Lyon visited Tuesday evening to perform in the University Center Houston Room, beginning with jokes targeted to college students.

He started off with the size of campus, which immediately grabbed the audience’s attention and set a good impression for the rest of the show.

Although the routine didn’t feature any raunchy material like presentations by comedians Louis C.K. and Margaret Cho, he delivered an acceptable and entertaining stand up show until he stumbled when he asked attendees for a show of hands of who lived on campus and was surprised at the quiet audience.

As a result, his dorm room jokes failed to grab a response.

Lyon could hardly be expected to understand UH as well as its students, but the University is known for being a large commuter campus, which caused Lyon’s strong start to fumble.

Lyon’s show continued mostly without a hitch afterward. He bounced off of an audience members Q-and-A segment that fueled his jokes, which began to pull the audience into creating something relatable and affective.

Still, something was off about the routine. Lyon’s jokes were leaving a flat, bittersweet taste through to the end.

His jokes have been played out a dozen times before. Puns about household pests, adults living with their parents and disliking small children were all poorly rehashed throughout Lyon’s performance and they have been done better.

This isn’t to say that Lyon’s jokes weren’t funny in their own right, but rather that they would have been hilarious with a punch of originality packed behind them.

As a result, Lyon’s few original jokes were his best and had left the entire audience doubled over with laughter. He proved that he can write jokes well, which was disappointing when the rest of his show fluctuated between good and horrible quips.

In the end, Lyon’s performance provided a quiet and relaxed entertainment for UH students as he completed his latest tour at college campuses.

Lyon is a refreshing change of comedy and one that future audiences should hopefully get to experience as well.

The use of playing-it-safe and unoriginal material didn’t break any new grounds and it didn’t have to. The audience still genuinely enjoyed his show and Lyon seemed to have enjoyed being on stage in front of them.

arts@thedailycougar.com

Iranian comedian Maz Jobrani drew influences for his stand-up comedy routine from his diverse background. | Courtesy of mazjobrani.com

Dancing his way on stage at the Houston Improv Comedy Club to “We No Speak Americano” on Friday evening, Iranian comedian and headlining act Maz Jobrani got the crowd pumped from start to finish.

Jobrani immediately engaged with the audience as he started with a few light-hearted ethnic jokes and conversed with the diverse audience while he gave a dance show all at once.

The energy was high throughout the show as Jobrani kept his routine alive with different styles.

He touched on everything from family life to current events to social and political issues.

From the roaring laughter of the crowd, it was obvious that everyone could relate to Jobrani’s stories about his family life.

He shared hilarious stories about dealing with his young children on a daily basis as he touched on everything from going to the theater with a group of toddlers to the struggles of putting a baby to sleep.

The crowd’s response to these jokes made it apparent that a majority of them had dealt with very similar situations.

It was almost impossible to keep a straight face for even a moment during any part of the show.

Jobrani, who was born in Iran and raised in California, was spot on with every accent that he imitated while he shared a hilarious story with the crowd.

He was extremely knowledgeable of many cultures as well as current events going on around the world.

Through many first-hand experiences with a variety of cultures, he was able to share personal stories and encounters with audience members. He also joked about stereotypes from different ethnic groups, all of which could be found in the crowd.

Jobrani brought up the current riots going on in Islamic countries and then added his own commentary on what exactly is happening. He joked about how Iran doesn’t even have a U.S. embassy to attack and how the Lebanese attacked a KFC restaurant — maybe through some confusion.

The fact that Jobrani could touch on such controversial world issues and still make a crowd burst with laughter was really enjoyable to see.

With such diversity in the house, there was no telling what kind of reaction there would’ve been.

However, the response was great from every section of the audience.

With all the issues creating social boundaries, Jobrani was able to break them down and united a room of culturally diverse people.

The audience’s age group was also very diverse and the comedian had everyone laughing from young adults to their grandparents — he demonstrated his appeal and talents well.

Jobrani concluded the night with a short meet and greet to take pictures and chatted with anyone who wanted to stop by after his performance.

arts@thedailycougar.com

Maz Jobrani — who dropped out of a Ph. D. program to pursue his comedic talents — has appeared alongside Ice Cube in “Friday After Next” and performed in front of national television audiences on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and “Lopez Tonight” will perform at the Houston Improv Comedy Club tonight, Saturday and Sunday.

