He’s been on “Last Comic Standing,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and “Live at Gotham.” Now Matt Fulchiron can add Rensselaer to his list of performances.
As he is obviously a gifted and acclaimed standup comedian, UPAC Comedy seized the opportunity to deliver his talents to the student population at its November show. The event was highly publicized, since he was the club’s highest-priced performer in recent history. As is typical of UPAC Comedy shows, the McNeil Room was so packed with students that some had to seek vantage points on the third floor of the Union; what was not normal was the ample room by the end of the show.
When Fulchiron wasn’t stumbling over his own jokes, he was cycling through praising his own work with tired puns, belittling it in a self-defeating manner, and yelling at the audience. Most comedians perform the same routine for years with little more than just the venue changing, so it’s not uncommon for them to break up the monotony of touring with a little audience interaction. What was different with Fulchiron’s performance was his inability to complete a joke before getting sidetracked and conversing with the audience, having to later check back to a wrinkled list he had sitting on top of a stool to see which gag he interrupted.
Fulchiron is by no means an unfunny comedian, with jovial laughter not often absent in his televised performances, but his show on November 16 was utterly dismal. One of his biggest mistakes was discussing the prospects of a methadone clinic in downtown Troy; it would have been a fine joke if his attitude and appearance didn’t resemble the stereotypical substance abuser.
He made many claims of being sober for the event, so much as to express his own denial and remove all doubt of the comedian’s sobriety. Normally Fulchiron’s performances are laid back, in the style of Mitch Hedberg or Tod Barry, but with an added energy to pull the performances along. For this show, however, his added zing of energy was replaced by the unease and confusion of inebriation.
The only round of applause given to Fulchiron was for his swansong; the audience knew the horror was almost over when they found themselves laughing, as most comedians leave their piece de resistance for last. Admittedly, he left on a high note after a well-implemented gag on televised news stations in the future being like a rap song, but without the beat. It was a perfect gag to leave on, as it was the only gag to elicit reactions from more than just a few onlookers. A good portion of the audience missed the joke, however, with more than a handful of students deciding they’d had enough of his antics and proceeded to leave the McNeil Room.
Even Fulchiron admitted he would have felt bad if the audience had paid money to see his show, but since the show was free he had no qualms against long pauses and jokes about wasting time until the show ended. A frustrated audience member was even heard groaning during one of the comedian’s many water breaks.
This isn’t to say the entire show was a complete disaster; aside from the two or three punchlines Fulchiron was able to execute properly, the opening comedian he brought with him, Jay Larson, was the highlight of the show.
At first, Larson was noticeably apprehensive—being relatively new to the comedy scene, he still had some stage fright—but he soon fell into his routine and relaxed. Before long, he had become a real crowd-pleaser, even creating humor out of a back-and-forth with the audience over the proper pronunciation of “conch.” His most well-received jokes revolved around how he liked to mess around with the minds of his friends: choking them while pretending to be sleepwalking, stealing chai lattes from them, and using confusing comeback lines when insulted (“What is this, 1775: the Incarnation?”). It would be great to see UPAC Comedy bring Larson back in proceeding semesters for his full routine.
Don’t miss UPAC Comedy’s last show of the semester on December 7, when it brings the talented Pete Correale to the McNeil Room. As always, the show will be free.
