Joe Gatto brought his brand of East Coast humor to the Midland on Friday night

Joe Gatto performing standup. // Courtesy of Mike Williams

Joe Gatto filled The Midland with laughter on Dec. 8 with an evening of awkward situations and spot-on barbs at his standup special. 

Opening for Gatto, Mark Jiagarjian warmed the Midwest crowd up for a night full of Boston and New York-style comedy. His quick-witted 30-minute set evoked Kansas Citians as they anticipated the arrival of Gatto’s Night of Comedy.

As Jigarjian gave his last cracks, the crowd went still as they awaited Gatto, only for him to make a legendary welcoming as the speakers began blaring “Allow me to reintroduce myself,” the first line of Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement (Interlude).” It was on from that moment.

Gatto began his set, as most comics do, giving backhanded compliments about the city, touching on our homeless situation, violence, and any quick jabs that would get a quick laugh.

He quickly retracted by praising and admiring the Midland for all its historic scenery before turning lifelong fans into a Midwest mob by dogging on their hometown. 

Then he got into his jokes, which included everything from how to make strangers as uncomfortable as possible, something that he has mastered in his 47 years, to stories about his three goofball friends that make up Impractical Jokers.

Going on about his time with Brian Quinn, James Murray, and Sal Vulcano, he mentioned that his favorite person to prank in the entire world is Vulcano. Anecdotes of Gatto setting Vulcano up with a traumatizing massage and one of having to corral Q and a drunken Vulcano as they were pulled over on a car ride home after a long night of New York partying, gave the crowd some insight into their personal lives behind the screen.

He also made sure to touch on his family life with his pets and children as his hour-long set continued, giving many of the parents in attendance something to relate to. Reminiscences of Disney movie night turning into Disneyland nightmares for Gatto’s son Remington turned the crowd up in a roar.

Priding himself on his awkward nature which is a large part of his claim to fame, Gatto shared with the audience some of his favorite ways to make any situation with a stranger as uncomfortable as possible. 

His lessons included a wide array of strange methods for men to use the urinal, along with a few textbook examples of how to ensure that you will ride the elevator alone for the rest of your life.

As promised, Gatto delivered more than just a few laughs at his Night of Comedy show, turning a gloomy winter night into an evening of memorable hooting and howling at the timeless Kansas City locality.