In a world full of hate and injustice, it is important that we have something in our lives to make us laugh. Regardless of your sense of humor, everybody has a guilty pleasure for something that makes them crack a smile. In my case, my favorite comedians are John Mulaney and Pete Davidson.
From as far back as I can remember, I have been watching Mulaney specials. I became obsessed with memorizing the punchlines and watching his sketches that date as far back to his “Saturday Night Live,” days where he was a writer.
During that time, I also discovered the elusive Pete Davidson. There was something about Davidson that I was instantly drawn to. Whether it was his self-deprecating humor or the way he over-exaggerated his punchlines, I always loved being able to sit back and watch his sketches whenever I was feeling down about something going on in my life.
In 2019, Mulaney and Davidson ended up going on tour together for a small comedy run to present and test out new sketches. When this tour was originally announced, I remember running up to my mom as a first-year student in high school begging to see my two favorite comedians in real life. My mom, being the wonderful lady that is she and concerned for my 14-year-old wellbeing, unfortunately said no due to the fear that there would be crude humor not safe for my prepubescent ears.
Hearing this absolutely tore me apart and made me feel like my life was never going to be the same again, but I quickly got over it when Mulaney decided to announce his “From Scratch” tour back in early 2022. Luckily, I was able to attend this tour with one of my friends and had an amazing time. Mulaney launched this tour just after recovering from rehab and wanted to retell his stories from his time away. It was, of course, hilarious and I dreamed about seeing him again during one of his next comedy runs.
Then, my entire world stopped. In August, Mulaney announced a brand new, limited time comedy run with none other than Pete Davidson and Jon Stewart. As you can imagine, my heart skipped a beat a little. Yes, I had absolutely no idea who Jon Stewart was (more on that later), but Mulaney and Davidson? Oh, my heart can only take so much.
My mom, again being the lovely woman that she is, ended up buying me tickets as a gift so we could go together. Maybe this was her way of redeeming herself from betraying me all those years ago, but I digress.
The day of the show finally came around, and I was ecstatic. I wore my John Mulaney T-shirt, and I was ready to go. Once we got to the venue, they had us lock our phone in a Yondr punch, which is normal for a comedy show to this high of a standard. Yes, it sucked not being able to go on my phone while I was waiting for the show to start, but I quickly got over it once I realized that this meant more shows were around the corner for this trio.
After an opener that I do not care enough to speak about, Davidson officially opened the show. This show was different from past shows for Pete, especially since he recently got out of rehab and was still in active recovery. Nonetheless, he was still incredible and truly encapsulated the audience for the entirety of his set.
Some of the notable pieces of his set were when he talked about missing his stalker, how he wants his mom to date someone and the time he fell in love with Leonardo Dicaprio. It was nice to see Davidson in a positive and supportive light, especially since he was torn apart in the media last year.
Davidson’s act was enjoyable; however, I do wish it was longer. He was open and honest about his addiction, which I found quite admirable and was proud of him for doing so.
After Davidson’s act, he announced Mulaney on stage next. Mulaney was a natural on stage and made it seem like this was his own headlining show. Some of his most notable pieces included: How an adult failed at kidnapping him, his new adventures with his two-year-old son, and how he believes dinosaurs are not real.
It was honestly super refreshing to see Mulaney healthy and happy, especially since his last special contained a lot of heavy material and focused on a darker time in his life. Like I said previously, this was my second time seeing Mulaney, and if you ask me, he just is getting better and better with each act that he performs.
Like all things though, it must end. After Mulaney’s set, he announced the last and main act, Jon Stewart. Now, before heading to this show, I had absolutely no idea who this man was, and to be honest, I did not care. I figured if he was staring with stars such as Davidson and Mulaney, he was bound to be just as funny as they are. Oh, boy was I wrong.
Before I go any further, I want to say I respect Stewart and his work as a whole, but it is simply not for me. To be blunt, I did not laugh a single time he was on stage. His entire act was about how old he is, how he hates both political parties and then went on to weirdly compare Christianity and Judaism for half the act.
Now, I am not sure if this is something that interests you, but I did not necessarily enjoy his set. If you want my honest opinion, the show would have been better without him in it.
Overall, I had a fun time at the show, but being transparent, I wish I left after Mulaney’s act. Now I know for next time to completely avoid Stewart, or to leave whenever I see his name. I will be seeing Mulaney and Davidson in the future though.