Chris Hardwick: The Nerdist, Not Merely Nerdy After All?

by Gabriella Nicastro

Chris Hardwick (@nerdist) is funny: laugh out loud, gasping, hold your stomach, and think "I’m glad no family member is here and listening to this story otherwise it would be awkward" funny. I don’t know if that has always been the case. Is uncensored Chris Hardwick the best Chris Hardwick? Or did he just have an incredibly on night when he performed at the sold-out 9:30 Club this past Saturday, May 25.

By 5:30PM the line was around the block, reality
of first come first served seating (image by author)

This Chris Hardwick was different from the buttoned-up professional host we see on TV in shows Talking Dead and BBC's America’s The Nerdist. He was a bit closer to the host we hear on The Nerdist Podcast with his witty comments on everything from astrophysics to blow-up dolls. Actually, as a stand-up comedian, he leans more towards the blow-up dolls.

So much so that this author was wondering mid-way through the show how to share some of his jokes without having every other word translate to Morse code. And judging by the number of times he shared stories about his girlfriend Chloe Dykstra (@skydart), talked directly to her, and even brought her up on stage – this Chris Hardwick may also be in love.

But before the stand-up version of Hardwick took the stage, Chris Lamberth (@ChrisLamberth) opened. Coming on stage around 7:05, Lamberth did a great job warming up the crowd. He covered just about everything:

• Great Gatsby: “Jay-Z is officially everywhere. He’ll be producing music for a Diary of Anne Frank movie next (i.e. Star of David Swagger).”
• Phoenix Online University: “They make you feel anything is possible! In reality I have degrees from real schools and I’m still sad.”
• Even watermelon juice, Toddlers & Tiaras, and losing weight. 

Lamberth covered all these in 20 minutes or so.

The full impact of Lamberth's humor is lost in Bloggers translation.
(image by author)

Then, Chris Hardwick danced onto the stage.

He explained that the venue turns into a dance club later in the evening. Therefore, he felt it important to teach his audience how to dance so we could be prepared. Someone from the crowd asked, “How do you know we can’t dance, Chris Hardwick?” To which he quipped, “Because I know my audience.” He then proceeded to break down his dance moves, so that even his audience could do it. Words cannot describe it, but I am happy to brief anyone in an offline demonstration.

There were stories about his dad. When teaching him to text, “his grammar magically disappeared when he got a smart phone, and was replaced by that of a teenage girl.” And his dad explaining to the family over dinner how to sexually please a woman:

“When the phrase, 'No, hear me out!' becomes a bridge for 'I just said something horrible' to 'I’m going to make it a lot worse'.”

There were tales about "romancing" a blow-up doll on his 19th birthday (a pastime his father apparently shares), mirror-jacking at hotels (I can also provide offline briefings of his favorite phrases), and getting talked into buying and wearing kigurumi with Chloe. He is a purple wolf, and Chloe is a yellow fox.

He interacts with his audience. Throughout his set he would pause, go up to various audience members, and ask who they were and what they did. Chris stated it was one of his favorite things to do because he likes to hypothesize, based on their current careers, their chances of surviving the apocalypse. Sorry consultants and lobbyists, evidently we probably won't make it. One interviewee was an independent sex toy consultant, whose business card Chris asked to read aloud to the audience. Another was a woman who had made Chris a TARDIS plushy a few years back, which then featured in a home video of his.

Dancing hand-off between Lamberth and Hardwick. Note to self:
full impact of humor might not translate through phone pics.
(image by author)

Chris ended the show as he started with a refresher dance course. Overall, I was surprised that there weren't really many straight up "nerdy" references – not even Doctor Who or Star Trek. He made only one passing comment to The Walking Dead. Again, this Chris Hardwick was more appropriate for late-night Comedy Central than AMC. He was relaxed, a bit dirty, and embarrassingly funny. Perhaps it was because he didn’t have to be mindful of TV censors. Maybe this was a fun day of touring leading up to the show, maybe it’s because he’s in love. I just know the next time Chris Hardwick comes to DC, I’ll definitely be getting tickets.

Note: The only negative thing? The ridiculous seating arrangement by 9:30 Club. Chairs were so tightly put together that every time the person behind me laughed (which was often, because the show was hilarious), their breath moved my ponytail. Picture a typical airplane layout, now move everything 100% closer in every direction – in front of you, next to you, behind you. It was that bad. So our audience had some unnecessary bonding.