It’s January 74th. You need to laugh. Go to Helium, buy a ticket to see TJ Miller, and forget about this bullshit cold for a minute.
I had the chance to chat with TJ Miller this afternoon just before his 3 night stint at Helium Comedy Club at the St. Louis Galleria. The last time that I had the pleasure of speaking with him, he was over the moon and smitten with his girlfriend, Kate, and I was pleased to hear that they’ve since tied the knot! Congrats to the adorable couple!
Aside from our deep conversation about the importance of mindfulness and suddenly somehow our transition into existentialism and then the works of Nietzsche, we wrapped with a brief teaser of what to expect at his show that night. When he mentioned circus tricks, I had no idea that I was in for one of the best comedy shows I was ever going to experience.
Today, TJ shared with me that over the last year aside from touring a ton, he took a short reprieve to accompany his wife to France for her own art gallery exposition. While there, he thought, why the hell not try to drop into a local comedy club and see how his comedy would be received. With a few adjustments in relation to the language barrier, the show did well! With this, I am not surprised.
Here is the point: TJ can take observations that he has made after only being in France for 24 hours and turn it into a 3 hour stand up act of nothing by improvisation. He is that good.
As we talked, TJ was strolling around the St. Louis Zoo. He was fascinated by how barren it was. He also found it fascinating that the gates are wide open and the zoo is free to the public. His observations made while at the zoo and his spontaneous stroll to the St. Louis Art Museum will make it into his stand up act tonight.
Improv is something that TJ holds in high regard when it comes to his performance. Of course bringing prepared material to the stage is tough to do, especially when you have to perform it a number of times a night for consecutive nights over the course of several months. It would only seem natural for it to get stale. This is why Miller brings the improv. And he’s so fucking good at it.
He’s so fucking good at it because he’s so fucking intelligent. I’ve had the privilege of having a couple of solid conversations with him that were not your average interview. (Side note: Those are not my style, anyway.) Other than David Cross, Miller has been the most intelligent, well-rounded, and genuinely respectful person with which to speak. These are the qualities of a good comedian.
Forget what you’ve read in the press about Miller. Throw it out the goddamned window. Neither you, nor I were there to pass that judgement. However, I am here to tell that firsthand that TJ Miller is a fucking genuine human who will undoubtedly make you laugh your ass off if you go watch his comedy show. Essentially, that’s all you need to know.
Opening for Miller tonight is CJ Sullivan, writer for Robert Smigel and from Comedy Central.
Tickets are still available and you can get all the details on times and prices at https://st-louis.heliumcomedy.com/.
