Few comics ever hit the highest highs that include playing the biggest venues in the world. Fewer still do it before they’re 30.
Comedy supernova Matt Rife can claim to be in the rarified air, as he unleashes the Stay Golden Tour with a night at Houston’s Toyota Center on Sunday, March 9.
All this is leading up to two nights at Madison Square Garden over the summer, one of which has already sold out. “It is unbelievable,” the 29-year-old comedy sensation says. “It’s about as big as a comedian can get realistically. I think there have only been about four comedians who done stadiums above arenas. Even if it’s not Madison Square Garden, I mean, the Toyota Center is a dream! But to get Madison Square Garden above that, it does seem like all the bucket list items are checked off at that point. It’s the most famous venue on the planet.”
For some, selling out a mammoth space like that would be enough. But in actuality, this is not even the first time Rife has played MSG. “It’s actually the first arena I ever got a chance to step foot in and perform,” he recalls. “I opened for Dave Chappelle on his 50th birthday, and I just got a taste of it. I was like, Wow. This would be unbelievable to do on my own someday. Here we are two years later actually making it happen. I’m so stoked. New York City has always been so good to me, a mecca of stand up.”
For some performers, the bigger the space, the harder it can be to keep the night feeling intimate and manageable. Rife balks at the idea – indicating the more, the merrier. “I do the same kind of show in a 300 person comedy club as I do in a 20,000 seat arena. That’s kinda what I pride myself on, being able to take the same type of performance, same type of show and same energy that’s relatively intimate to such a big room. Yes, there’s 15,000 plus people there but it just feels like we’re hanging out at one party. Some comedians can sometimes step out of their comfort zone but me, it’s just people there.”
He continues, raving about the raw power that comes from killing in a room that size. “The energy in an arena is miraculous, man. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s incomparable. It has to be the same adrenaline rush as when someone catches a game winning touch down. It’s so much fun, and you can feel everybody having fun. It’s just like getting hit with a blast of positivity – which I imagine is the same description a porn star would give!”
With how popular Rife is online, it’s not impossible to see how his concert might be many people’s first time seeing comedy live and in person. The comic is happy to welcome the newcomers and prepares them for what they can expect. “I guess it would be context and more content,” he sums up for those unsure if they want to take the leap into the comic’s den. “Comedians never want to give away too much online. That’s why I post so much crowd work because they are such unique instances that are never going to be duplicated. I highly doubt I am ever going to see that person again. I’m never going to be in the same circumstance in the same venue again and never hear the same story. So it’s almost like a little tease, this is kind of what is happening at the show.”
“But you come to the show, you’re going to get an hour of material. You’re going to get an interactive experience as well. I’m most likely going to talk to somebody and have a fun interaction there. And again, going back to the energy – yes, we’re all entertained sitting and staring at our phones all day, thinking ‘ha-ha’ that’s funny. But to actually sit there and experience and be apart of it. It’s a physical experience as much as it is mental and emotional. I’d say for anyone who has never been to a comedy show before, it’s the same as going to a music concert. You’ve gotta hear your favorite musician live.”
The crowd work has become one of the signatures of the young performer – his interactions showcase his quick wit and unflappable energy. But Rife is quick to demur when asks if how they handle such moments should define them as joke tellers. “That’s just something kind of unique and special to my show that I just do for fun on top of the prepared material,” he explains. “I’ve been so lucky to be so many people’s introduction to comedy via the success I’ve had online and the people who have found me. But it’s easy for people to think that’s all it is. But there’s so much work that goes into the preparation and the crafting of material. And they should in no expect that from every comedian, honestly. Not even myself! I don’t force situations, I can’t guarantee a certain amount of the show be crowd work. But it something I personally like to do. The spontaneity of it makes it new and refreshing to me.”
Judge Rife not on his crowd work, but on his written material. But as his plate gets fuller, how does he even find time to craft the next bit? “That’s probably the hardest part,” he admits. “Especially over the last year and a half, we were doing 40 to almost 50 shows a month sometimes. Non stop! You have to find sometime for your life. When life happens, that’s when material happens. I’m not somebody, and very few comedians do by the way, don’t believe everybody. But I don’t really have time to sit at a desk for six hours a day and go hmmm, pen to pad. ‘How do I write a joke about this, let’s write a joke, premise set up punchline.’ That’s not my creative style. Things happen. Something will happen in my life that sparks humor in me. It makes me laugh. Then I will think, now we’re on to something. We’ve got the foundation of something that we can, and now I can go and take pen to paper to etch this out.”
Well whatever Rife is doing, the outcome is undeniable. It has taken the world of comedy by storm, launching Rife into the upper levels of his craft and giving him global reach. This meteoric rise is not lost on the young man from North Lewisberg, Ohio. “Dude, it is insane,” he states for the record. “I forget every single day that I have recognizability I have now. I’ll wake up and think no one knows me at all, thinking I’m right back where I was five years ago. I can’t go to any restaurant or store without someone giving a compliment or giving thanks to the videos I post online for them to laugh at. It’s very surreal man. I’m very lucky and very blessed for people to find what I do funny and find me at whatever time they needed to find me in their life. It’s a very giving job.”
Matt Rife’s performance is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sunday March 9, at Toyota Center, 1510 Polk. For information, call 713-758-7200 or visit houstontoyotacenter.com. $39-60.
