Sean Patton-Tip of the Hat 6/23/11
The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” this week to SEAN PATTON.
Yes, he’s killed it on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Yes, he was just at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and has been at the Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival twice.
Yes, he’s gotten props from Bill Burr after a “monster set”.
AND
Yes, he was also on stage last week around 2 in the morning in front of empty seats and said, “There’s no other place I’d rather be.” Patton was working on a few freshly written bits like a pro despite empty beer bottles outnumbering the people in the room. Such dedication is why Sean, on the very next evening in front of an actual crowd, some of which came to see him, went to what Anthony Jeselnik refers to as “applause break city” for pretty much his whole set.
A Sean Patton joke, if you’ve never heard one, goes down a wonderfully winding and twisting road of bizarre, true life stories, brilliant metaphors, and hilariously visceral imagery that always has a payoff that’s more a perfect way to end a bit than the punchline that one waits for. Often has it been said by audience members and comics alike about Patton when he’s on stage, that you’re in the hands of a master and no matter where he’s going with whatever bit he’s doing or how long it takes, he makes every moment feel worth it.
There are layers upon layers where it could seem like the simple “rule of 3” (i.e. There are three types of ____________) joke structure, but then Sean will go far past the “3” into something else fantastic and damn funny… like made up mysterious lands in a novella written with an ex-girlfriend that they’ll never get to go to.
Such a joke is something that you’ll be talking about days later, trying to remember everything he said because it was just so damn funny, and something you’ll want to share with your friends because you want to make them laugh. Ultimately, you probably won’t remember a Sean Patton joke in its entirety because, most likely you weren’t on a stage that you didn’t need to be on in front of empty couches and chairs AND enjoying the hell out of it, wanting to be nowhere else.
His website: iamseanpatton.com
His twitter handle: @mrseanpatton
Follow those or check back here at the Comedy Bureau handily to find where he’ll be performing next.