‘I might pee on the stage’

Popular comedian Hannibal Buress is ready to make his Winnipeg debut

Comedian Hannibal Buress started making a name for himself on the strength of his debut CD, 2010’s My Name Is Hannibal. Comedy Central
Louis C.K. and Chris Rock have singled Buress out as a comedian to watch for, with the latter comparing him to the late, great Mitch Hedberg. Comedy Central
Comedy Central released Buress’s second comedy special, Animal Furnace, on CD and DVD last month. Comedy Central
“It’s my first time in Winnipeg,” Buress says. “You should come to the show so it’s not my last time in Winnipeg. ‘Cause if everybody doesn’t come, I’m gonna say, ‘Fuck this. I’m not coming back here.’”

Writing about Hannibal Buress in a student publication is a tricky proposition. During the second routine on his new album, Animal Furnace, the popular comedian spends five minutes lampooning an article The Daily Eastern News at Eastern Illinois University published about Buress shortly before he performed on campus in 2009.

In the routine, Buress pokes fun at his admission that he lied to the writer during the interview, as well as the writer’s redundant description of his jokes as “comedic” and a university source’s choice to reveal in the article how much the comedian was being paid for the gig.

Buress, who makes his Winnipeg debut on Thursday, June 21 with a performance at the Park Theatre, laughs when asked about the article and the paper’s response to his remarks.

“Both of us were at fault for that article,” the 29-year-old says with a laugh over the phone from his home in New York City. “It was a mixture of things that came together to create that horrible article. It was my quotes, the quotes from the (other source), the writing - it all came together for a special combination of pure bullshit on paper.”

The routine, titled “Wack Writing,” is one of the many highlights on Animal Furnace, a comedy special Buress taped last December. Comedy Central released the performance on CD and DVD last month as the follow-up to his acclaimed debut, 2010’s My Name Is Hannibal.

I thought I was supposed to be entering a karate tournament, but it turned out to be an open mic. And you know how it is in college - you just want to do whatever. So instead of karate, I started doing comedy and it just worked out like that.

Hannibal Buress on how he got into comedy.

Buress got his start as a comedian almost 10 years ago when he was studying radio and television at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

“I thought I was supposed to be entering a karate tournament, but it turned out to be an open mic,” Buress deadpans. “And you know how it is in college - you just want to do whatever. So instead of karate, I started doing comedy and it just worked out like that.”

Buress, who has worked as a staff writer on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, started making a name for himself on the strength of My Name Is Hannibal. Louis C.K. and Chris Rock have singled him out as a comedian to watch for, with the latter comparing his laid-back delivery to the late, great Mitch Hedberg.

These days, touring keeps Buress on the road an average of three weeks out of every month. He plans to keep touring throughout 2012 and to keep writing new material.

He does not reveal what sort of material fans can expect if they come see him at the Park Theatre.

“We’ll see,” he says. “Maybe I’ll have a bunch of new stuff, maybe I won’t. Who knows what will happen in Winnipeg? I might pee on the stage - with my back to the audience, but I still might pee. So who knows?”

He hopes people come to the show.

“It’s my first time in Winnipeg. You should come to the show so it’s not my last time in Winnipeg. ‘Cause if everybody doesn’t come, I’m gonna say, ‘Fuck this. I’m not coming back here.’”

“And Winnipeg should be happy that it’s in between Calgary and Toronto,” he jokes. “It so happened that I was in Calgary on the 20th and Toronto on the 22nd, and it made financial and travel sense to stop in Winnipeg for the first time.”

Then he gets serious for a moment.

“But I’m sure it will be a lot of fun,” he says. “I’m excited to check out the city as much as I can while I’m there.”

Hannibal Buress performs on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last year.

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