Louis C.K. is a well-known and well-respected comedian among those in the know, but he has only recently showed up on the mainstream radar screen following the release of his HBO standup special Shameless in 2007. He recently taped a new stand-up show for Showtime that will begin airing in October, and he will be in Las Vegas in September as he works on a new batch of material with the hopes of shooting another special in about a year.

His material is largely observational, but not the Jerry Seinfeld, “You ever wonder why?” kind of way. It’s a little bit hard to explain without examples, and for the most part, the better examples aren’t suitable for print in a family-friendly publication.

C.K. has tried his hand at writing, working for David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Chris Rock, and has been in front of the camera for a short-lived sitcom on HBO called Lucky Louie. He is working on a pilot for CBS right now, but standup is where he is comfortable and happy.

His return to Las Vegas will feature all new material about how life as a “fat, white, 40-year-old guy with two children” who is “half dead and miserable,” as he said, adding, “Everyone can relate to that.”

Louis C.K. plays the Joint at Hard Rock on September 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22, $32 and $42.



When you step on stage, do you have an exact plan of where your show is going and what jokes you’re going to do when, or does it change from night to night?

I have a set that I’m developing. I’m always looking at developing a new hour and shooting a special at the end of the year.

I just shot a special in March, and now I’ve got a new hour I’m working on. Every night I’m trying to refine it and make it better and add material to it.

The order changes pretty much every night, but it’s not just a jumble for the hell of it. It’s like I’m trying to make it as good as possible. Every show is like a step forward toward that.

It takes the summer and spring to build that hour, and then take it on tour in the fall. And if people saw me, probably people saw me last time I was in Las Vegas at the House of Blues last year when I was working on the special I shot in March. Now I’m working on a new one. Whoever saw me at HOB, if they’re coming now, they’ll see a totally different hour.



Some comedians like to go back to the same jokes, sometimes using a similar set for two years. You throw away your material once you shoot the special and force yourself to come up with a new hour. Why?

Part of the reason I do it—I don’t just do it for the specials—I’m sort of on this constant national tour for almost two years now. When I come back to a place that I’ve played before, I don’t want to be doing the same jokes. I usually come back to a place every year or so, so hopefully when I get back it’s new stuff.

It’s hard to do, but I happen to really love doing it.

Some people are afraid of going on stage without any reliable material, but I like it.

I find it exciting that every year I’ve got no jokes. Literally not a single joke and I’ve got to start from scratch. And it’s fun. If you believe that you get better and not worse, then every new batch of material, you’re getting better. If you keep doing the same jokes, you’re not improving or developing or getting anything new.



Is stand-up something you always saw yourself doing?

I’ve been doing it for 23 years, so, yeah. this is exactly what I wanted to be doing, touring around playing theaters.

It’s worked out in that sense. The question now is how long I can do it.

I might be teaching community college in a couple of years.

I’m more worried about where I am going now than I used to be. When I was young, I figured if it didn’t work out, I would be OK. Now I really need it to. I have a family and only a few more times around before I get discarded.



Comedians can have a pretty long run. George Carlin was performing until the day he died.

I guess… at the ripe old age of 50-something... we’ll see.

You’ve got to work hard to get there, you can’t just assume that it will work out for you that way. I assume that I’m going to be on the street next week, so that keeps me motivated.



When you’re in Las Vegas, do you partake in any of the city’s offerings like excessive drinking or gambling?

I do like to gamble sometimes, but I don’t really have the money to gamble so I don’t do a lot of it. And you can excessively drink pretty much anywhere, so that’s never new to me there.

I’ve got two kids and to me, sleep is the big thing. If I’m in Vegas, that’s what I’m doing, because I can’t sleep when I’m at home. I can’t, there’s just no time, so that’s my big indulgence.

There is all this amazing stuff going on downstairs… and I’m upstairs just sleeping, beautifully and soundly.

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.

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