Friday Night Live

The show must go on, even if that show is a half hour late starting. That is what happened May 17 at the Saved by the Comedy show as the organizer, Travis Rhoads of Montarctica, scrambled to find chairs for the ever-growing crowd.

Saved by the Comedy, out of Hollywood, Calif., was ready to perform and the crowd was ready to laugh and enjoy themselves. Lukas Seely, originally of Billings, Mont., kicked off the show regaling the audience with tales of growing up Asian on “the streets of Billings.” Edi Z. followed up with his own stand-up set, harkening back to a previous tour through Montana. John Brickley had the crowd roaring with his Minnesota-nice routine. The variety show followed up with a skit, leaving an initially skeptical crowd in stitches. Conner Roma, also originally from Montana, won the crowd over with his stand-up set detailing his abhorrence of wind, followed by another skit.

An improv game was the last bit before intermission. Party People asked for audience participation in listing off some of their favorite ‘90s icons, which were then assigned to four members of the troupe, while the fifth hosted the party and had to discern their identity. During the intermission, Curtis Mason pseudo-complained, “My neck is starting to hurt from laughing so much.”

The second half kicked off with another skit detailing the “true origins” of the wildly popular ‘90s song, The Macarena. Rene Garcia offered up the final stand-up performance of the night, reliving a trip to Las Vegas. After the show, Garcia, originally of Houston, Texas, told the Courier, “The smallest towns are the funnest. These people work hard and they want to have fun. It’s fun to give them what they want.” Saved by the Tacos, a skit re-imaging the classic TV show, Saved by the Bell, followed.

The final bit of the night was another improv performance, called Story, Story, Die, in which each performer had to keep a story going without drawing cries of “Die!” from the crowd. The performers enjoyed the reaction of the crowd so much, they performed a second round of the game, to raucous laughter.

After the show, the comedians mingled with locals, enjoying adult beverages and conversation, learning a bit more about the middle of nowhere. The host of the group, Seely, has performed several times in his home state, and had done shows in Billings and Missoula prior to coming to Glasgow last week. He told the Courier, “This was my favorite show of the week. They appreciated every beat. They appreciate the comedy.”