I don’t know if the tourists would be ready for it, but would you ever consider being a permanent Strip headliner one day?
I would love it. I would love to have a home casino that I could play a few times a year, because I actually like Vegas. I’ve had some amazing times there, and I’ve also had times there I can’t remember, which I guess is appropriate. But when I’ve done my stand-up there, especially in the past five years, every time it’s just like a party. A lot of my friends come in, and a lot of people that know what my stand-up is about are into it. And that’s why I’m loving my stand-up so much right now.
I was doing a Broadway play for four months in New York—that was October to December—I did this thing called The Drowsy Chaperone, and then I came back to the West Coast and worked on new material. I just kept trying to get new stuff, because my HBO special, That Ain’t Right, the audience seems to like some of the things—there’s a song about my dog they particularly care for—and then the new stuff I’m working on, I thought I was going to clean up my act and not be quite as foul, but it doesn’t seem to be working that way.
But my audience is perfect for the Hard Rock. It’s almost a rock ’n’ roll audience: It’s young guys, who I never thought I would even have as fans. When I was in high school, these were the guys I would not be close with. I just didn’t know them. I had two kids come up to me, and they can’t get into the show, but they were like 13 years old, at a party last week—they looked like the guys in Superbad, but younger—they come up to me and they go, “Hey, I dig your comedy.” I went, “What?!” They went, “Yeah, we saw it on the HBO special.” I said, “Were you even allowed to watch it?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Our parents know what we’re doin’.” They looked like little pimp daddies. They were cute and a little too old for their age.
But I would love to have a home there. As far as live there, I don’t know. I have a couple friends who live in Vegas, and they all tell me the same thing, that you’re not living on the Strip; you’re living your life, having a good life in America. It has that kind of Phoenix feel to it, people raising their families, and I’m all into that … but I have a closeness to my audiences, and I really love performing. I love to do new stuff for them, and they seem to be going on my journey with me right now, wherever that comedic tangent is. And that’s quite a thrill for me.
With Jeffrey Ross. March 21, 10 p.m., $36.50-$66.50. The Joint, 693-5000.