Comic Hari Kondabolu remembers a Philly gig from hell
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
He had taken a gig for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Elkins Park last May. Little did he know it was for the class reunion.
Hari Kondabolu, like all standup comedians, has a memorable “gig from hell” in his past.
“Everyone was, like, 100 years old. Also, it was in a gymnasium of some sort,” he says.
He had taken a gig for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Elkins Park last May. Little did he know it was for the class reunion.
“I thought it was for optometry students, which is awkward enough when I don’t have any material about that,” Kondabolu continues.
The 31-year-old comedian and writer, who performs at World Café Live April 2 in support of his first live album Waiting for 2042 (Kill Rock Stars), doesn’t thrive in such environments.
His particular brand of comedy fits best on the other stages he’s played around Philly — jokes about ignorantly naive “where are you from” inquiries (he’s South Asian-American) and popular bands like Weezer tend to land better at UPenn or Haverford College than, well, an optometry-school reunion.
Those universities, along with World Café Live (where he also did his first Philadelphia headlining gig last June), and his performance on FX’s now-defunct Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, are also indicative of the kinds of audiences with whom Kondabolu tends to have the best rapport.
In a time when comics and comedy culture are coming under increasing scrutiny for normalizing discriminatory attitudes, Kondabolu is evidence of comedy’s power to empower oppressed peoples.
This mission was clear at his last WCL set, even if he felt, at times, that he wasn’t completely connecting with the audience — something he acknowledges was at least partly due to the then-impending Waiting for 2042 recording on the same tour. “I needed that set to be what it was because I was warming something up, but it comes at a cost of performance. When you’re performing for an audience in the future, you’re somewhat neglectful of the audience in front of you,” he laments.
Will things change this time around? Kondabolu is optimistic. And given the increasing robustness of the Philadelphia comedy scene, a comic with such forward-thinking sensibilities promises to please.
Unless you’re an elderly optometrist.
Wed., April 2, 8 p.m., $14-$16, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.
