"Who's that? The slow comedy man."

October 7, 2023 12:51 AM

Slow & Steady is a new hour-long stand-up comedy special where the star of Joe Pera Talks to You, Joe Pera, talks to you. He ends by attempting to put the audience to sleep, with a live edition of his sleep podcast, Drifting Off with Joe Pera. [Joe Pera previously]
posted by Kattullus (9 comments total)

Oh, there's a blue joke towards the middle of the set, in case you're at work or have kids around.
posted by Kattullus at 12:52 AM on October 7, 2023

Oh! I forgot to mention that Pera is joined on stage for the podcast bit by musician Ryan Dann.
posted by Kattullus at 3:59 AM on October 7, 2023

The adult jokes were so out of left field but also so so funny.
posted by bxvr at 4:17 AM on October 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

oh man I didn’t expect this to be available for free when he announced it
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:35 AM on October 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm on the fence with this guy. First video I saw from him had me cracking up. It was just him going for a drive to look at autumn leaf colors in the hills somewhere, narrating to camera. In a very stereotypical old white man car. I thought it was pretty funny because he played it completely straight, 100% in character. Also, it was pretty short, and had a genuine WTF? quality to it. I've not seen a lot of his other stuff, but I've caught him on some late night talk show, and when he lets the "bit" drop a little (he's obviously not an elderly dorky man) it doesn't work as much for me.

Not to compare the two men/characters completely, but it's like if Paul Reubens let "Pee-Wee" drop... it wouldn't work for me either. When he was Pee-Wee, he was 100% Pee-Wee. All-in.

As a Chicagoan my whole life, I find Pera's character voice has more than a hint of Chicago to it... not the Chicago accent many people immediately think of as a Chicago accent (SNL "Da Bears" sketch, which is South Side, and way, way exaggerated), but the real one I notice as a north side Chicagoan who has traveled extensively. I also lived in Miami Beach for five years, and hearing the East Coast accents there for an extended time REALLY made me notice Chicago accents when I would come home to visit.

I will watch this though, because in general I appreciate weird character humor. Thanks for the link!
posted by SoberHighland at 7:56 AM on October 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Watched last night. So great!! Even as a fan for quite a while, there were some jokes that surprised me. Loved the reaction shots from the back (you'll know which ones I'm talking about). Rare to feel this way about a comedian, but Joe makes me feel better about the world.
posted by ericthegardener at 9:27 AM on October 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

I love this guy and his canceled Adult Swim show so much.
posted by earthstarvoyager at 9:55 AM on October 7, 2023 [6 favorites]

That cancellation still makes me mad. The show was beautiful, and cannot possibly have cost enough to even be noticeable to whatever idiot executive decided to pull the plug.
posted by Ipsifendus at 12:45 PM on October 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

The show was beautiful, and cannot possibly have cost enough to even be noticeable to whatever idiot executive decided to pull the plug.

I learned about Joe Pera from The Best Show. I wish I had a link to the conversation and I'll try to find it and leave a comment. The gist is that it was expensive to produce and the Baba O'Riley episode was especially expensive because every single time it played, royalties were required -- but the producers went all out on making it happen.

He is a treasure for sure. I get that he's doing a shtick but it's a wonderfully endearing one that's made my life happier
posted by treepour at 4:23 AM on October 8, 2023 [2 favorites]