them to come back next year to a bigger venue each time, then they aren’t just seeing the same thing over and over again,” says Glowacki. “I think that level of trust that they have in me is important, because they’re not just going to come all the way over on the ferry and spend a Sunday coming to see something they’ve already seen. A ton of it is going to be new, some of it’s going to be off the top of my head, and so they’ll be able to have a fun day instead of just coming out to support their friend like it’s an obligation. If they trust me to give them a great show, then I have to deliver.”
The challenge of having new material at the ready is one that continues to fuel Glowacki’s creative fire, as he takes pride in turning over new jokes and stories at a fairly rapid pace and offering his audience, many of whom are returning patrons, something new every year. Of course, Glowacki sees it as only natural as things are constantly changing for him, his family is growing older, and with that, new stories come to the surface. Specifically, as it pertains to his kids getting older, he knows he can’t talk about them like they’re little anymore, so it causes a shift and growth in his approach as well as his material that he is more than ready to undertake.
“The joy of the artform is finding something funny in what’s happening now. Once something becomes karaoke of my own material, it hurts to even do it,” says Glowacki. “It goes back to that trust, where if people are going to keep showing up for me every year, then I owe them something different. Funny things are happening now, and I want to let them in on that, not tell stories from five years ago.”
When Glowacki was younger, he missed the chance to see George Carlin in the round at the Melody Tent (he admits that it was probably due to him getting in trouble for something) and was devastated when his friends returned from the show to talk about how great it was. But it wasn’t until he witnessed his father laughing himself to tears at a Kevin James show at the venue years later, while not knowing the tears were actually due to the severe pain his father was experiencing due to a broken rib, that Glowacki realized that he wanted to have that same effect on people.
Thus, the dream is within reach as Glowacki rolls into this milestone with the intensity of a freight train. As he has done with every show close to home, he’s also bringing a stacked lineup consisting of Eddie Ifft and Hyannis native AJ Hapenny to relish in the moment with him and deliver a start-to-finish comedy bonanza as he lets us in on all the real-time happenings of his life, as he processes and ponders life through the mic.
But even as the stakes are high, and Glowacki continues to build on to a wild trajectory of what continues to be an ever-evolving and bustling career, he can’t help but reflect on what it means to him not just as a comedian, but more importantly as a proud Island native who just wants to bring great comedy back home whenever he can.
“The thing I’m looking forward to most, aside from stepping on that stage of this legendary venue that’s close to home, in front of my friends and family, and all of these new people that have come out to support me and follow my career, is to know that the Brian who had this dream as a little kid would think this is the coolest thing on earth.”
BRIAN GLOWACKI :: Sunday, July 21 at Cape Cod Melody Tent, 41 West St. in Hyannis, MA :: 5 p.m., $41.50 to $57.50 :: Advance tickets