That’s exactly what Sleepwalk With Me was like. At first it seems like he’s going off on a lot of tangents that, while humorous, don’t seem to be related to the overall story. But by the end he masterfully ties all those various threads together into the greater story.
It’s been a long time since I saw Sleepwalk With Me but I’ve seen pretty much all of his comedy specials and enjoyed them all. Big fan of his. As a matter of fact, I just checked to see if he’s performing in my area anytime in the near future, but alas, no. Someday…
I love Mike Birbiglia. I have not seen him live. I love his show/podcast Working it Out where he interviews comedians and they work through material together. I’m endlessly fascinated by the comedic process. We just watched The Good Life last night and he articulated so perfectly how inadequate you feel trying to explain stuff to your kid, and how much that is magnified when it’s a Big Issue. It was cool to see the finished product of his show after hearing him workshopping his own material on the podcast. What he does is really special. I recently watched him workshop an idea of Gary Gulman’s and I thought his analysis was spot-on.
There are very few comedians I’d describe as life-changingly good, but Birbiglia is one of them. I’m still thinking about the themes of The Good Life today.
I have not seen many shows live, but I did see Weird Al in concert and it was crazy. He really goes all out.
I bought tickets to see Kumail Nanjiani in Ann Arbor last year. He is one of my favorites, but he cancelled the show to go be in a play. Womp.
Forgive me if I live vicariously through you all.
My personal wishlist to see live is:
Mike Birbiglia
Bo Burnham
Kumail Nanjiani
Chris Fleming
Patton Oswalt
Tig Noraro
Maria Bamford
Oh, I could go on.
I heartily agree.
I’m not familiar with Chris Fleming, but otherwise I’m right there with you on all the others.
Oh, saw Mike Birbiglia live as well.
Wait… or was it Nate Bergatze?
Man, I forgot I saw Margaret Cho too. It was a fun show but the coolest thing is that I met one of my friend’s co-workers that night and we became good friends!
Also just saw Illana Glazer on her recent tour.
So crazy, that’s two more venues added to my list, as well. Other than Suzy Izzard, Amy & Tina and Kids in the Hall, they’ve all been at different venues.
He only blew up recently. He’s a niche artist but I think he’s one of the funniest people to ever live.
I think he has a special now on HBO.
Not sure how you could confuse the two. Their comedy styles are completely different.
Speaking of Bergatze, when we were talking about seeing a comedy show many months ago, we were deciding between him and Jim Gaffigan, who we both liked and who were performing in Detroit a month apart (Bergatze performed at Little Caesars Arena this past August). That was before he showed up at trump’s UFC fight and got himself photographed with a number of odious trumpers like RFK Jr. I’m so glad we chose Gaffigan-- since Bergatze revealed himself to be a MAGA sympathizer, he’s dead to me now. Maybe I’m being a little too hard on him; he claims he’s just a fan of UFC fights, but come on. Even if that’s true (a big if), he had to realize the optics would be terrible for him.
Oh jeez, I totally forgot we saw her too. It was a really good show-- I can’t believe I forgot to include her in my OP. Sorry, Illana! 
I’ll check him out, thanks! We seem to have very similar comedy tastes, so I’m sure I’ll find him very funny too.
I enjoy them both equally and have seen all their specials over the years.
Honestly, it’s a blur.
Steve Martin 1978, just before The Jerk came out. Hilarious. “I come to Indianapolis for the surfing!”
Marcel Marceau 1976, indescribable.
Eddie Izzard in the 2000s on the “Stripped” tour - An amazing show and my face physically hurt for days after from smiling so hard.
Henry Rollins a couple of times. Not pedantically a stand-up comedian I suppose, but a stand-up teller of very funny witty tales from his life in the entertainment industry. He’s steadily grown less angry and cynical, and more fun over his years. Very fast stream-of-consciousness delivery that left me physically exhausted trying to keep pace as a listener.
I never realized how funny he was until I saw Only Murders in the Building. His talent for physical comedy is just outstanding.
I…think I see what you did there.
If so,
I saw Sarah Millican with my sister in Denver last year. My sister, who is very, very much not a fan of anything raunchy, had only seen Sarah’s work in short clips when she suggested we go. She spent the show horrified and embarrassed, and I spent the show thinking, “She likes this woman’s comedy?”
I saw Nate Bargatze in Buffalo in 2022 and in Boston in 2025. I’m a huge fan of his comedy, and I’m glad I got to see him live before the UFC fight, because now I can never see him again. Agreed, it was a very dumb PR move, even if his reasons for going were innocent.
We go to a ton of comedy gigs, but as the the comics are British (one German) listing the names would be a waste of everybody’s time. So I’ll tell a story about being majestically pranked instead.
Jason Manford is one of the very best, and a huge live act in the UK. The last time we saw him, it wasn’t clear whether there was going to be a support act - until Manford appeared on stage to introduce him. The introduction encouraged the audience to give the kid a chance, and recalled how how hard it is for a young comic, and what it was like when he was starting out, opening up for the main act to a “Wave of indifference”. Finally, having assured the audience that he saw something really promising in this kid, he concluded “So please can you put your hands together for…” (takes two steps backwards, looks into the wings, asks: James? Oh, John, of course - Right) “…Please put your hands together for… John Bishop!”
John Bishop also being an absolutely huge live act in the UK. The two go way back, having started out on the circuit together decades ago, sharing lifts to shows, and are (real) best friends. John wanted to catch his mate’s new show, and this was the only gig he could get to. So, in that case, could he please do twenty minutes of support? And he did.
You should have heard the audience gasp. Us included, of course. As I said, majestically pranked.
j
.
Great story!
Thank you!
j
I saw Maria Bamford in 2019. I’m a big fan and was not disappointed.
In the late 80s I saw (the late) Scott Hansen, (the late) Louie Anderson and Joy Behar in Minneapolis but have no recollection of their performances.
In the early 80s I saw the pre-infamous Bill Cosby. Boring. I don’t recall much laughter from me or the rest of the audience.
Dana Carvey at Milwaukee Summerfest in 1992? Pretty funny. Did his choppin broccoli thing.
Emo Philips at Summerfest. Hilarious.
Richard Belzer at Summerfest. Boring. It was the early 90s and he was still doing Ronald Regan jokes.
Henny Youngman at a side tent at the Wisconsin State Fair. I laughed the whole time.
Bill Cosby at the Wisconsin State Fair. I thought it was boring but people around me loved it. He kept commenting on the bungee jump crane behind him.
Nick Swardson at a casino. Hilarious.
Nate Bargatze arena show. Not bad but typical. Was all in his delivery.
Louie Anderson. Good but had a lot of recycled material.
My wife and I caught their show in Las Vegas a while back–would definitely recommend it!
They did a lengthy and ambitious bit called Entropy. There was hardly any stage magic in it at all; the impressive thing was in the conception and performance of it.
A few months later, they performed it on their TV show. Check it out: