“Back then I had to chug beers before my set, because I was so nervous. Now I only do that after the show”
Standup comedian, cartoonist, and author Mo Welch will perform at Laugh Boston on Tuesday, June 21. We spoke ahead of the show about comedy and cartoons, naturally …
What are you most excited about being on tour? How has it been so far?
I’m just excited to connect with strangers after only connecting with my family for the last couple years. They are sick of my jokes.
Tour has been amazing. I love eating garbage on the road. I’m bringing my most talented friend Alana Johnston. She’s performing music and comedy, it’s way better than that sounds.
You are a standup comedian, author, and cartoonist. Tell me a little bit about how you got started with all of this.
I started as a cartoonist for my school paper and then moved on to standup. After falling into a depression (look how fun I am!) I started drawing again. Now I’ve managed to combine all of it.
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What does your standup look like?
It’s all pretty much based in reality. I’m trying to genuinely express my beef with society. A journalist once said I was “deadpan and not in a hurry” and I feel like that’s accurate.
When/where was your first standup show?
In Denver in 2008 or 2009. It’s all a blur. Back then I had to chug beers before my set, because I was so nervous. Now I only do that after the show. People evolve.
What are your thoughts going into this show on Tuesday, June 21?
Boston is one of my favorite cities to perform in. I went on my first tour in 2011 and we came through Boston. I’m pretty sure I was heckled. But still, I keep coming back. It’s the best and I’m not just saying that to sell tickets.
I’ve also been performing as “retired Larry Bird” for a decade and I’m thinking about bringing him out. Win or lose.
mowelch.com
Boston Show Recap by Charlotte Howard
Larry Bird is back and better than ever.
It was a surprise to see him onstage at Laugh Comedy Club June 21, but it was as if he never aged. The mustache grasped the audience’s attention along with his blonde hair, small basketball shorts and white Nike elite socks.
“Bird may make an appearance tonight,” said female comedian, cartoonist and author Mo Welch at a coffee shop hours before the show. She turned and laughed with her John Lennon glasses and pixie blonde cut. She wore brown Hoka running shoes, patched blue-washed jeans and a smiley yellow t-shirt. Over her shirt, she had a brown button-up cardigan. She was very into the color brown.
Welch didn’t seem to have pre-jitters.
“Sometimes I sweat a lot, she said. “But I don’t really have nerves for a stand up show. I don’t know if part of me died inside.”
Welch got her first taste in comedy in her twenties from the Walmart $5 bin, where she watched the SNL commercial parody DVD. She instantly knew she wanted to do this for the rest of her life.
She signed up for improv courses the next day.
Welch first came through Boston in 2011, where she toured with comedian Anthony Jeselnik. When she first started comedy, she would decide occasionally to dress like Larry Bird and do a Q&A with the audience. Since it was a hit, she thought she could bring it back to Boston.
“Everyone is just worried about you as a comedian,” she said. “Everyone in my family would say: your cousin is in finance so you should try that instead, but you have to listen to yourself and just push through.”
Welch was borned and raised in Oak Park, Illinois along with her four other siblings. She had to learn from an early age to stand-on her own, so she used drawing as her outlet. And kept using it throughout her life.
“You weren’t being paid attention to, so I was always in the corner, drawing,” she said.
Welch’s cartoons led her to publish her first book in 2019, “How to Die Alone.” The main character, Blair, who was depressed and trying to find motivation to accomplish little tasks, was mimicked after Welch. “How long did it take to read? 5 minutes?,” she asked.
Cartoons helped Welch discover her style and talk about reality through jokes. Welch posts most of her comics on her instagram, and gets nothing but positive and encouraging feedback.
Though, that isn’t necessarily the case for all of her stand-up clips.
“A female has a hard time just existing in this world as a stand up without being berated online,” she said. “The meanest comment is actually in your DM’s.”
The craziest part of this all, she said, is the fact that most of the people who comment these mean and degrading comments would never say it to your face.
“I think it’s people who hate to see women succeed,” she said.
Welch embraces struggle through her comedy. As a female and gay comedian, she talks about the queer community and suffering from depression. Not only through her book, but on stage she brings comedic relief to uncomfortable topics to talk about.
“No wonder why I have long fingernails,” she said onstage after her Larry Bird impression. “Not many people understand that this is what replaces a dick.
“This is my dick.”
Charlotte Howard is a journalism undergraduate student at Boston University. If she isn’t people-watching or listening to music, she spends her days overbooked and busy. She was a founder of The Pelham Examiner, the first independent student-run newspaper in the country and currently writes for the satire paper The Bunion, and Off the Cuff Fashion magazine. Facebook Status update: She’s gen-z but currently married to matcha.