Joe Pera Talks (and Cracks Wise) at the Pabst

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Image: Joe Pera - Facebook

Joe Pera

Joe Pera

“I am 5'1 in real life,” Joe Pera says when asked what differences there may be between the man beloved of his family and friends, the fictionalized iteration of himself seen on his sadly recently-canceled Adult Swim show “Joe Pera Talks with You,” and the stand-up comic scheduled to perform 8 p.m. Wednesday Aug. 24 at The Pabst Theater (144 E. Wells St.) as part of his Summer in The Midwest and Rustbelt Tour. 

That simple reply may then be reassuring if Pera means there is no substantive disconnect from his public personas as comedian and actor to his life away from the stage. That would fit the low-key, folksy approach Pera brought to three seasons of “Talks” and the stand-up career that preceded and now follows his cult hit cable show. 

“Softer, slower-paced comedy has been interesting to me for a long time,” Pera says of his singular approach, “and I’m still curious about different approaches to making people laugh. Plus, even after lockdown, most people feel a desire to slow down in today's world, motorcycle racers aside.”   

Tools of the Comedy Trade

Pera’s rhythm and tone may make his act distinct in a comedy world rife with more forceful and intense styles of delivery; but the tools of his trade don't differ from any of his more boisterous peers. 

“It’s a different pace but at the end of the day, it’s still regular jokes with set-ups and punchlines,” Pera says of the rhetorical elements of his artistry. Though his comedy is more distinct than he may let on, Pera’s not uncommon from other funny folk in that he came up in a family imbued with humor. “I kinda always wanted to do standup,” he recalls, adding, “My parents and grandparents were pretty funny people, and so I began when I was 18, doing it in Buffalo and Ithaca.”

Pera’s upstate New York (he now resides in New York City) may be a half-continent away from the setting where his late series took place, but the latter terrain allowed him to make professional connections to the city he will soon play. “A large bit of the show is shot in Milwaukee. It’s the in-between point of the Upper Peninsula, where the show is set, and a lot of great comedians we wanted to work with in Chicago, film equipment there, and crew. 

“But a large portion of the show’s crew was from Milwaukee, and it was wonderful to work with them over the past three seasons/four years. A lot of them worked on a number of seasons, and it was wonderful to get to return each time and pick up where we left off.” However, will Pera be picking up where he left off with scripted series television once he has completed his current touring? 

“To be determined,” he shares. “Right now, I am just focusing on preparing for my new role as the next James Bond.” Until-and if-his gig replacing Daniel Craig as Agent 007 transpires, Pera insists comedy lovers need not be familiar with his Adult Swim work to derive enjoyment from his Pabst date.

“I don’t think too vital,” Pera advises. “I’d been doing standup before the Adult Swim show; it was where many of the ideas in the show came from, and it’s nice getting back to it now. I hope anyone who is interested in seeing a good comedy show and drinking some beers will have a good time.”

Here's Pera several years ago speaking of his heartbreaking smile and facility at parkour, among sundry topics...  

What if Studs Were Around?

It would be a hoot if Studs Terkel were to interview Joe Pera. 

That can’t happen, of course, because the oral historian/activist/author died in 2008. He did, however, in his capacity as a radio host, interview hundreds of people from the 1950s to the ‘90s on what is the current on-air (and -internet) home of classical music in his hometown of Chicago, WFMT. 

Terkel talked to many funny people in his time behind a broadcast microphone. Over 130 of those conversations have this far been preserved for foreseeable posterity at the Studs Terkel Radio Archive. 

By his interlocution with comics, cartoonists, columnists, actors, authors and even musicians with pronounced relationship humor, Terkel left a legacy of what made people laugh in America over a sizable chunk of the 20th century. 

Anyone looking to research a history of hilarity in the U.S. during that time could do far worse than to take notes from Terkel's chats as a starting point.  

Here’s a link to some of Terkel’s comedy conversations: studsterkel.wfmt.com/explore/topics/comedy-satire.