Last Best Comedy Fest hosts big names, bigger laughs

As Rich Hall recounted how his father taught him to woo the ladies like a true country boy, he settled his sights on a dimly lit crowd member with flowing blond hair.

He took a seat next to them, and in a thick southern twang, began making flirtatious conversation. When the man responded in a deep baritone, Hall leapt up from his seat and ran back to the stage. “I don’t know who’s more embarrassed! Can we get some damn light in here? It’s too damn dark,” he exclaimed.

Rich Hall accidentally flirting with men in the audience was certainly an unexpected way to begin this year’s Last Best Comedy Fest (LBCF), a three-day comedy festival presented by the Last Best Comedy Club. With shows at nine different venues in five different Montana cities, the LBCF has expanded from last year to bring comedy across the state.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, The LBCF kicked off in the Crawford Theater at the Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture. The LBCF — an annual event which took place Sept. 12 to 14 — showcased Montana’s comedy talent. This year, it included names such as Reggie Watts, Rich Hall and many other comedians and comedy groups.

Novelist and YouTuber Hank Green opened for comedian Rich Hall with jokes ranging from comments on how to pronounce gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse’s last name to the dilemma of dinosaurs not making it on Noah’s Ark. While not the headliner, Green, a resident of Missoula, was a bigger name to some of the attendees than Hall himself.

“I know Hank from a couple of things — biggest one is his science crash course on YouTube,” said Aidan Evans, an MSU alum and Program Coordinator for MSU’s Johnstone Hall. Evans has attended other comedy events put on by the Club, but never a stand up event. He was not familiar with any of Hall’s work, but had been following Green’s battle with cancer and was glad to see him in good health.

Green’s set lasted less than 20 minutes and culminated in him jumping up in the air and yanking a flag that read “VOTE” from his underwear and proclaiming: “Yep, it’s been in there the whole time!”

Hall then took the stage. He is a consummate stand-up comic, former writer and performer on SNL. On Thursday he performed a set that included jokes, crowd work and songs. Hall brought his guitar and would ask audience members questions about themselves and then perform songs about their answers. Topics ranged from someone being a software engineer to the way audience members were dressed. Hall finished his performance with a song about a neighbor whose failing marriage was distracting him from playing with his dog. He left the stage to a hearty round of applause from the audience.

“[Last Best Comedy is] a place where people could come and be able to feel free to express themselves,” said Bryan Davis, the general manager of Last Best Comedy.

Davis explained that the club holds multiple types of events, such as improv and stand-up performances, open mics and comedy classes. According to Davis, the club is working on getting more publicity and making a name for itself.

“Montana is kind of a blank spot on the map nationally, in terms of comedy.” Even so, the club draws in talent from all over Montana and is gaining traction in cities other than Bozeman. Regarding the LBCF, Davis said it’s the festival's second year and that it has grown significantly in that year.

“This year is the first where we’ve been doing it in multiple venues and also other cities,” he said. “The fest had events in Helena, Townsend, Butte and Livingston in addition to Bozeman.”

While the fest this year is over, the event will continue next year with dates, locations and comedians to be determined. If you are interested in seeing what Last Best Comedy has to offer, they hold an open mic night every Tuesday at 8 p.m. You can find more information at https://www.lastbestcomedy.com/