MINNEAPOLIS — After comedian John Early stepped off stage at his Toronto show on Thursday night, he saw someone in the audience had tagged him in an Instagram story with the caption, “Church with Reverend Early” — a bit strange, he thought, as that title has always been reserved for either of his parents.
To some, it may feel like growing up with both parents as reverends would predetermine certain realities — like being in the spotlight while everyone watches your every move — but this wasn’t the case for John as his parents were no longer preaching full-time by the time he was 6.
However, the couple was sometimes called upon for weddings, funerals or to guest preach at church, allowing John to see them perform on their version of the stage, the pulpit, while commanding a room as warm, generous and vulnerable with the congregation.
John has said watching them was "very inspiring,” adding, “As critical and cranky some of my stand-up can be, I do like the room to feel good and the audience to feel taken care of, which I think comes from watching my parents.”
Audiences will know John from “The Afterparty,” “Search Party,” “30 Rock,” and most recently “Stress Positions.” When we spoke to the writer and director of “Stress Positions,” Theda Hammel, back in April, they said they hoped audiences would “see a new side to John,” which audiences definitely did. The side that has always been evident, though, is his dedication and passion for what he does and that is highlighted with his current tour.
John is on a crazy leg of the tour, performing in a new city almost every night. Monday night, he is making a stop in Minneapolis to promote his album “Now More Than Ever,” which shares a title with his Emmy-nominated HBO special.
“It’s a tangled web of content,” John joked in an Instagram post, but don’t let that deter you, this tour is completely new.
“What’s really liberating and nice about this tour is that it all comes from one moment. Yes, I’m using this tour to promote the album and the format is the same — songs and stand-up and it’s a party — but it’s all new material and a whole new show.”
“What's on the special and on the album are jokes I've accumulated over years and is sort of a ‘best of’ but this tour all comes from the same time, I wrote it all at the same time, I chose the songs all at the same time so it isn’t a grab bag of greatest hits all smashed together. This feels fresher and is more exciting to perform.”
This is exciting for audiences, too, as John is always unapologetically himself and his work seems to be rooted in the human experience which leads the comedian to appear as though he’s exploring a scenario rather than mapping out specific jokes and how one can lead to another. It’s never been his style to do chiseled and distilled jokes, a style he admires, but he is, as he described, a little shaggier and a bit messier.
“There’s something about really finding it on stage that is appealing to me and where I think the magic comes out.”
There will be a set from Vicky with a V, John’s Southern Belle alter-ego, and maybe a Britney Spears cover or two, but one aspect of the show not making it to Minneapolis, or anywhere in the Midwest, is John’s band, The Lemon Squares.
“It’s so fun with the full band, but I really love this version of the show without the band. I have Hess (Michael Hesslein), who plays the keys, he has two keyboards and has all of these lush tracks. He sings harmony with me creating a rich, full sound. Since it's just him and me, there are very sweet acoustic moments where it’s just us singing a two-part harmony that are very tender. When I do the shows with the full band, as incredible as it is, I get kind of sad because these moments with Hess are sort of the emotional climax of the show that only the people in the Midwest are getting.”
This is the second time he has made a stop in the Twin Cities. Last year’s tour stop was in St. Paul, performing at The Fitzgerald Theater. When asked what about the Twin Cities made him want to come back this fall, John stated, “I was very charmed by St. Paul. I performed in a really old, beautiful little theater with just a really sweet, sweet audience.”
“You know Minneapolis, there is the Prince of it all. There’s the Prince in the air that makes me feel like people understand the sort of funkiness of my show — it’s a very funky show.” Laughing he continued, “In this particular show there is, without giving anything away, there’s a sort of an extended seduction. I am very inspired by Prince in that way and I think the Minneapolis crowd can handle it.”
John performs at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, at Fine Line in Minneapolis. Tickets are available via his website.
