Kyle Kinane: Progenitor of the “Smirking Beard” look
“I was in the throes of a poison oak issue,” Kyle Kinane says, remembering his last trip to Athens. The red-bearded, Midwest-bred comedian performed in town last spring, shortly after his first Comedy Central special had aired. Since then, he’s been featured on several other high-profile outlets, including an appearance on “Conan.”
With his stand-up, Kinane flirts with gut-wrenching truths, but often becomes quickly unhinged. There’s a touch of Louis C.K.’s crushing, fantastical humor at play, sure, but Kinane’s is a more unapologetically base-level routine.
“I’d like to have a sophisticated answer,” he says, about where his material comes from. But he maintains that “‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ will still make me laugh harder than anything else on TV.”
For this reason, Kinane is a worthy antidote to the many wannabe-cerebralists weighing down the current comedy scene. “[There are] so many people taking about their life, taking the Louis C.K. approach,” he says. “They’re onstage, having their heart ripped open for an audience, and it’s great, it’s hilarious. But I can [also] watch a cat fall down a slide, and that makes me laugh.”
That isn’t to say Kinane’s is strictly a first-thought-best-thought approach. He’s spent years honing his stuff, and advises other young comedians to do the same.
“People are so ready to just put their sets up [online]. No! Don’t! That sucks! That’s up there now! That’s up there forever! I’m very fortunate that the first five years of my career are nowhere to be found online.”
Kinane returns to the Caledonia this week to perform alongside locals John-Michael Bond, Craig Hoelzer and host Luke Fields. With a new Comedy Central special filmed and a new album in the works, he seems poised to continue his upward trajectory. Still, don’t expect him to mature any time soon.
“Farts and falling down,” he says, sagelike, envisioning his future. “Farts and falling down.”
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