Gabriel Iglesias showed he's one of the best emerging comedic acts when he delivered a gut-busting performance at UB's Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre Wednesday night.
Before Iglesias went on, three of his friends and fellow Latino comedians took stage. First was host and talented comedian Martin Moreno. Next up was Alfred Robles, a comedian full of one-liners.
Lastly was the 'I'm 5-foot-2 guy' Noe Gonzalez, who was hilarious and, for once, didn't come up short. All three did a great job of getting the crowd riled up and set the stage for the large-and-in-charge Iglesias.
When the 'Fluffy' Latino came on stage wearing 'whatever fit,' the crowd went wild. The up and coming 33-year-old from San Diego said he has practiced comedy since he was 10 years old and put on a brilliant presentation in front of the sold out CFA crowd.
Iglesias has a unique and respectable act, which makes him appealing to all different crowds. Hardly ever going over the line with his humor, he doesn't use profanity as a crutch and doesn't tell obscene jokes that shock the audience into laughing.
Instead, he delivers hilarious jokes based on real events and fills them with impersonations that leave audiences rolling on the floor.
Iglesias's act was genuine, and he improvised half of it on the spot. Many of his jokes pertained to Buffalo. One joke focused on Duff's Famous Wings and their notorious 'Death Sauce,' which made the show far more personal.
He used his large size and Latino background to his advantage in many of his jokes, but they weren't his only source of material. Iglesias is a true comedian and is able to make a joke about everything, not just use his obvious faults or his nationality like many comedians tend to do.
Iglesias's pauses in between jokes were the only downside to the show. Sometimes it seemed like he had nothing to say. The comedian explained that it's tough to come up with and deliver fresh jokes, but he was able to manage.
Iglesias generated some of his best material by talking with the audience and working off of them. He also let the audience request some of his 'classic' older jokes and ask him personal questions to help fill in his hour time slot.
The Fluffy Latino has an uncanny knack for storytelling. He took stories that should have been depressing and made them into fare that had the audience dying with laughter.
The joke about his mom going to the hospital after her stroke, surprisingly, was one of his better jokes of the night.
Iglesias started his quick rise to the top after being kicked off of Last Comic Standing for violating one of the show's rules. He took advantage of the press he received and ballooned from there. Iglesias is now on a mission to conquer the comedic world.
With two top-10 stand-up comedy DVDs on Amazon, a special on Comedy Central and a number of appearances on various talk shows already on his résumé, Gabriel Iglesias's future looks even bigger than he is.
E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
