 "Photo: http://joshblue.typead.com")
"I was walking downtown and the drunk-tank stopped and picked me up. I was like, uh-oh. I was like, 'Wait a minute fellas, there's a misunderstanding, I'm not drunk, I have cerebral palsy.' They're like, 'That's a pretty big word for a drunk ass.' I was in there for seven days. They're like, 'Damn, buddy, what did you drink?'" - Josh Blue, Seven More Days in the Tank!
You never know where comedian Josh Blue will pop up next. In 2004, he was in Greece playing soccer with the U.S. Paralympic team. In 2006, he was busy killing 'em as the winner of NBC's fourth season of "Last Comic Standing." Since then, he's been delivering his signature brand of twisted humor at dozens of comedy clubs across America. Tonight you'll find him right here on campus at the Tivoli Turnhalle, doing what he does best.
Blue, a Denver resident since 2001, was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination. For Blue, the main impact has been on his right arm, which tends to have a mind of its own, and on his funny bone. As he told Punchline magazine, "The thing is, it's all I've ever known, you know? Cerebral palsy. If I didn't have palsy, I'd just be some other geeky white guy," he says. "Now at least I have something to talk about."
And talk he does. Blue riffs on everything from thinking he's been pick-pocketed (because his wallet's being held hostage by his uncooperative right hand) to having his mom bust him for drinking ("Josh, are you walking straighter?") and what it's like to be in a fistfight. He jokes that the "Palsy Punch" is extremely effective, since "First of all, they don't know where the punch is coming from, and second of all, neither do I."
Blue's been doing stand-up since his sophomore year at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, a liberal arts college that allows students to design their own curriculum. Not surprisingly, Blue majored in comedy and minored in marijuana consumption. By the time he graduated in 2001, he was doing regular shows at a local coffee shop. He moved to Denver shortly thereafter and started performing at venues like the Mercury Café.
The 28-year-old comic shows no signs of slowing down. He recorded a CD of his material in 2005 at Denver's Comedy Works, Good Josh - Bad Arm, and recently released his first DVD, Seven More Days in the Tank!, which was filmed locally at the Gothic Theatre. When he's not onstage you might find him pursuing his hobbies of painting and sculpting, or just kicking back with his pet snake, Doc Holliday, and a few mice that are destined to have very short life spans.
Don't miss the chance to see Denver's favorite comic in action. The show starts at 7:30; tickets are $5 for students, $10 for everyone else. Get yours at the King Center box office or call (303) 556-2296.
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