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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Live in San Francisco

Joey Avery

YouTube · 2026

Written club jokes from a comic known for crowd work.

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Released , on YouTube.

Most people know Joey Avery from short crowd-work clips, so the real draw of his debut special is watching him lock into written jokes for nearly an hour without leaning on the front row. He still keeps the loose timing of a road comic, whether he is admitting he has no weird fetishes (just happy to be invited, unlike a guy demanding half-and-half poured into his belly button) or weighing the idea of having kids against an unexpected shift inside his own family. Filmed at Punch Line San Francisco and released independently on YouTube in March 2026, the 55-minute set brings him back to the city where he first built his name after starting out in Cape Town. By the time it dropped, Avery had moved to New York, topped iTunes with his joint debut album Junior Varsity, opened for Andrew Schulz and Shane Gillis, and booked a Season 2 guest spot on Apple TV+‘s Bad Monkey. He had scrapped an earlier special from the pandemic he later called unwatchable, and took Schulz’s advice not to overthink this one. Alongside the personal material, the hour hits AI, billionaires, and digital fatigue, and he followed it up in July 2026 with Even Liver in San Francisco, a separate crowd-work special recorded right after this taping.

Notable bits & set list

4 bits

  1. Deciding whether to have kids and fears of having a dud child

    Explores putting off fatherhood because of fear of having an uncool kid, genetics pairing bad traits, and realizing his kid won't have the immigrant work ethic needed to become a doctor.

  2. Technology and phone notifications overwhelming daily life

    Contrasts the extreme stimulation required for TikTok with old people TV ads, and mocks getting an Amber alert in the middle of standard daily stress and work emails.

  3. Morning routines versus reality

    Contrasts wellness podcast advice (staring at the sun, ice plunges) with waking up, looking immediately at disaster news on a phone, and having to start a gratitude journal.

  4. American defense spending compared to spending money at a bar

    Compares national military spending to penny-pinching on groceries all week before buying endless rounds of shots at the bar when a war breaks out.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, thoughtful, biting, and personal.
On stage
Thoughtful, biting, confident, witty, and honest, blending sincerity with sharp satire.
Pace
Confident ease, raw energy, energetic and precise.
About
Deciding whether to have children, Genetics and fears of parenting, Technology, social media, and digital stimulation, Amber alerts and morning routines, U.S. defense spending and foreign policy, LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia

What the critics said

Praised as a confident, sharp, and thoughtful debut that blends sincerity with sharp satire, turning personal experiences and cultural frustrations into smart comedy.

In the room: Captures raw, intimate energy with frequent laughter and applause.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: weownthelaughs.com, standupd.com, comedycalendar.com, tempeimprov.com, exa.ai, tightfive.live.

Backstory

Filmed in San Francisco, Avery's hometown market, at the Punch Line; fully self-funded and bootstrapped by Avery rather than backed by a major network like HBO.

Details

Released
Taped
Punch Line San Francisco
Where
YouTube
Director
Tim Young
Topics

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