It’s 10:38PM on a Tuesday – i just dropped off Brandon and his wife. I grabbed a couple of double stacks from Wendy’s like the fat piece of ass that I am and I’m just cruising through town thinking “damn – it feels good to go to a show again.” Not to be a human ‘live, laugh, love’ sign, but I needed that in my soul, y’know? It’s been awhile since I’ve had that feeling of satisfaction that comes with the drive home from a memorable show. Alas – nature is healing, and that’s exactly what Nimesh Patel delivered when he took the stage at Zanies Nashville last night.
Patel has a champion’s pedigree with some impressive writing credits. From his website: “I wrote for S2 of A Little Late With Lilly Singh. I was a producer for Full Frontal with Sam Bee. I wrote for SNL. I’ve written for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Comedy KO, the 2016 Oscars with Chris Rock, and lots of other cool stuff.” Impressive shit, right? I didn’t know any of that. Nope – like a fucking teenager, I discovered Patel on Tik Tok. That’s right…..Tik Tok. The dude has over 400K followers, and 6.4M likes on the app. He seemed surprised by the turnout last night when he took the stage, even asking, “how many of y’all are here because of Tik Tok?” I was one of ’em. It’s a testament to the power of the app, with Patel even joking about China doing whatever it wants, but pleading for them not to shut down Tik Tok.
“I love jokes,” Patel repeated in between jokes. It was a relatable statement (no shit, Captain Obvious, huh?), not just because everyone likes to laugh an be entertained. But, because humor is a defense mechanism for a lot of people. That shit resonated with me – I too cope with pain through comedy and a dark sense of humor. It’s a way to process things and lessen the blow of the real world beating your ass down. There was a genuine quality to Patel’s set – it never felt like a gimmick…never felt like he was trying too hard or reaching for jokes. It all came naturally, and it was born out of that love for comedy.
Now, I’ll tell y’all up front – we are based out of Nashville, Tennessee after all – he’s probably not for the Blue Lives Matter crowd, and I’m willing to say that if you stormed the capitol, you’re definitely not going to like his set. Maybe just stay home if you’re a doctor that drives a Lambo. But, his style is effortlessly dry, sarcastic, and at times, dark (in the right way, obviously, assuming there is a right way – unless my sense of humor is just as fucked up as Patel’s). Some of the themes his routine last night touched on included family, healthcare (specifically how fucked America’s system is), alcohol, and drugs (use ’em – just wait ’til you’re 30). The way he delivered it all was nuanced, well-crafted, and inherently Northeastern.
He does lean into the social commentary, but he’s not so overbearing about it that it consumes his set and becomes the focal point of his comedy. It’s just real life storytelling, something I feel is hard to do as a comic. To not just throw crude jokes at us for an hour, but to really dive into a story, give us a few laughs here and there, change up the cadence, and then to drill it home with an impeccable punchline – whew, that’s somethin’ else, buddy. That’s timing, practice, work, and brilliance – Nimesh Patel is a pro’s pro. All the while, he’s revealing little bits of his own story and using it in his material to give it a unique perspective. All of this gave Patel’s routine a ton of heart – he did a masterful job of going above and beyond just making us laugh.
I also noticed his quick wit. At one point, he mentioned that he’s work-shopping a joke, and that it’ll probably play better in the middle of a bit from earlier in the evening, when a guy nods his head near the front of the audience. Patel notices this and replies, “I appreciate the head nod – you look like you know comedy.” We were quoting that shit on the entire car ride home.
Patel wrapped up his set with a live Q&A, which I thought was a ballsy move that was a lot different from other comedy shows I’ve been to. It led to us hearing a story about him and Chris Rock not being able to get into Prince’s, his favorite SNL jokes he wrote for Weekend Update, and a joke for all of us to share moving forward. It was all well-crafted, and it was thoughtful – somewhere in it all there’s a message about using humor as a bridge to strengthening and creating new friendships. I’m just too fucking lazy to find it right now. Point is, Nimesh Patel is a refreshing act, and different from a lot of the same old bullshit in the comedy scene. He’s definitely a name to watch moving forward – let’s hope Nashville gets another stop on the next tour.
Check out Nimesh Patel on YouTube, Tik Tok, or any of his upcoming shows:
- June 23 – Cincinnatti – Funny Bone
- June 24 – Columbus – Funny Bone
- Jul 1 -3 – Washington DC – DC Improv
- July 15 – Atlanta – Atlanta Punchline
- July 22 – San Antonio – LOL Comedy Club
- Aug 9/10 – Chicago – Zanies Comedy Club
- Aug 11 – Philadelphia – Helium Comedy Club
- Aug 18 – Boston – Laugh Boston
- Aug 19, 22 – SF – The Setup
Also, just a quick note about the folks at Zanies Nashville – they did a tremendous job in getting everyone in and seated in an organized fashion and our food and beverage service was fantastic. Connor Larsen and Mookie Thompson did a stand-up job getting the crowd warmed up. All in all, a fantastic and much-needed evening for your boy. Get out there and support Zanies.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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