Open Mike Night

[Review] Whether you like geeky comedians, rock & roll impersonators or laid back, quiet jokers, you got what you wanted at Wiseguys last weekend. The lineup included local host Aaron Burrell, who was a perfect opener for a Utah crowd. His bits about simple silliness like graduating as valedictorian of Kearns High School with a 2.0 GPA got people’s attention and started them laughing, even though it was a very small audience.

It was the perfect setup for featured comic Marcus, the City Weekly Artys favorite known only by his first name. Even though his act was suspiciously Dane Cook-esque, his high energy and ability to engage the audience energized the crowd. His closing impersonation of Adam Sandler as Jesus killed, and he left the audience wanting more—a respectable set for any comedian.

Then came headliner Mike Siscoe (pictured above). In the 10 years he’s been performing, Siscoe has had the opportunity to open for notable comedians, and won "Best New Face" in the 2004 New York Underground Comedy Festival. But it took a few minutes for the audience to get into Siscoe. He was almost too soft-spoken, and received only mild interest at first. Once he got into his groove though, his bits poked fun at Muslims, deaf people and Southerners, and his apparently wicked pot habit. His jokes were varied enough to get a laugh from everyone in the audience, even though it wasn’t all of them at once. His last bit involved members of the audience shouting out names of countries, whereupon Siscoe would do an impression of a man from that country having an orgasm. He finally got the cheers from the audience he'd been working for, and he closed on that high point.

At the end of the show, patrons ventured out into the freezing night air with smiles on their faces, eagerly accepting the coupons for upcoming shows that were being handed out at the door. (Jennifer Heaney)