Savage Comedy with a Side of Hops

Savage Henry Comedy Fest fills Blondies with laughter

Savage Henry’s 8th Annual Comedy Festival attracted 130+ comics from all over the nation to Humboldt County.

Cher-ae Heights, Eureka and Arcata organize venues for the comedy festival and Savage Henry provides the necessities to get the laughter going and the entertainment rolling.

This year, one of Arcata’s venues included Blondie’s Food and Drink where a dozen comedians took to the stage to test their material, hopeful of making the audience laugh.

Peter Nellis, a resident comedian at Savage Henry, hosted for the evening and he was by no means a stranger to the comedic atmosphere.

First up was Sydney Hupp from Chico, California. Hupp was ecstatic to kick off the Friday show as echoes of laughter followed her relatable humor. Hupp’s material centered around the perks of living in a small town and tips on not succumbing to unhealthy vices.

After 10 minutes, Hupp thanked the audience and exited the stage, triggering another applause. The next comic to the stage was Tiffany Greyson, a comedian from Portland. Greyson joked about her past relationship dilemmas and distaste towards her son’s girlfriend.

Challenge arose when not all scheduled comedians showed up to perform. This, however, did not prevent comedians from finishing their sets. Instead, it was an opportunity for comedians to welcome new faces into Blondie’s by including them into their material.

Comedian Michael Cella endured slight heckling from audience members and patrons, with one audience member distracting Cella as he carried beers to his friends. However, Cella was quick to respond and adapt, joking of making sure to sit down and enjoy the beers. Another audience member asked Cella a question, believing the event to be an open panel, but Cella politely answered the question and reminded them to not interrupt.

If the audience was testing Cella’s endurance, Cella was victorious and met with applause when he finished his set. After, Nellis took the stage again to give a big thanks to those in attendance and encourage others to attend the other comedy shows happening through the weekend.

The official Savage Henry venue in Eureka kept its doors open throughout the festive weekend and hosted an additional social gathering for comedy after dark.

Bakersfield comedian Andrew Boydston told stories about his life and a set about substitute teaching quickly changed to sports and more specifically, Boydston’s distaste for the New England Patriots.

“Tom Brady is not the devil,” Boydston said. “Bill Belichick is.”

Boydston elaborated on his fantasy league and how Belichick impacted it. Boydston’s entertaining stories garnered positive audience reactions, with people laughing and nodding in agreement.

“Bill Belichick said ‘screw you’ to the fans by making these trades and then he demolishes our fantasy football teams,” Boydston said. “I hate him.”

With multiple shows happening around Humboldt County, Nellis and fellow Savage Henry members worked to make sure people enjoyed their time and most importantly, laughed.

“It’s been busy since it started,” Nellis said. “Moving from different locations and setting up, but everyone is enjoying themselves and that’s all that matters.”