Photo via billburr.com
Bill Burr never experienced the meteoric rise that many entertainers in the internet era have enjoyed. “If there were 60 steps to get somewhere I had to take all 60,” he says.
The 49-year-old stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster has, since 1992, steadily built a cult following through his unapologetically brash takes on controversial subjects. In an increasingly politically correct era, Burr is anything but. His comments about Caitlyn Jenner, for example, led to critiques from the Huffington Post and others. Burr doesn’t seem to mind.
“Most people are adults,” he says. “They know that they’re at a comedy show. That’s 99% of people. But one person has a problem and all of a sudden the story is that the comic said something offensive. You’re literally talking about one person out of 1,500. Name one President that has ever had that kind of approval rating.”
The ability to push the envelope, along with a desire to keep his anonymity, is part of what pushed him to create “F is for Family,” a Netflix comedy series loosely based on his experiences growing up in the ‘70s, as an animation, rather than live action.
“In live action, every time I would pitch a show they would say, ‘That seems too this. This is going to offend these people,’” he says. “With animation you can be underground, edgy and all that stuff, and still appeal to a lot of people.”
Burr will play three shows over two days on Nov. 3-4 at the Riverside Theater. The hour and twenty minutes of mostly new material will touch on “everything from topical stuff to robots to becoming a dad,” he says. “It’s everything from conspiracy theories to me having a kid.”
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Fatherhood is a recent change in Burr’s life. His wife, actress Nia Hill, gave birth to their daughter in late January. While he says that becoming a father has changed the way he views television and film, pointing specifically to a scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High between the characters Stacy and Ron he recently rewatched on a plane, he insists that his approach to comedy has not changed.
While his colorful act may have stopped him from having the same level of fame as other comedians his age like Jim Gaffigan, Burr is happy with how things have turned out. “I have a really cool level of notoriety,” he says. “Do you know like those underground bands that can actually sell out a nice place to play their gigs? I’m a comedy version of that and I love it. I walk down the street and nobody bugs me.”
Burr will be in town for a full weekend playing Friday and Saturday night shows, but don’t expect to see him hanging out at some glitzy club with bottle service after the show. “When I do a show I don’t need to go to some club and sit in the VIP and try and see how well I’m known,” he says. “I’ve always said that if I can just do a show, and everyone knew who I was to buy tickets, but when the show is over nobody knew who I was, I would be happy as hell. That would be perfect.”
Bill Burr will perform at the Riverside Theater on Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 4 at both 7 and 10 p.m. You can purchase tickets here.
