Comedian Geoffrey Asmus quickly wormed his way into my heart, becoming one of my personal favorites. In 2016, he was selected as a ‘New Face’ performer at Just For Laughs: Montreal. The following year, he featured on FOX’s ‘Laughs,’ and again on Kevin Hart’s LOL Network in 2019. He has opened for comedians Dan Soder, Mark Normand, Sam Morril, Daniel Sloss, Dave Attell, and Ari Shaffir. He was swooped up by illustrious talent manager Tovah Silbermann c. 2022, joining Caleb Hearon, Gianmarco Soresi, and recent SNL pick Tommy Brennan. Originally from Minnesota, Geoffrey now lives in New York and is a regular at the Comedy Cellar.
He is performing in San Francisco this weekend, and if you’re lucky, you might snatch one of few remaining tickets.
Comedian Geoffrey Asmus performing in Boston, Massachusetts for Don’t Tell Comedy. Image courtesy of Geoff’s email list.
“My comedy is for smart people who fuck.”
My first exposure to Geoffrey’s comedy came via his debut on YouTube’s Don’t Tell Comedy. The title: “World's Most Alpha Comedian.” Off the title alone, I’d expect the insufferable likes of Matt Should-Deep-Throat-a-Rif(l)e or Tony Please-Jump-Off-A-Hinchecliffe. And what a sweet spot for Geoffrey to meet his audience. It makes his defeat of those expectations that much greater. You know you’re clear of the Rogansphere once you hear a pro-abortion joke setup like this:
“Do you guys think people get offended too easily these days? Yeah? Okay. Keep that in mind for this next one.”
Geoffrey Asmus studied history and religion in college, although his poison-dry humor predates this. It’s possible his concentrated irony was forged when his childhood faith collided with God’s prolonged silence. We may never know. Even so, he doesn’t fill the void with his ego—unless it’s for the bit.
Consider how the white comedian handled a heckler who diagnosed him with “jungle fever” for dating a Black woman. Geoffrey didn’t need to insult him. He knew he would earn more laughs operating the derogative in reverse. “You never hear a nickname for a Black woman who likes white guys,” he said. “Like, ‘Yeah, Kiesha likes white guys… she’s got mass shooter madness.’”
His style is not for the weak. In fact, according to Geoffrey, his comedy “is for smart people who fuck.”
Geoffrey swears he didn’t masturbate with this hand until age 25. Image courtesy of Geoff’s email list that I actually remember signing up for.
Among the most original assets in his repertoire is Geoffrey’s confidence to acknowledge every top-notch joke regardless of performance. He follows an incredible riff saying, “Incredible riff by me,” and tells the club to charge everyone another dollar. Its genius multiplies the philosophy of self-affirmation by the courage it takes to get onstage and deliver night after night. The result is a strong defense against forces of doubt from outside as well as within.
Then there are bits that go over most heads. It sucks when you do something well and no one notices. You already know the feeling: when nobody sees your half-court wastebasket toss or precision-catch of a tumbling iPhone. Those too get a nod. Even the inevitable blunder warrants a proper sendup. He doesn’t ignore it. “Alright, that one was weird,” he’ll concede to the mic. “We all felt that. We’re just having fun.” At his shows, it’s fine if a joke misses here or bombs there, because staying with the crowd means more.
Three questions for the GOAT
Geoffrey Asmus is performing in San Francisco on Friday 11/6, Saturday 11/7, and Sunday 11/8. Like many legendary comedians that come through the city, you can find him at Cobb’s Comedy Club in North Beach. I saw him there last year and he thoroughly killed. I recently had the privilege of asking him a few questions ahead of his shows.
JW: Is there anything you particularly like about performing in SF?
GA: “San Francisco has an incredibly wide class divide—more so with every passing year. And the dichotomy between affluent tech bros destroying human civilization and impoverished service workers is unfortunately quite ripe for comedy.”
JW: Do you believe in the saying, “Tragedy + time = comedy?” If so, what tragedy drew you to comedy?
GA: “I do think that comedians today are far too quick to immediately write a topical joke—whether about Macklemore or Vivek’s ad—because that’s how you hit the algorithm hard. I have been guilty of this many times myself, but I find the best jokes always come six months later after all the dust has settled. In four months I am going to have an incredible Macklemore bit that is for absolutely no one. I just figured out how to make ICE funny almost two years since the debut of the Fat Gestapo.”
JW: One thing you want your crowds to know (about you, or a piece of etiquette; some advice, a request, etc.)
GA: “I want the crowds to know that the person I am onstage isn’t me. Well some jokes I say are very much me, and some jokes are the exact opposite of. And I will never tell you which is which. They will never get to know me. Please dont try”
Hand-painted portrait courtesy of Geoff’s website.
