rant · moment 10 of 41

Comedy Clubs as Carnival Sideshows

from #247 - Scream At The Sky (ft. Yannis Pappas) | The Tim Dillon Show · #247

2 min

Tim compares comedy club owners and bookers to old carnival barkers exploiting bearded ladies, tying it to pandemic-era tent shows replacing normal club structure.

In this bit4 moments
  • Comedy club owners and bookers are the same carnival carnies who used to sell tickets to bearded ladies and conjoined twins outside tents.
  • Tim appreciated the pandemic forcing comedy clubs to take their circus outside literally, doing shows in tents like a traveling carnival.
  • Comics like his ex-roommate are part of American entertainment history, the type who would have worked the Depression-era dust bowl carnival circuit.
  • Club owners and bookers treat comics like carnival overseers whipping bearded ladies—welcoming them to sit at a water station to gossip with waitresses.
Mentioned here

Jay OckersonTim Warner

All 41 moments in this episode →