Name: Nick Mullen on Skanksfest | The Adam Friedland Show
Uploaded: 2023-10-11T13:15:02.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Nick Mullen on Skanksfest | The Adam Friedland Show' from TAFS Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-10-11. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Nick Mullen on Skanksfest | The Adam Friedland Show' from TAFS Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-10-11. Transcript available.

So anyway, you were in Las Vegas this weekend, Mr. Las Vegas.
How was it?
It's depressing.
Yeah, you didn't like it?
I don't know.
Maybe it's just the contrast between the last Skanks Fest and this one.
The last one was like, it was like the first year since everything opened up,
since COVID.
I don't know.
It was like I'd been on the road so much that I had like a break after that,
but I flew right in from Phoenix after.
Those Phoenix shows might have been the worst.
The tour last year, we got laryngitis.
I remember.
In between the first and second shows, the last three shows of that weekend, I
couldn't speak.
You sound like a mob boss, I remember.
It was worse when I was there.
I was like squeaking and honking.
And you came back and did the show too.
Yeah, yeah.
Mr. Entertainment over here.
And I was there.
And then a bunch of people had laryngitis this time at Skanks Fest.
Really?
Shane's real sick.
He canceled.
Really?
Yeah.
Everyone got sick.
Wow.
What's going on in the comedy community?
I don't know.
But yeah, a couple people had laryngitis.
I don't know.
But the shows were good at least or no?
They were fun.
I mean, yeah, the people that are there, you know, those gas digital fans are
very locked into the...
...community.
Uh-huh.
The Louis J. Gomez lifestyle.
Yeah.
What was it like?
People were like doing kratoms and stuff?
I guess, yeah.
Yeah.
That's the other aspect of it too is like, you know, to what extent the culture
war stuff affects the comedy industry.
And then if you're in comedy, you know, it doesn't really feel like that.
Like, I mean, I see the criticisms of the New York comedy club scene and these
podcasts.
It's like, oh, these guys are fascists or whatever.
Well, Louis is a fascist.
Well, the defense is that these people are too stupid to be fascists.
They're just defensive because they feel like under attack and there's this
kind of like wagon circling.
And then being within that wagon circle, even though it seems a little
unnecessary or like misguided, it does sort of like bolster a sense of like,
you know, like, well, there's comedy.
There's like some sense of community or family here.
And a lot of the people I see there I've known for, you know, some of them 20
years.
Right.
And people are just doing bits though, right?
Yeah.
They're just doing bits.
They're not like defending the fatherland.
No.
They're not listening to Wagner.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But this, I guess it had more, there was more of like a sense of, you know,
like belonging or, you know, last year that isn't really political.
I mean, I guess it's like looking through like a glass bead or something.
On the inside, it's the same people and the same kind of connections, but it's
not a cultural thing.
It's just you've known these people for so long and you've done comedy with
them and came up.
And now I don't know if like, if things are sort of like dissipating, maybe I'm
just paying less attention.
Are you saying that things are more affected by a culture war nowadays?
No, I'd say a little bit less.
Yeah, way less it seems like.
It's less, and so what that does is it makes the walls fall down and then the
necessity of that, once they're no longer in place, it's like it just becomes
just another comedy thing.
You're saying like everyone's like a veteran who's returned from the shit.
I guess it's like, maybe I'm overcomplicating it.
It feels like it was Chris Kyle.
Last year, it felt like, you know, yeah, like, oh, this thing that I'm doing
with all my friends.
It's more exciting.
This year, it feels like running into all of my friends at Panera Bread, being
like, oh, hey, how are you?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So does it really, what does that have to do with the culture war, though?
Maybe it's just chilling with people.
What I was just saying before is that there was sort of this barrier put up
between that event and like the-
Oh, you're saying there was insulin.
Real or imagine these like assailing kind of like forces.
So it bolsters this like sense of community, whereas now it's just a comedy
festival.
Very good comedy festival, a lot of fun, but yeah, I don't know.
I don't know.
And maybe that's not the right, the right, I'm just trying to understand what
my feelings are and why it was different last year.
Maybe it just wasn't as fun for you.
Yeah, I don't know.
I mean, I was pretty fucking worn out last year.
We were putting out a new episode.
We didn't have anything out.
No, I'm saying this weekend we were putting out a new episode.
We had to stress from that.
Like maybe you were in Vegas.
Yeah, maybe it just wasn't as fun.
Maybe you were just fine.
Yeah, I think maybe it has something to do with the things I described.
I mean.
Yeah, yeah, of course.
I'm not denying that, but I'm just saying like maybe it's just like, you know,
sometimes you do something and it's just, sometimes you go to a restaurant that's
great.
And sometimes you go back and it's not that good.
And then you go back and it's great again.
You know what it's like?
It's like, you know, you've been in like a relationship and then like there's
like, let's say something like, you know, it's like either there's like a malaise
or things feel like they're boring.
And then it turns into a fight and then, or maybe not a fight like a, you know,
like just like this tension, tension, right?
Yeah.
And then it's like, fuck it.
Let's go.
Let's just go for the weekend to somewhere.
