A top nerd

As finals approach, UAA Concert Board presents a comedian

By Maia Nolan
Daily News correspondent

Published: April 24th, 2009 04:32 AM
Last Modified: April 24th, 2009 03:49 PM

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In entertainment timing is everything. At least that's what the University of Alaska Anchorage's Concert Board had in mind when they scheduled a comedian for the last weekend in April.

"It's finals," UAA Concert Board adviser Zac Clark said.

Tonight the UAA Concert Board presents Brian Posehn, a Comedy Central favorite whose face and deadpan delivery are familiar to many, even if his name isn't.

Brennan Foote, a junior marketing major at UAA and student member of the Concert Board, said the challenge has been getting people to realize they are already familiar with Posehn.

"People don't know it unless they see the face," Foote said. "It's a little bit harder of a sell because he's not Dane Cook."

Posehn may not have Cook's name recognition, but Foote said once he shows people a photo of the six-and-a-half-foot-tall comic, they know exactly who he is.

"He's pretty recognizable," Foote said. "It's a little bit easier to sell once you have a picture of him."

Posehn has made memorable guest appearances on dozens of television programs over the years, including "Just Shoot Me," "Friends," "NewsRadio" and "Seinfeld." He was a writer and frequent performer on HBO's sketch comedy series "Mr. Show" in the '90s, and is a regular cast member on Comedy Central's

"The Sarah Silverman Program," which finished its second season in December. Apparently he's also got quite a following at UAA.

"The students are a big fan of his," Clark said. He added that Posehn's popularity on campus is due mostly to his appearances with the "Comedians of Comedy," a Comedy Central tour that was documented in a television series and film of the same name.

"We've been looking at trying to pick somebody off the Comedians of Comedy Tour for a while," Foote said.

The tour's promotional Web site describes Posehn as one of "the nerdiest comic-book collecting, Dungeons & Dragons-playing stand-ups around." It's that nerdiness that is at the heart of his appeal.

"His attractiveness as a comedian comes from his ability to be honest about being ... a self-proclaimed 'nerd,' " Foote said.

Despite (or perhaps because of) his nerdiness, Posehn is a hard-core heavy metal fan who often incorporates that interest into his stand-up act. His debut comedy album, "Live In: Nerd Rage," featured an original song about metal poseurs, "Metal By Numbers," and Posehn played Melmord Fjornslorn, a short-lived, ill-fated manager for the fictional heavy metal band Dethlok, on an episode of the Adult Swim series "Metalocalypse."

"Heavy metal is one of his passions, so I think there's going to be some jokes about music," Clark said.

He added that the Concert Board is looking forward to Posehn's appearance not just because final exams are coming, but as a way to make up for a disappointing spring. A planned performance by Brand New and the Get Up Kids was canceled last month due to the eruption of Mount Redoubt.

Posehn's appearance comes at the request of UAA students, who fund and run the Concert Board. Seven student members (including Foote) collect feedback from the student body regarding acts they'd like to see on campus.

In recent years, the Concert Board has brought up hip-hop act The Roots (currently the house band on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"), Joel McHale from E! Entertainment Television's "The Soup," filmmakers Kevin Smith ("Clerks") and Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me"), and rapper and political activist Chuck D of Public Enemy. Concert Board events are open to the public (although tickets are discounted for UAA students and staff), and UAA students generally comprise between 30 and 40 percent of the audience, Clark said.

Brian Posehn

The UAA Concert Board presents comedian Brian Posehn, at 7:30 tonight in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium on campus.

Tickets ($5 for UAA students; $25 for the general public) at www.uaatix.com

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