STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Ryan Stout

Stand-Up Tuesdays is a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

This week, Angie puts a spotlight on Beards Of Comedys and their latest release, Cardio Mix. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

Don’t let the clean-cut looks and suit fool you – Ryan Stout is as dirty as they come in comedy. It’s just that he’s a bit smarter in how he goes about it. The Cleveland native, known for his sharp wit and non-profanity laced humor, released his debut album, Touché, on December 6 via Comedy Central Records – just in time to make your last-minute holiday gift-giving list.

Never relying on simple shock value, the 2005 winner of the Boston Comedy Festival’s brand of humor could easily be lost on the less intelligent comedy fan.  Early in the album, he talks about how great it feels to get something at a cheaper price than his friends have managed to secure.

“Don’t you feel just righteous and superior? I love that feeling!” Stout starts. “Here’s what happened to me: my friend, he just started supporting one of those third-world kids.” 

Ryan Stout was a featured performer at HBO’s The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas in 2005, HBO’s The Comedy Festival in Aspen, Colorado, in 2006, and at the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2008. Soon after his first festival appearances, he hosted two game show pilots for MTV, IQ: Idiot Quest in 2007 and Singled Out in 2007. He performed stand up on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham in 2007 and appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program, The Bob & Tom Show. Earlier this year, Stout made his late-night debut on Conan.

Stout meticulously weaves his jokes in such a way that you never know quite where he will take the punch line – a method that easily has audiences hooked, and very early on. No one quite expects an Eagle Scout to launch into a “high brow” discussion about anal sex, but once you’re there, it seems almost totally normal.

“Two notes on that piece, number one – that’s probably the cleanest anal sex joke you’ll ever hear in your lives. That was a joke about language and urban planning. And number two – I should say second point….”

A couple of times throughout the album I felt as though I had heard the jokes before – the man in the wheelchair, begging to be made fun of – but just as quickly as this idea was spawned Stout soon squashed it, taking the punch line to an altogether new place in a way that was completely different and unique.  That’s what Stout does – he makes you stop, think, and then gleefully shout, “Yes! That’s so much funnier!”

With Stout’s lengthy list of television hosting credentials, it’s not much of a surprise that he’s a master of crowd work.  He’s constantly engaging the audience without guiding them along to the punch line in a way that almost makes you feel like you’re part of an intimate group of people who are all in on the same hilarious secret.

Ryan Stout’s Touché is a hilariously fast-paced hour of sharp, smart comedy that definitely needs to be in your rotation as soon as possible.  Pick it up today on iTunes and make yourself or someone you love a little bit smarter. 

Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.