Nick Offerman doesn’t perform PG-13 material.
He is so against it, he wrote a song about how difficult it would be to change his show to conform to a more family friendly affair.
Nick Offerman headlined the Student Association’s annual Comedy Series at Alumni Arena Saturday night, treating fans to his musical talents, his serious love of meat and all things fleshy, as well as his opinions on modern technology.
Offerman is best known for his role as Ron Swanson on the NBC comedy show “Parks and Recreation” that ran from 2009-15 and his comedy special “American Ham” on Netflix. His deadpan delivery match well with his masculinity and give Offerman’s jokes a laughter-infused punch.
“I’m not just a ‘Parks and Recs’ fan, I’m a Nick Offerman fan,” said Aveary Menze, a senior at SUNY Buffalo State that attended Saturday’s show at UB. “I’ve seen his stand-up 'American Ham' so many times and I was so happy to see him.”
Offerman took the stage prepared with a guitar and a ukulele. He opened by informing the audience that whoever asked him to perform had also asked him to keep his performance “PG-13.”
Offerman’s serious tone launched into more than an hour of laughs as he explained his newest challenge: Buffalo wings. He went on to talk about the keys to staying awake – which he says are coffee and cocaine – before strumming up his next song, “Full Bush.”
Offerman doesn't hesitate to talk dirty, discussing his “full bush” and everyone else’s in open, honest detail.
“I thought he was great,” said Ryan Cohn, a junior business major. “I didn't realize he sang so much.”
Offerman also pokes fun of how attached society is to “gadgets” and how Facebook is full of both adorable puppies and junior high stalkers. He also acknowledges how many associate him so closely with his character Ron Swanson, as it can be difficult to break away from his character without doing some extreme shaving of his signature beard.
“I’m Not Ron Swanson” was an ode to this principle as it explained that, though the two share many similar likes and qualities, Offerman is greater than one character in a show.
“I thought he was really funny,” said Elyssa Harper, a senior at Buffalo State. “I was hoping he would bring his wife out because he talks about her so much.”
In addition to his wife, fellow comedian Megan Mullally, Offerman also brought up his longtime “Parks and Recreation” castmate, Chris Pratt. This allowed fans of the show to indulge in the idea of Ron and Pratt’s character, Andy, hanging out on a regular basis. He closed the show with another nod to “Parks and Rec” by performing the song he sang about Li’l Sebastian in one of the episodes of the show.
Comedian Ahmed Bharoocha opened for Offerman. Bharoocha started with bits that centered around animals, from crows to cows and even his ex’s cat named Rosa Parks.
Bharoocha’s comedy is fast moving and relevant, as he discussed terrorism, smoking pot and his dad’s attitude as a Pakistani Muslim. He also demonstrated his beat boxing skills when telling jokes about ceiling fans and ice machines.
“I haven’t heard of him before, but I thought he was pretty funny,” said Heather Leventhal, a sophomore pharmacy major. “[Bharoocha and Offerman] had some similarities.”
Offerman and Bharoocha put their respective funny foot forward and gave performances that were relevant to Buffalo, laugh out loud and geared toward students.
Tori Roseman is the senior features editor and can be reached at tori.roseman@ubspectrum.com.
