“Storytelling, social commentary, even a little bit of politics … stuff you wouldn’t delve into with a bunch of drunk people at a party.”
This article was published with permission from Talking Joints Memo. Read more of their cannabis coverage at talkingjointsmemo.com
There’s this thing that major news outlets do when they stumble onto something cool where they act like they found that shit first. The New York Times does it daily, taking credit for discovering things that culturally adept people have known about for ages.
That was my instinct in writing about High Performance cannabis comedy shows. But the truth is that while the pot party may be rearing its head more these days, it’s not a new phenomenon. Even in a state that has recreational weed but no feasible reasonable plan for social consumption in place, comedian Alex Giampapa has been hosting stoners and stoned comics for more than seven years—since before voters even passed legalization.
With Giampapa taping a High Performance special on April 8 at their secret loft in Boston, we asked the comedian and promoter to recap the past several years of burning on stage, and to tell us about his plans for live comedy when social consumption finally becomes a reality in Mass. Highlights from our chat are excerpted below …
On comedy and drinking …
When I started in comedy one of the things I first noticed was that I was working in an environment that I was not super familiar with. I was a 19-year-old and I was, you know, in basically these nightclubs and bars. And on top of that I wasn’t a huge drinker. I was a pothead.
And the fact of the matter is standup comedy and, and by extension, most live entertainment is actually centered around drinking. And, you know, do your thing. But in my mind, especially in the current day and age, having cannabis as a part of especially comedy is really conducive.
On the cannabis difference …
You have so much material at comedy clubs and such that centers around, oh, we were so drunk. Or, we went out drinking and did this. Whereas when you have a crowd that is smoking cannabis, and the comedians are smoking cannabis, it actually creates a whole different dynamic where I found that I’m able to delve into material that’s more like social commentary, which is really what I’ve always wanted to do.
I’m seeing not just audiences, but comics start to embrace a wider creative space that they can work in. Storytelling, social commentary, even a little bit of politics. Just stuff you wouldn’t delve into with a bunch of drunk people at a party.
On taking initiative …
We’ve been doing High Performance for basically seven, eight years now. That’s before recreational was voted on. One of the first things I wanted to do in comedy as a 19, 20-year-old was run my own shows because I saw that I could do ’em the way that I wanted. So the first thing that we did was find a basement and set up some chairs. And I said to a bunch of people, Hey, come and watch my friends do comedy.
So we sold some tickets and they came over and sure enough, it’s a basement, so there’s some people smoking weed there. And what I found was that I liked the dynamic that I had with this crowd that was smoking weed. So very soon after that, I went to all my friends that I could find and I said, Hey, do you want to come to a comedy show where you smoke weed with the comedians? And every single one of them said, Yes, cause that’s the best pitch ever. So they filled up a room.
The original show was at Jed’s Basement, which was a semi-famous, locally famous venue for comedy in Boston, specifically Allston. And from there we started getting people going, I wanna do this at my place.
On the comedians …
I basically just book who I think is very funny for the weed show, and it’s essentially as simple as that. With that said, there are certain comics who will smoke with the crowd. Some comics are comfortable doing standup when they’ve smoked cannabis. Some are not. I myself am the former; whether or not the crowd’s smoking, I’m smoking. But yeah, I’m essentially just booking who is funny.
On the crowds …
It’s really more about how this major development, this major industry is going to be introduced into society. So for me, when we do these High Performance shows, I’m seeing everybody I would see at a club. I’m seeing bachelorette parties, I’m seeing people in sweatpants. I’m seeing business professionals coming from work.
On the wider weed world …
I’m seeing cannabis reach a level of acceptance that is more on par with alcohol or even taking a drug that is prescribed to you by a doctor. It’s not something where the people who smoke weed go in a basement and they get stoned and giggle. Obviously that’s still a thing, but you’ve also got people who are using it medicinally.
After [competitive] wrestling, I’ve also battled chronic pain and injuries and stuff like that. There are some days I couldn’t get out of bed if it wasn’t for cannabis. Then on the other end of it, you have people who are using it as a mental health benefit.
On the outlaw element since legalization …
When legalization came into play in 2016 I spoke with a few different people who, you know, basically called themselves cannabis attorneys. I also went around to multiple networking events and spoke with folks and just got a handle on things. Because when you legalize something like we did in 2016, you then develop the laws around it, right? So you have to figure those things out. Now, if I had heard that the entire city and the entire legal system was full fledged against any sort of cannabis events happening, then I probably would’ve held off.
However, what I found out was that right now there’s a big push to figure out how cannabis is introduced into society in the way that alcohol is. And you know, I’m not gonna go off on a tangent here, but there’s no logical reason you could give me that you can go into a place and buy a beer and can’t buy a joint. Sorry, there’s not a single one. But that is really how the law is written. The social consumption law is written now so that you won’t be able to have a joint, you’ll be able to have five milligrams of edibles, and then you’ll have to have a really shitty fucking closer to come on to make everyone sober before they leave.
I’m also a big proponent of taking advantage of real estate. I don’t know if you actually need a building to go smoke weed in, right?
On the future …
We’ve now expanded to a bunch of different venues all around New England. I want to do some national stuff as well, but the idea really came about just because people liked it so much, there was no way we weren’t gonna do it.
My main goal in comedy is obviously to build an audience. And I never try to be overly specific or picky about who’s coming to watch me do standup, because I frankly want everybody there.
We are also looking for more events. We’re looking for venues, anything. Anyone who sees this that’s interested in what we’re doing, please reach out. We’re looking to really, really get after all the cannabis events this year.
On what to bring …
It’s obviously bring your own, it’s just bring your own beer, bring your own weed, whatever. And for people who don’t necessarily wanna smoke, but they’re still interested in sort of, you know, the casual environment, some people will come and they’ll bring a six pack, or there are people not smoking or drinking at all, which is cool with me.
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A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
