March 28 was in many ways the perfect day. The sun was shining, the weather was in the 70s, it seemed like every student was outside and Jake Shane was in Bloomington. As I went on a walk with my roommate, we joked, “What if we ran into him on the street?”
One minute later, we saw a small group forming by The Graduate Hotel on Kirkwood Avenue and there he was, surrounded by fans and his entourage.
As someone who has listened to every single episode of Shane’s podcast “Therapuss,” I joke that I have a parasocial relationship with him. When I saw him standing surrounded by fans, my first thought was “I could not be famous.” There were so many students excited to have the chance to talk with him, so after his March 28 show at the IU Auditorium ended my goal was to seek out those most excited to see him.
IU senior Ava Fekete was desperate to go see his live show at the IU Auditorium but couldn’t find anyone to go with at the time.
“He is easily my favorite podcaster; his podcast is like therapy because it makes me laugh out loud,” Fekete said. “The night before the show, I had asked my private story if anyone wanted to come with me because the ticket prices had gone down.”
One person slid up on Fekete’s private story saying “maybe.” The two debated it the morning of the event. Fekete had to work a shift at Uptown Café the morning Shane was set to perform.
“I was standing at the host stand with my friend and cohost Ellie and all of the sudden and I see a guy that looks exactly like him,” Fekete said, “Sure enough, the man turns around and its Jake Shane.”
Fekete said she and her cohost Ellie Baldomero tried to play it cool when he came in, but their excitement got the best of them.
“I don’t stay calm when he walks in, I told him ‘Oh my god I’m going to throw up, I love you so much,’” Fekete said.
What happened next was every fan’s dream. Fekete described Shane as being extremely sweet, smiley and warm. Shane proceeded to ask if the two were going to the show later and they hesitated. He immediately offered tickets, giving the girls four seats in the orchestra.
“As he was leaving, he said ‘See you guys tonight,’ did his iconic laugh, gave us hugs, and said, ‘I love you,’” Fekete said.
University of Maryland student Eesha Patel was already planning to visit her friend, who is a student at IU, when she found out the date that Shane was coming to Bloomington. She immediately booked her flight for that very same weekend.
It was a very happy coincidence for Patel, who discovered Shane through popular influencer Alix Earle. Patel and her friends played Shane’s “Therapuss” episode that featured Earle and found themselves in hysterics.
“I don’t even listen to podcasts, but he’s so good,” Patel said. “He’s the only one I like”.
IU senior Grace Suer fell in love with Shane’s humor immediately after finding him on Tiktok.
“I find him to be really authentic to his audience, we share a similar sense of humor,” Suer said.
One of Shane’s bits from the show has the audience take flash photographs of him while he pretends that they are the paparazzi. With each show, he makes a TikTok video of this, making fans feel as if they are a part of the show. Bloomington, as Shane said during his performance , was the largest crowd he had played so far. The tour started on February 27th in Dallas with Bloomington being its final stop before taking a well needed break. His tour resumes on May 16th in San Francisco.
“I think he’s so smart at marketing and the paparazzi bit is a way for him to get fans excited about him and also post their own content from the show,” Suer said. “I was laughing the entire time. The show made me even more of a fan”.
In one short day, Shane has made an incredible impact on Bloomington. It was hard to not feel the electric energy of campus that day. During the show, it seemed like everyone was laughing out loud. It was truly one of my favorite shows that I have seen in that space. Even in a giant auditorium, Shane has that energy that makes you feel as if you have known him forever.
For those two hours, every stressor was gone. I sat with my best friends all in a row as we smiled together. It was one of those great days that I will not forget.
