Comedy Tour Journal: Boise
“The biggest highlight of the radio spot is…”
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On the Road to Boise
The day starts at 9 a.m., which is incredibly early for me. I take my saintly girlfriend’s car keys and wait in my living room for the other comedian I am riding with, my close friend Sean Jordan. The six and a half hour drive begins and we are on our way to the magical city of Boise, Idaho. We are on our way to a club that we have both worked before, but this is the first time we have to work together for a whole week, out of town. So we’re excited and we’re on a time crunch because we have to be in town 2 hours before the show to do a radio spot that will help promote the show. I drive the whole way there at about 90 miles per hour and we stop once to get spicy chicken nuggets at Wendy's and we make fun of the some of the locals and get into Boise with 5 minutes to spare.
After we check in to our hotel at the Safari Inn we walk over to the club Liquid Laughs. When we get there we run into the owner a good guy named Jeremy and he tells us where we can meet the radio personality. We walk over to their table and meet the radio personality and he is a fucking tool. This is just a part of the gig and not uncommon, but this guy cannot stop talking about himself and we are comedians!! If you want to know anything about him he will tell you and if you don't, he will tell you. He tried to be nice at some points, but it was a long hour of conversation flatter than a 6-day-old soda. When it ends we realize we have to go do morning radio with him tomorrow at 8 a.m. We thank them for our time and get ready to perform our first show of the week. We meet our MC Olek Schvchek. A good guy I have had the pleasure of working with before. After the show we all go out boozing and at a bar attached to our hotel. Not a hotel bar, but just a bar attached to it. After 5 or 6 drinks I can crash and go to bed.
The next morning, Sean and I wake up and go see our new DJ friend and if he was annoying to talk to before, hungover is like slightly more annoying than riding in a car with Fran Drescher for 10 hours and having a radio that only picks up this guy’s show. Now don't get me wrong he is not a bad guy, just irritating. After the constant name-dropping he does we are in a conversation on air for about five minutes. His co-host is very sweet and genuine. The biggest highlight of the radio spot is that we find out Taco Johns is a sponsor of the show. Sean has not had this since he left the Midwest and insists that this is a thing we do while we are here. The interview ends and we go sleep till about two, eat, and go see a flick.
When Sean and I arrive at the club we are ready to perform our 2 sets each for Friday night. We both have good sets and hit the town. There are a few city blocks where the Boise night life scene takes place. Sean and I find a bar and see a great bluegrass band called Chicken Dinner Road. They play one of my favorite songs and I drink enough whiskey to impress even the staunchest of alcoholics. I wake up on our 2nd to last day in town and try to wash off all of the degenerate actions we committed the previous evening. I am super sick and lay in bed until the shows. By the time I get to the club I am running to the bathroom every 15 minutes, so I am praying this passes before I have to be on stage for 45 minutes. I do both my sets and because I don't know what is good for me I go out drinking. This is fun and I know I am going to hate myself tomorrow.
Sunday is very mellow and we make our way to the show. The crowd is very light, but we have a lot of fun anyway. We stay at the club and eat dinner and drink for a bit longer. The night is coming to an end and we decide to get a late night slice and a few beers. We get back to the hotel and finish up the night bullshitting and dreading the long drive back. We stop at Taco Johns on the way back and are forced to drive through a rainstorm for 3 hours. We get back in to town during rush hour and the euphoria of getting paid a real paycheck for our comedy is wearing off. I get in just in time to host an open mic and it is nothing like headlining a club. So I am back in reality. This bums me out and I get sad until I get a text from the owner telling me he loves having me come through and that he will see me next time.
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Shane Torres is one of Portland’s favorite comics, performing locally and across the country for over five years. He has placed in the top three for the past two years in Funniest Person in Portland contest, and won Funniest person in 2013. Torres has competed in The Seattle International Comedy Competition, and performed at The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta. Torres also performed at Comedy Central’s comics to watch at Helium Comedy Club. The show he co-produces with Sean Jordan and Ian Karmel, Funny Over Everything, has been bringing high tier comedians to Portland’s comedy scene since 2011.