Nick Vatterott
He spends the entire set pretending the show is falling apart.
2 specials · 2012–2021
Get an email when there's a new special. You'll need a Google account.
A Nick Vatterott set feels like a gig going wrong on purpose. He hits the stage moving fast and immediately starts sabotaging his own material. He will set up a basic premise, stop halfway through, pivot to a completely different joke, and then trigger an audio track of his own voice to argue with himself. The microphone cord and the stool become physical obstacles. He sweats, he yells, and he acts like he has no idea what is happening. The hour is built to look like a mistake.
Specials
-
Comedy Dynamics · 55 min
-
A frantic, physical set built on strange characters and absurd premises.
Comedy Central
On stage
He is a deep cut for people who watch a lot of standup. He won the Andy Kaufman Award because he refuses to just stand in one place and tell stories. He plays the kind of rooms where the audience wants to see the format messed with, and other comics watch him to see how far a bit can be stretched before it snaps.
He builds jokes inside of other jokes. A routine about a mundane topic gets interrupted by a fake technical difficulty, which turns into an argument with an invisible sound guy, which loops back to the original punchline twenty minutes later. His 2014 album For Amusement Only captures the noise of this, but the live act is where the physical panic really works. Sometimes his commitment to stalling out the show is so intense that the room gets quietly confused before laughing again.
He wants them in that pocket.
He built his act in Chicago before moving to New York. That background in sketch shapes everything he makes, including The Nick Vatterott Show, a podcast where the permanent premise is that he missed the recording and a bizarre character has to host instead.
Turning points
-
Wins Prestigious Andy Kaufman Award
Nick Vatterott was awarded the Andy Kaufman Award in recognition of his unconventional, boundary-pushing standup comedy.
-
–
Named Breakout at Montreal Just For Laughs
The Hollywood Reporter identified Vatterott as a standout breakout talent during his Montreal Just For Laughs comedy festival debut.
-
–
Webby Award for Heavyweight Sketch Comedy
Vatterott earned a Webby Award in the Podcasts & Digital Audio: Comedy category for his podcast Heavyweight: A Sketch Show.
At a glance
Fans also like
-
Nick Turner
They frequently co-host comedy projects including the Earwolf podcast Get Rich Nick and share a collaborative comedic chemistry.
Podcasts
-
Get Rich Nick · co-host
Two comedians investigate and attempt side hustles and gig economy tasks on a comedic quest to make one million dollars.
-
The Nick Vatterott Show · host
A comedic concept podcast where each week Nick Vatterott fails to show up and an eccentric guest host takes over the broadcast.
-
Heavyweight: A Sketch Show · host
A sketch comedy audio podcast.
Also on screen
- –
- Mash Up
- –
- Sports Lite with Mike Hall
- –
- Friends of the People
- –
- Red Eye
A clip to start with
The Best Way to Handle a Wrong Number - Nick Vatterott