Jobrani will give his first two stand-up comedy routines at 8:00 and 10:30 p.m. this evening. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit improvhouston.com

The Daily Cougar: How do you like Houston so far?

Maz Jobrani: So far, so good. It’s a little warm, but I can handle it.

TDC: Your comedy tours have taken you all around the world. Is there a particular city or country that you have enjoyed the most and if so, why?

MJ: The good news is that when you are touring and people come to see you, if you haven’t been somewhere in like a year or two, people are really excited. So I have been lucky to kind of get that reception everywhere. I really enjoy anywhere I go, but if I had to pick some of the best crowds though I’d say Washington D.C. is really politically in touch in many ways. Also, Beirut is just an amazing city in general. You know places like New York City and Houston too; the shows are always really nice.

TDC: That’s really good! So, when you’re visiting these different places, what is the first thing you like to do?

MJ: Sleep! You know a lot of the time it’s a long flight and different time zones. All you’re trying to do catch up on sleep. A lot of times people are like, ‘You’ve seen then world’ and I’m like,  ‘I’ve seen a lot of nice hotel rooms around the world.’ So one of my first priorities is to catch up on sleep.

TDC: Have you tried any crazy food while traveling?

MJ: Well at a sushi restaurant in Norway they gave us whale, which is illegal here. It tasted okay at first, but the after taste was really bad. I was like no wonder it’s illegal.

TDC: Let’s rewind back to when you were just a student working on your Ph. D. in political science. What sort of things were going through your mind when you decided to drop everything and give acting your all?

MJ: I started acting when I was 12 years old in school plays and I really loved it. My parents being Middle Eastern parents wanted me to be a lawyer, doctor or engineer so they kind of talked me into going into a different direction. When I was in the Ph. D. program and I dropped out, it was a moment of this-is-not-what-I-want-my-life-to-be. I realized that it wasn’t my passion, so it was kind of a light bulb moment. It was very freeing to be able to drop something like that. As a matter of fact, a few years ago I used to have nightmares that I had papers that were due. I would wake up and be like ‘Thank God, I’m a comedian!’

TDC: After you decided to do acting, did your parents continue to try to convince you to do something else?

MJ: They wanted a lawyer. My mom would even say, ‘Why don’t you become a lawyer and you could work comedy into your presentations.’ Then, when I decided to be a comedian, she started recommending back up jobs based on the last person who came to our house to fix something. She would be like ‘Why don’t you be a washing-machine-fixer-guy, that way you can fix my washing machine for free.’

TDC: Since you’ve started out, how do you feel things have changed for minorities working in the film industry?

MJ: It’s a life long struggle to get minorities to be depicted positively in film. As a matter of fact I wrote a movie called “Jimmy Vestvood: American Hero.” You can find out more at facebook.com/jimmyvestvood. It’s about an Iranian private investigator, kind of like a Persian Pink Panther. Our tagline for it is, ‘You don’t have to be American to be an American Hero.’

I’m trying to do stuff like that to present Middle Easterners in a more positive light. Even for Bruce Lee, it took him going back to Hong Kong to make movies that became hits for him to become the superstar that he was. So, it’s been a lifelong struggle and it will continue until we have more people from minority backgrounds writing and producing. One good step last year was when the Iranian film “A Separation” won best foreign film at the Oscars. It was an amazing film and that was definitely a good thing. Hopefully it continues to grow.

TDC: You are definitely contributing to the cause as well.

MJ: Well thank you very much. I really appreciate that.

TDC: When you first came to America, it was such a critical time for Iranians. Did people make fun of your culture and if so, is that how you learned to joke about stereotypes and also learn to laugh at yourself?

MJ: Yeah, when I first came I was 6 years old it was late 1978 and about a year and a half later the hostage situation happened. They used to call us ‘effin’ Iranians’ back then. I remember being called that by a 6th grader when I was in the 4th grade and I was like, ‘Dude what did I do? I’m just trying to play kickball here.’

I think yeah, you’re probably right, that may have had something to do with trying to be the funny guy. I was also just a big fan of comedy regardless of what was going on politically in the world. I would watch “Seinfeld” and Paul Reiser on TV. Then, Eddie Murphy came on the stage and just blew my mind so that was one of my big comedic heroes when I was a kid.