Yeah, let's go upstate.
Let's go upstate.
Let's get an Airbnb and go upstate.
Yeah.
And then it's a lot of fun.
And like, it doesn't really fix the thing, but it's like, okay, like, you know,
like, no, it's just, you know, we were just sort of bored.
Yeah.
And then a year later, you, like, it happens again.
It's like, let's go upstate.
And then upstate is just now a continuation of this, like, boredom.
It doesn't do it.
It makes the other one worse.
It's even more disappointing.
It's right.
Yeah.
I see what you're saying now.
It's something like that.
It's like that kind of feeling.
And I don't really know how or what, you know.
Yeah, yeah.
Now, I see what you're saying now.
Yeah.
Yeah, you're kind of looking to recapture magic that, you know, just existed on
its own.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
But sometimes maybe it's just fine if upstate isn't as fun.
I guess I explain it in those terms because I say I don't really feel like,
like, I don't feel like comedy was ever in danger.
I don't want to make that point, you know, because I don't believe that.
I think, like, if anything, anybody that is doing anything is, like, perceived
as, like, you know, like, bad or not PC or whatever is benefited, frankly, from.
Sure.
You know, like, I spent my entire career just giving people a hard time online
and, you know, just sort of being a piece of shit.
Yeah.
And it didn't lead to anything.
And then as soon as they were like, you can't do that, I started making money.
Right.
I saw Andy Haynes a couple, I guess a couple months ago now, and he was like,
yeah, I remember when you guys were starting Come Town.
I was like, you're going to ruin your lives.
And now I realize that you probably had to.
Now his hair transplant failed.
Did they?
No.
No.
I hope not.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
I see what you're saying.
But, I don't know.
In that sense, I feel kind of lucky because we kind of.
Why didn't you go?
Because I don't.
I don't want to say.
Say it.
I don't want to.
No.
I don't want to say.
Just tell me.
I mean, we can edit it out.
With your eyes.
I don't want to say.
Yeah, you shit yourself again.
I don't want to say on the show.
You had diarrhea in your pants.
Mm-hmm.
I just don't want to.
It's sad.
Anyway.
But, what were you saying?
I didn't mean to bring the vibe down.
That's fine.
Yeah.
But, no.
But, in that sense, I feel like we're kind of lucky because we inhabit our own
world that's
kind of insulated from, you know, we just have our thing and then it's not
really part
of anything, right?
Except for the center left.
Because you put blinders on, I guess.
That's good, right?
Yeah, you should.
Yeah.
You should just.
Yeah, we should.
But, we both, you know, to some extent, like, you know, we, yeah, I don't, we
don't have
to wax poetic about, like, the value of this, but, like.
Certainly.
Well, there's, there's, did you eat anything?
Did you go to dinner?
I think I cooked, I cooked meatballs on a Saturday night.
Mm-hmm.
Swedish?
Spaghetti and meatballs.
That was the other thing.
They had a catered.
By Trallion.
They had a catered lunch at Skank's Fest.
It was the most bizarre meal I've ever had in my life.
What did they serve?
Well, there's probably 200 comedians at the festival.
Yeah.
And there's a catered lunch at 2 p.m.
Mm-hmm.
And I wanted to make sure I got there before Bobby Kelly.
And so.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He was looking like he was going to have a relapse.
I was worried about Bobby Kelly relapsing.
You were protecting him.
On lunch.
Mm-hmm.
And so I wanted to get there.
Lunch.
And so I went, no, I just, I had nothing to do.
So, it was 2 p.m.
I got there at 1.58.
I was first in line.
Smart.
At the buffet for the catered lunch.
It's in this hallway where the lighting was insane.
It was like a saw room.
Mm-hmm.
It was like, I guess probably that's because of where they have the projector
for like the
main theater.
Mm-hmm.
So it had to be.
It was just low and kind of scary in there.
And they had this big, long, like, you know, like those six-foot tabletops.
Mm-hmm.
They have those set up.
I think it was like three or four.
Like folding tables.
Folding tables.
Yeah.
And then like three or four of them set up all draped with, you know, like
black tablecloth.
And then at the very end, three platters with sternos under them.
So there's three things they had.
And I'm sure they had more in the back.
Mm-hmm.
But for lunch, the lunch was lo mein, cooked with, it's like, but it's like
regular spaghetti
noodles, I think.
And then Swedish meatballs.
Mm-hmm.
And then plain, like, pre-grilled chicken that looked like it had been cut up
with scissors.
That sounds pretty bleak.
It wasn't bad.
It was just bizarre.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They didn't have like a salad.
There was not a salad.
There wasn't a fresh thing on the thing.
No, no.
Dude, those guys live good.
But it was, what a bizarre combination.
Swedish meatballs and lo mein.
Well, it's kind of a trip around the world.
Yeah.
It's kind of a, around the world in 90 days.
The trip stops.
It goes to Sweden, China.
China, yeah.
And then nothing.
Then chicken.
Yeah.
Unseasoned.
Chicken, yeah.
Everyone loves chicken.
Yeah.
That's a global food.
Yeah.
Yeah.
.