Contact CU Independent Audio/Visual Director Xandra McMahon at xandra.mcmahon@colorado.edu and follow her on Twitter @xanmcmahon.
“I usually don’t talk to college papers anymore…” Hannibal Buress said.
Comedian Hannibal Buress is set to take the stage at the Glenn Miller Ballroom Monday, April 25. But before he rocks the CU campus with his raucous, unapologetic humor on his life experiences — including previous horrid, college paper interviews – Buress chatted with the CUI.
CUI: So I want to start off just by saying I’ll try to make this a lot less painful than the college paper interview you reference in Animal Furnace.
Hannibal Buress: The interview wasn’t painful. The article was painful (laughs)… I usually don’t talk to college papers anymore (laughs).”
CUI: How is performing at colleges vs. other venues like Denver’s Paramount? Are there any differences?
Buress: “If I do a venue the age range is obviously a bit wider and people are coming from different walks of life — not to say that college students don’t come from different walks of life — but everyone in college is experiencing being a college student so it’s more homogenous. There’s certain things you reference with college kids and it doesn’t resonate the same way. You talk about wanting to have kids or different things or certain references I’ll make and I’m like, ‘Oh shit I’m in front of a college crowd. They don’t know who the fuck Kid ‘n Play is or they’ve never seen the movie House Party probably.’ So there’s certain things like that that don’t hit.”
CUI: What’s your favorite part of doing these college shows?
Buress: “Money (laughs). College shows are fun but it’s not the same energy, you know what I’m saying. People at a venue might have a had a couple drinks or something, college students – they’re not selling drinks there. But it’s fun talking to students. I mean I’m not an old person by any stretch of the imagination but compared to a freshman in college I’m almost like twice their age and I could be their teenage dad. At 33 I could have had a kid when I was 15 and they could be a freshman in college. So it is funny just when I’m performing for a young group like that. A lot of times it’s students first time seeing live standup so the energy is cool and kids are excited and it’s a good time. And also the money.”
CUI: When people come to your show, is there anything you want them to take from it? I mean other than laughs, obviously.
Buress: “People take what they want from it. I just try to put on a good show that’s fun and entertaining. Nothing specific I want people to take away outside of ‘I enjoyed his comedy, it was a fun show.’ So I don’t go in thinking these people need to leave feeling great about themselves but also cynical about society. I don’t do a show with that state of mind I just try to do a good show and share my ideas and thoughts.”
CUI: I love Broad City so much, so of course I’ve got to ask how that’s going. And also I’m curious, how similar are you to your character Lincoln?
Buress: “Broad City season three was fun. I’m nothing like Lincoln at all except for in body and voice (laughs) and that’s where the similarity ends. He’s a much nicer person than I am, way more patient and tolerant.”
CUI: So Netflix just released Hannibal Takes Edinburgh which is really cool because it wasn’t what I expected, it was very different from most Netflix specials you see these days.
Buress: “Well what did you expect? A straight up hour stand up special?”
CUI: Yeah I kind of did! But I was pleasantly surprised because it takes you through that whole experience of going through a tour like that. How did that idea come about?
Buress: “On my first special Animal Furnace we did a DVD extra, and it’s also online, it’s called ‘A Week to Kill. ‘So I decided to do a doc chronicling me prepping to film a special, so I filmed it on a Saturday in New York but I spent the week in Chicago kind of working on my set and getting it together and all of what came with that and people really enjoyed it. So the director of that, Ryan Ferguson, had the idea. He was like, ‘You’re going to Edinburgh, we should do the same thing in Edinburgh.’ We figured out what it would cost to do that and then I was like, ‘Oh man that’s a lot of money. I’ll put up some of that, I can’t put up the whole amount of money to do that.’ So I put up half and hit up Judd Apatow to throw in the other half and help produce. And so we went out there and filmed the entire month and edited it down. It was a lot of footage. I’m glad people are enjoying it and kind of taking to it, and yeah it’s been received way better than I thought.”
CUI: So what’s the next couple months look like for you? Any new projects?
Buress: “Next two months I’m finishing up filming the Baywatch movie. I go back down to Savannah, Georgia tomorrow and film my last day on that. Just getting ready to tour, I’m doing these dates in Colorado and then I’m getting some other dates going soon. Just writing and trying to create and get back on the road.”
CUI: And you were in Boulder last year right? How was that?
Buress: “It was fun, I enjoyed myself. I was there for a while, I was there for about a week or so at the Comedy Works and I did the Boulder Theater. Also — the altitude, I’m already dreading the altitude. It kind of got to me last time, I don’t know how to prep for it. I gotta look up some stuff online, maybe I need start jogging a couple days before or maybe I’ll just bring an oxygen tank, I don’t fucking know.”
CUI: Anything else you’d like to add?
Buress: “I’m excited it’s gonna be fun. People of Colorado, people of Boulder and the surrounding towns of Boulder — if this article reaches you we need you at the show on Monday.”