TDC: That was also one of my questions. Tell me more about who your biggest influences were.

MJ: Eddie Murphy was when I was a kid. Once I actually started, Richard Pryor became the one I wanted to emulate because he talked about more social and political stuff in his stand up.

TDC: Since you started acting in plays when you were young, when was it that you decided you wanted to try stand-up comedy?

MJ: I always wanted to do stand-up comedy, but I chickened out. I tried one time when I was 17. I was writing material that I thought was brilliant and then the next I would be like, ‘Oh no I’m not going to do it.’ Then in my early 20s, I entered a comedy competition and I did a couple of open mics, but I didn’t really know what to do with it. I actually worked in advertising for a few years while doing plays as a hobby.

Then when I was 26, I decided to go 100 percent with the whole acting thing. I got back into improv comedy classes for acting and that’s when I went 100 percent. The first thing they tell you in stand-up is that if you’re serious, you need to get on stage and write as much as you can. So I was trying to get on stage 5-10 times a week. That was 14 years ago and I have been doing it since.

TDC: Do you prefer doing stand-up to acting in films and TV shows?

MJ: I like both. The good part of stand-up is that you get to talk about whatever you want. There is no director, producer or network to tell you anything differently. The hard part of stand-up now is the traveling because I have two young kids at home. So, I would love to get on a show back in LA so I can be around them more. Then, your other hope is that if you end up on a show, it is a good show and the schedule isn’t too killer. It would be nice to end up on a show where the hours are manageable.

TDC: After this tour, are you planning any other big projects?

MJ: Jimmy Vestvood is the next big project, and then I’m in the process of selling a book hopefully. Then I am also getting ready to release my special called “I Come in Peace” which I filmed in Sweden.

TDC: Thank you so much for your time!

MJ: Thank you and if your readers are on Twitter I am @MazJobrani. I am always trying to say really funny stuff in 140 characters or less.

arts@thedailycougar.com

Comedian Jo Koy, who spent three days at the Houston Improv earlier this month, is promoting his latest Comedy Central special, "Jo Koy: Lights Out." | Courtesy of JoKoy.com.

Before his set at the Houston Improv, we were able to talk with comedian Jo Koy, who has been on Comedy Central, “Chelsea Lately” and “The Tonight Show.” The California native gave us a ring and talked to us about his material, writing and his DJ mom.

The Daily Cougar: It’s a pleasure to talk to you  — lots of people wanted to do this interview, so I had to kill them all to get this.

Koy: Good, I am talking to a murderer. I love it.

TDC: You have been doing this for a number of years, so for your material do you sit down and write it or do you just come up with it on the spot?

Koy: It’s funny because when I first started comedy, I used to jot a lot of stuff down trying to figure out the structure of the joke until the point I was getting comfortable on stage and being more conversational. Then it was like, well, I am talking about my mom anyways, so how hard is that to write about anyway? Then I talk about my son, and how hard is that?

TDC: Most of your stuff then is more autobiographical.

Koy: Yeah. It’s kind of like the stories that my mom or son give me. I will just elaborate a little bit, and I’ll soup it up a bit, but for the most part it’s pretty much my life. It’s pretty much what happens, you know? It’s current and up to date on what’s going on in my family — as dysfunctional as it is.

TDC: In your sets you discuss how your parents were against you doing standup. Would you let your son try it out?

Koy: Oh yeah, in a heartbeat.

TDC: Or he could be a DJ like your mom.

Koy: Yeah. That is crazy that you even know that! Yeah, she is 66 and decided to become a DJ — so go for it, mom.

TDC: Will she be playing Kanye all day?

Koy: Oh, man! That would be hilarious, my mom just playing Kanye all day and some Jay-Z at the same time. (In his mother’s voice) “This is the new track from Kanye West.”

TDC: That would be great, so what’s your most memorable television appearance so far?

Koy: My most memorable one is “The Tonight Show” — that was the one that changed my life. I was already 15 years into standup when I got (it), and I was still working part time jobs everywhere, you know what I mean? I felt like I was going nowhere. Then I did “The Tonight Show” and it was over with. I got gigs on top of gigs; I was working the road; I got a commercial deal, you know? A lot of good things happened because of that. That’s my most memorable TV performance. It can never be topped, that was it.

