SAG-AFTRA rules did not permit Bill Burr to promote Old Dads, the new Netflix comedy he directed, co-wrote and co-stars in with Bobby Cannavale and Bokeem Woodbine, when this interview was conducted. However,he could happily get down and dirty with the current state of stand-up comedy and his plans surrounding his race weekend headlining performance at Park MGM’s Dolby Live.
How have you seen the Las Vegas comedy landscape change over the years? I just stay in my own lane. And wherever they put me, I just try to give people a show that makes them want to come back and see me. That’s basically my mindset every single night so I don’t get overwhelmed. It’s just my job. I go out, and you show up, I make you laugh your ass off, and you go home happy.
Any Vegas spots you always like to hit? The O’Sheas craps table was one of my favorite places to bebecause it wasn’t expensive. I grew up watching James Bond. That guy would be playing cards for like an hour, and then you’d go to Vegas and get cleaned out so damn quick. You’re like, “How much money do you need here?” And then I found O’Sheas. I’m old school. I like the Mirage, I love the cigar bar at Caesars, the sportsbook at MGM. I like the way the Bellagio looks. And some of those more themey-er ones like, “Are we in New York City? Is this Paris?” Those ones.
I had a joke about how Vegas is like low-end world travel on a budget. “You seen the pyramid? You’ve seen the gondolas?” Go to [Mirage], you see the volcano. Get to pass it off as Hawaii.
Have you watched anything online about Sphere? It’s the stupidest thing. All the videos I saw of the Sphere, U2 was in the corner like a wedding band, and everybody’s filming the ceiling the whole time. It’s sensory overload.
That kind of thing has also ruined going to sporting events. They got everybody staring at screens while a DJ is cranking music at 11. I’m going to tell you right now, there’s going to be a class-action suit with people getting tinnitus going to the Gap because there’s a f**king DJ blasting music. We’re all staring at our phones, and there’s no vibe. We used to create the vibe, and now we’ve taken ourselves out of the equation. That’s why they need a DJ everywhere because they have to create a soundtrack for the mood that they were hoping we were going to bring, but we’re not because we’re staring at our phones. Oh, I’m on a rant here.
You’ve had tons of acting success in stuff like Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian and now Old Dads, but why is the stand-up grind something you always want to keep returning to? If you can go sell out Improvs, you’re going to make more money than you make on any acting gig right now. Especially if you look at the amount of time you have to work. I know three comics who quit their own TV show to go back on the road because they were losing money.
Where back in the day, six people got a hit sitcom. And now like 60 people have a TV show. The slice of the pie, because so many people have a show or movie, got divvied up. But the problem is that making the show and the movie is still 16 hours, 14 hours a day, and there’s no money. It went from you do stand-up to get a sitcom, to get a book deal, to maybe get a movie career. And now it’s inverted.
If you’re a stand-up comedian selling tickets on the road, and that’s all you’re doing, that is as free a person as they’ll let you be in this country. You decide when you want to work, you’re making stupid money, and you’re working like an hour. It’s not really an hour a night, there’s also the travel and time away from your family. It’s not the show. The shows are always fun and sweet. I never had more fun doing stand-up than I am right now.
BILL BURR November 17, 10 p.m., $63-$73. Dolby Live, ticketmaster.com.
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