Comedian Bo Burnham paused in the middle of a rap to eye the front row of BU Central, proving even a Comedy Central contract can’t take the awkward out of a teenager.
“Girls up front,” he said. “I’m uncomfortable.”
Burnham, headlining the LOL Comedy Series Saturday alongside fellow comedian Shane Mauss, stuck to his borderline inappropriate shtick through offensive jokes that had the audience members laughing and looking around – just to be sure they were not alone.
The night started with more than 1,000 hopefuls sweating it out in the basement of the George Sherman Union. The line extended out the door onto the Commonwealth Avenue sidewalk, forcing eager fans to wait in the rain.
“I was here at 7:45,” College of Communication sophomore Melody Tran said. “On campus, everyone was talking about it. We knew we had to get here early.”
People began lining up for the show at around 6:30 p.m., even though the doors opened at 9 p.m., BU Central General Manager Brandon Epstein said. At least 700 attendees were turned away because the venue was filled to capacity.
“I knew it would be a popular show, and we expected maybe to have to turn away a couple,” Epstein, a School of Management senior, said. “But we really had no idea that it was going to attract that many people. I think it’s great.”
After performances by Mauss and last-minute addition Steve Macone, BU’s Funniest Student winner of 2006, Burnham took the stage, taking a look out into the crowd.
“It’s crowded,” he said. “What is this, a Rhode Island night club?”
Burnham performed several original songs, including “The Perfect Woman,” a love song for Helen Keller.
“They say love is blind, but it’s also deaf,” he sang to shocked laughter.
Burnham giggled throughout his act, poking fun at himself. As an 18-year-old recent high school graduate, he said his age lets him get away with much of his offensive material.
“It’s sort of like I don’t know what I’m saying,” Burnham said after the show. “If a 40-year-old guy with a beard got up there and just said those things, he’d get booed off the stage.”
Some of the attendees embraced the offensive nature of his songs. In reference to a song about the Ku Klux Klan, “Cookout,” School of Engineering sophomore Tracey Lantz wore a homemade shirt, declaring, “Bo, I’m Cath-o-lic.”
“I thought it would get his attention,” she said. “I think it’s hilarious.”
Burnham became a sensation after putting his videos on Youtube two years ago. Some of his songs have since earned more than 2 million views. He admitted his character on Youtube is a more na’ve, slightly meaner version of himself, he said.
“I started writing about things kids would never joke about, like being gay,” he said. “It’s really not that grandiose and impressive. I just write what I think is funny.”
Macone and Mauss preceded Burnham, getting laughs of their own. Mauss went for a few religion jokes, poking fun at the Last Supper.
“Jesus was probably like, ‘Oh, you guys enjoying your meal, that tasting good?'” he said. “‘It’s my body!'”
Staff reporter Cristina Rojas contributed to this article.
