“Oh my god, the whole police force is here.”
Building off of his deep Southern drawl and fast thinking, comedian Billy Wayne Davis headlined the Comedy Attic on Thursday night. Without reservation, Davis poked fun at Bloomington’s small, college-town atmosphere.
“Someone tried to rob the bank,” he said to an enthusiastic audience.
Straying from his usual routine, Davis readily dove into improvisation.
“You have one firefighter,” Davis said. “Just a guy named Steve. He’s got the longest hose in town.”
Davis has appeared on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, truTV and NFL on Fox. He has also been a guest on comedian Marc Maron’s podcast, “WTF,” and his self-titled debut album was ranked within Paste Magazine’s Top 10 comedy albums of 2012.
Thursday’s show was Davis’ first performance at the Comedy Attic, but that didn’t stop the comedian from taking on Bloomington.
“You guys are really using all that limestone, aren’t you?” Davis asked. “Can we make the basketball court out of limestone? I tried that and it doesn’t bounce.”
Davis, now living in Los Angeles, was drawn to Bloomington by the Comedy Attic’s strong reputation among fellow comedians.
“This is cool. Do y’all know you have one of the best comedy clubs in the country?” Davis said. “To make this more accurate, if you could just smell the faintest scent of mothballs. This would be the perfect attic.”
“I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Bloomington,” Davis said with full sincerity. “I like college towns.”
From a small town himself, Crossville, Tenn., Davis was largely unknown by the audience of about 50 people. 17-year-old Caleb Zogorski researched Davis’ stand-up before the show.
“I think he was largely misjudged at first,” Zogorski said, referencing Davis’ similar background to comedians like Larry the Cable Guy.
Davis, who is often typecast as a comedian based solely on his Southern roots, embraces using personal experiences in his set.
“If it comes from real life, it’s much more relatable,” Davis said. “And people can’t steal those jokes.”
Davis also used his show as a platform to make light of the recent Religious Freedom Restoration Act controversy in Indiana. Davis’ criticism of Gov. Mike Pence was met with applause from the audience.
“It’s 2015,” Davis said. “Everyone knows a gay person, and if you don’t, you do, OK?”
Davis will be playing two shows at the Comedy Attic at 8 and 10:30 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $12 for general admission.
