Bert Kreischer - “Berty Boy” Stand Up Review
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On April 10, Bert Kreischer “Berty Boy” tour arrived at The Bryce Jordan Center in Penn State.
During the day, Kreischer wandered around campus building hype for the show. He would show up to iconic locations on Penn State like the “WE ARE” statue or McLanahan’s, a popular downtown store. While there, he took photos with fans and interacted with the public.
30 minutes before the show began, the entire arena was filled with fans waiting for their comedian to come out. Unfortunately for them, the show ended up starting 30 minutes late.
The audience roared when the opener, Dave Williamson, came out. He was the perfect starter by getting the crowd warmed up with a short, but sweet act of what life is like as a dad.
The second opener was Jack Freid, a Penn State graduate. It was a welcome homecoming for him. Freid was highly energetic and his phrase “creative act” got the crowd bursting with laughter.
Kreischer started off with an intro video that summed up all his prior works and the comedian in a nutshell — he just wants to party.
When Kreischer entered the arena, the fans erupted to the point where people would think that it was Penn State's signature White Out game.
Right off the bat, his shirt was gone and the crowd loved it. He fed into the audience's energy and it was amazing. Throughout the show he continuously interacted with the crowd in the BJC.
Kreischer got the crowd to sing the national anthem and even got the crowd to sing happy birthday for a girl in attendance. He went so far as to give away a signed t-shirt afterwards.
He also pushed off hecklers with a breeze. Any time someone shouted out, he was quick to respond politely even if the heckler was rude to him.
The best part is that he was a genuine person on the stage. He acknowledged this at the beginning of the show by telling the audience no one should change for anyone, and he sure meant it. He drank on stage and kept his party image the whole time. Even at the end, he acknowledged the openers and politely asked the crowd to stay so he could get photos for Freid.
Before and after the show, Kreischer uploaded thank yous to his fans and went out to bars with them as well, even going to a frat.
His actual set had zero to no boundaries. He did make jokes and if thought he was crossing the line, he would ask the audience to gauge their opinions. For example, at the beginning he made jokes about showering with his dad. They did not land, so he quickly switched the subject, yet he would still bring it up later to mess with the audience.
His set primarily included stories of his family, such as the constant bickering with his wife and how they are opposites. He also talked about how his one daughter is not the brightest child by discussing the controversial things she believes and says.
Other than his family, he made constant sexual jokes, primarily at the expense of himself and his wife, but also about the gay characteristics that he and fellow comedian Tom Segura have with one another.
Most prominently, he told lots of inappropriate humor that involved drinking, sex and poop jokes. Gross to some, but the audience ate it up.
The one set that got the most cackles is his bit against the teachers. There was a long portion of the show where he talked about messing over a school raffle. While that was funny, it felt more like a warm up to the next set.
He next talked about a prank during the coronavirus pandemic where one sends a link to another that shows a naked man. The joke of how he tricked his wife to send it to the school and its children was the funniest moment of the night.
On the other hand, the most memorable moment was when he told the classic machine story. He finished the show with the story that made him famous. He talked about how he joined the Russian mob as “the machine.” The best part is that he added extra bonus parts that are not in the original viral YouTube video to make it special to the fans.
Kreischer’s vulgar humor is not for all, but for fans and non-fans alike, it is great to see a genuine comedian be themselves on stage and care about his audience. It was an amazing show that will not soon be forgotten.
Rating: 5/5
Ethan Hetrick is a first year communications major. To contact him, email eth5186@psu.edu
