Snow, People.
I’m glad I have the driving chops to navigate snow. They’ve come in pretty handy my last couple of trips.
I was excited to wear layers and a parka with fur around the hood. I like snow and winter and the cold air for a day or two but it was really fucking cold. We flew into Cedar Rapids last Wednesday and walked out to find the rental car covered in snow and it was so cold my hands hurt within seconds.
Thankfully I had my big dumb gloves as well.
I’d been to Iowa City a few times before but sometimes I don’t remember a place until I get there. I had forgotten just how slow time goes by in the Midwest. That’s not a criticism. I guess it can sound like one if you come from a big city but there are two sides to it. If you want to get the most out of life and at the top of that list is time, Iowa might be for you. I had moments when I’d look at my watch thinking an hour went by but it was like 15 minutes. I think that is getting the most out of life on a basic level. Time just plodding by. It was a bit zen in a way.
I guess it’s probably different for each person. If you’re busy, you’re busy. I was not. I was waiting.
The show was great in Iowa City. Good people. My people. I have been nervous about going to red states during this transition to Competitive Authoritarianism and seemingly conditional cultural free speech but there are large communities of like-minded people anywhere I go in this country.
I’m not fundamentally a political comic but I am a comic that talks about what is happening in the world from my point of view because we are living it. I can't get up there and just pretend like it's not happening or ignore it. I talk about shit. I talk about how I see it. I do that for maybe the first fifteen minutes.
I address the fact that there are probably some Trump supporters in the audience and I say, ‘They didn’t come here on their own. You brought them. You married them. That’s on you.’ That gets a laugh.
The Des Moines show was awesome. People are appreciative. My crowds need the relief of being in a room of hundreds of like-minded people in a city where that is rare.
Kansas City, Missouri was good too. Big Theater. About 1100 people. Relieved.
A guy came up to me after the KC show and said, ‘I’m one of the Trump guys here!’ He seemed like a pleasant enough fella. I said, ‘Did I get it right?’ He said, ‘Yeah, he’s crazy!’
I’m not completely sure I understand why he was so excited about it but that’s the bunch of his supporters I don’t quite get. The ones that enjoy the mentally ill, cruel presidential spectacle. I mean, I get that life is slower in the Midwest but I wish there were other options for satisfying entertainment other than watching the country burn on your phone or specific streaming channels.
All and all, a good trip. Great shows with Lara Beitz opening. I’m looking forward to the next stretch in Asheville, Nashville, Lexington and Louisville.
Today I have a great talk with Brady Corbet who directed The Brutalist. On Thursday another great one with Palestinian comic Mo Amer.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
