Ex-Viner and comedian Nick Colleti performed in Edwards Auditorium last week. Photo by James McIntosh.
Comedian and internet personality Nick Colletti performed one of his first stand-up comedy shows last Wednesday in Edwards Auditorium.
Colletti started his performance by indulging the audience with some of his most popular quotes from his viral videos such as “What the fuck is up, Kyle?,” ”Suh, dude” and ”I’m just tryna ball with my bros.”
Colletti structured his set by explaining his upbringing and rise to fame with a “couple of jokes sprinkled in.” He started with a story from his childhood where he caught his parents having sex and his mother came into his room to explain that what he had seen was “love making.”
“I was like ‘uh, I know what lovemaking is and that was not it,’” said Colletti. “That was fucking, do not try to sugarcoat it. If you guys were making love, why did you tell him to pull your hair and slap your ass? I don’t remember reading that in Shakespeare.”
This joke as well as several others, fell flat amongst the audience which had filled the first level of Edwards Auditorium. The sprinkle of laughs it did gain seemed half-hearted.
Colletti talked about how he has been handling his new found freedom as an adult. He joked that he is going to go to Target and buy a bundle of blankets and pillows. He would then go back to his house and “make blanket world” and become known as “blanket man.”
The audience remained almost completely silent during this joke, with the exception of lackluster laughs from those in the front row, which were reserved for those who bought VIP passes. After seeing this reaction Colletti explained himself by confessing he was high when he wrote that joke.
“He was definitely new to stand up,” said Josh Ornovitz, a senior at URI who attended the event. “He was kind of awkward, but it’s still funny. He had some really good stage presence, rather than his actual physical performance. It definitely could have been better.”
Despite the duds, Colletti gained a big laugh when relating about people who are overly devoted to astrology. According to Colletti, once this kind of person learns your astrology sign, they use it to justify all your actions. He performed an exaggerated imitation of an astrology girl that picked up a hearty laugh from the audience.
In Colletti’s defense, the audience consisted of 400 members.The lack of people combined with the echo in the large auditorium fueled the awkwardness between him and the audience.
Another successful joke was Colletti’s story about ordering a new pet on Postmates, the food delivery app. He was smoking marijuana and saw that Petco was on the app, which caused him to custom order a beta fish.
“I opened the door and there was a guy there, with one earbud in his ear, and he just handed me the bag and goes ‘here’s your fish, bro,’” said Colletti. “I look in the bag and sure enough there is a little fish swimming in there. Then I made the world’s smallest fish taco.”
Before leaving the stage Colletti told members of the audience that he was proud of them for staying in school and that he believes in them. According to Colletti, the students are the future and have the power to change the country. He was met with a warm applause as he walked off the stage.
The event was put on by Platinum Entertainment Group, an organization that curates concerts and events targeted at college kids. This was the first comedy show they marketed and produced.