When really messed up shit happens, it might feel impossible to laugh our way through it. But Minnesota comics are trying.
“There are a lot of people in their everyday lives just constantly vibrating at a level of anxiety,” says local comic Lily Meyer. “Doing shows is just as cathartic for audience members as it is for us. It’s like, they’re probably at home screaming into the void about how much they hate these fucks, so this is a way for them to let some of that out too.”
This Tuesday, February 3, Meyer will co-host an ICE comedy roast at Minneapolis’s Sisyphus Brewing with local comedians Ben Katzner and (Racket advice columnist) Pearl Rose. Proceeds will benefit Every Meal, a group that feeds kids in need. The response has been good; the show is sold out.
Katzner says the idea for a show roasting ICE agents came from a desire to face uncertainty head-on, rather than waiting things out.
“A lot of comics who had stuff planned in the Twin Cities area were like, ‘Minneapolis, because of these uncertain times I can’t make it to your city. I just don’t think it’s right for me to perform right now,’” he says. “Meanwhile, we’re out here protesting at 2 p.m. and doing bar shows at 8 p.m. So, I was like, you know what? Let’s use [our platform] for good.”
Rose says she has been finding new ways to say tough things on the road, explaining what the state of Minnesota is going through as someone living it.
“I was with Chad Daniels doing shows in North Carolina,” she says. “And, honestly, I felt guilty about being out of town… I was so dissociated from everything happening here that I couldn’t go onstage without immediately talking about what people were experiencing in Minnesota. I want to be doing good, honest PR for us when I’m not in Minnesota, because I’m so proud of the people here.”
While many out-of-state crowds have reacted with support and sympathy to anti-ICE material, Meyer says that’s not always a sure thing here in the Twin Cities. (Though this fucking guy was run out of town, at least.)
“I did shows in Madison and Chicago, and it felt great to be able to go onstage and be like, ‘Fuck these guys, am I right?’ and have the whole crowd behind you,” Meyer says. “But tensions are so high in Minneapolis, and you get people coming to shows around here where you don’t know where they’re from or what they’re thinking. Like, is there a fucking ICE agent in this crowd right now? You just don’t know.”
There’s plenty of material to pull from thanks to the buffoonery of the MAGA Keystone Cops, but comics aren’t letting local authorities off the hook either.
“I did a set at Sisyphus as the mayor,” Rose says with a laugh. “And I made myself go back and watch his most recent press appearances, so I could figure out what I wanted to criticize.”
The MPD, GOP reps, and crazy gubernatorial candidates are also fair game. But the cruelty and violence at the hands of the current administration remains at the forefront.
“There’s a chance for a very bad thing to be happening right before you go onstage pretty much every day,” Katzner says. “We live in America, and that’s what it’s become. But—not to be too self-aggrandizing—it’s kind of like, ‘This is my job and doing it will matter to somebody.’”
Here’s a quick list of upcoming comedy shows benefiting different causes and organizations in the area:
Roast of Ice
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 3
Where: Sisyphus Brewing, 712 Ontario Ave. W., Minneapolis
Tickets: Benefiting Every Meal; sold out
Orange Aid w/Greg Orange & Jackson Hicks
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, February 5
Where: Comedy Corner Underground, 1501 S. Washington Ave., Minneapolis
Tickets: Benefiting MIRAC; click here for tickets
Megastellar Open Mic w/Cianna Violet
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, February 5
Where: Midway Saloon, 1567 University Ave. W., St. Paul
Benefiting YouthLink Minneapolis
Tickets: Free (*They’ll be collecting hygiene items, plus all tips will go to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota)
License to Chill Fundraiser w/Alexa Kocinski, discounted reading sessions, DJ GirlBlunt
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, February 7
Where: Third Eye Psychic, 910 W. Lake St., Minneapolis
Tickets: $10 online; proceeds go toward store rent and mutual aid at Smitten Kitten
Wensgays w/Sarah McPeck
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 11
Where: Sisyphus Brewing, 712 Ontario Ave. W., Minneapolis
Tickets: Benefiting Pride Cultural Arts Center community aid pantry; click here for tickets
Comedy Jackpot w/Dru Nustad
When: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, February 26
Where: Comedy Corner Underground, 1501 S. Washington Ave., Minneapolis
Tickets: Benefiting MIRAC; click here for tickets