TDC: Did that land you with Chelsea (Handler) or was that something else?

Koy: Oh, no, me and Chelsea were friends before that.  We met through Jon Lovitz. I met her six years ago and “The Tonight Show” was five years ago. I knew Chelsea back in the day when she knew nobody. Now she’s got all of Hollywood’s money, it’s crazy. She is so powerful now.

It’s great to see that, great to see your friend blow up like that right before your eyes. It felt like overnight, you know what I mean? And now, seeing what it is now, it’s like a well-oiled machine. She is the driver of this machine, and I am happy to be a part of it. I call her the new Johnny Carson and it helps you on the road.

TDC: Do you prefer that or do you still like being on the road doing the standup club gigs?

Koy: Oh, definitely standup. It’s my heart (and) my passion. I love the stool, I love the bottled water, I love the microphone, I love the clubs I get to go to in different cities. The different reactions from different crowds for different jokes you know. I love it man.

I love being creative and spontaneous and being vulnerable. You can only get that from being on stage, you know? I love being self-deprecating and talking about myself. I love it when people relate to my stuff, you know what I mean? I love it when people come up to me and talk about my mom — even though they are not Filipino, they can relate.

TDC: Yeah, my mom is Mexican, but I can relate a lot.

Koy: Yeah, exactly. Everyone gets it, so it doesn’t matter if your mom is Latina or my mom is Filipina, they are still moms and do crazy shit and everyone gets it. Just like my mom playing with the Wii, everyone just comes up to me and says, “Yeah my mom plays the Wii,” or, “My grandma plays the Wii.” It’s the same shit your mom does, and it’s cool to see that, you know?

TDC: So you started with Jon Lovitz. Oh, I heard your Lovitz impression by the way. It is dead on.

Koy: (In his Lovitz voice) “Jon Lovitz.” He made me impersonate him in front of (himself). It was the weirdest thing, like if one of his friends would come to the show, he would be like, (Lovitz voice) “Okay Danny, you have to see him do me. It’s hysterical.”

TDC: I had no idea anyone could do a Jon Lovitz impression.

Koy: Well, that’s my idol, which is so crazy because when I was a kid I used to impersonate him in school because all I used to watch was “Saturday Night Live” — and he was kind of the man (on there) at that time. I used to impersonate him all the time.

TDC: What are things you stay away from during your sets?

Koy: The only thing I never really enjoyed doing was political. I enjoy listening to it, but I never really got into talking about it. It was the craziest thing. When I was younger I would try it, but I never enjoyed it.

The stuff I really like to do is talk about my family. I was really into (Bill) Cosby and Eddie Murphy, and how they always talked about their aunts and their uncles and their children, and I just would sit there and laugh. It’s kind of cool because now I see like 15-year-old kids yell things to me, like “Ting Ting” and “Josep,” and I was like, “Wow, that was me when I was 15 talking about chocolate cake.” It’s kind of cool; it’s like seeing this whole cycle of life. you know?

TDC: You just took credit for the next big comedian.

Koy: No, not at all. When I see those kids, I see myself. When I was 15, I was so into standup and it was cool because that style of standup was relatable at that age, you know? You aren’t really into politics at 15. You want to see a standup comic talk about 15-year-old shit.

TDC: Are you addicted to Twitter?

Koy: Yeah, I am more on Twitter than I am on Facebook. I can’t even remember the last time I opened my Facebook. All my Facebook is attached to my Twitter anyway, so if I use Twitter I link it to my Facebook. It’s kind of crazy, man.

TDC: Then it is you on the receiving end of Twitter?

Koy: Yeah, man, it’s all me. My sister helps me with my Facebook, but Twitter is all me. I do it through my phone, and I am always answering. When I am on the plane I just sit there and reply to people.

TDC: Do you have anything coming out soon?

Koy:  My DVD just came out ( the COMEDY CENTRAL original stand-up special, “Jo Koy: Lights Out”). You get the whole package—my first DVD (“Jo Koy: Don’t Make Him Angry”) and my second one, and a free shirt, and a bag and all kinds of shit.

TDC: Where can people get it at?

Koy: Just go to JoKoy.com

TDC: Thank you so much for your time.

Koy: Oh, dude. It was nice talking to you, man.

arts@thedailycougar.com