Recap The Dan Potacke Show at The Frequency

Dan Potacke is a man you could wipe your shoes on, but local comedian Alan Talaga’s abject, Wisconsin-loving character lined himself up for a string of victories Monday evening at The Frequency. The Dan Potacke Show’s debut took risks with its talk-show format (the host is a fictional creation, after all), but never got out of rhythm with the receptive, decent-sized crowd.

Local stand-up comedian JoAnne Poniatowski opened up with a short set, beginning with: “So you know how when you’re getting raped…” A little detached and maybe a little nervous, Poniatowski kept her eyes on the back of the room, the ceiling, and the floor. In a strange way, that helped her material connect, especially as she speculated about which Disney characters would be the best ones to fuck. Then on to what she called the “hardcore” version of that question: which Winnie The Pooh characters? It’s the kind of material that can go either way, but her delivery made it sound incisive—Decider had to agree that, yes, Piglet probably would have a premature ejaculation problem.

Potacke himself bounded up to the sounds of his favorite song, Sheryl Crow’s infernal “Soak Up The Sun.” “Why are all of you here?” he wondered aloud. Instead of a donations jar, he set out a “donations plastic bag,” and his only sponsor turned out to be his own travel agency. He performed an ad for Dan Potacke Travel (much like this video, only with the aid of preschooler-quality drawings), then said, “Thank you, Mr. Potacke” and “You’re welcome, Mr. Potacke!” It’s as if he’s his own imaginary friend.

Claiming he’d lost the notes for his opening monologue, Potacke proceeded to recite jokes from popsicle sticks, wolfing down five pops to get to the punchline on the other side of the stick. (“What do you get from a smart oyster?” “Pearls of wisdom!”) Next, he recruited four volunteers for a game-show segment entitled “Wheel Of Fantasticness.” The wheel itself was a shoddily constructed little thing, and each space represented a prize like “free toilet paper” or “everyone hug.” “It could be like Gallagher, except with wooden shards,” Potacke warned. His first spinner landed on the “heal the racial divide” space, winning a chance to call one of Potacke’s minority friends, Casey, with a message of respect. The funniest part of this bit came from nowhere: Potacke told his contestant to refer to Casey as her “brother,” and she did, for some reason adding, “except I’m a girl.” “Ladies have brothers,” Potacke replied, and his captain-obvious statement made all the awkward buildup pay off in laughs.

Potacke’s three guests all managed to keep pretty straight faces, despite how awkward and funny it must be to get interviewed by a sketch-comedy character. Talaga gave the audience a chance to actually learn about his guests, instead of barfing all over his interviews in Jiminy Glick fashion. Dane101 editor Jesse Russell managed not to crack up too much, maintaining affable awkwardness even as Potacke drilled him about the site’s ad revenue: “How do you live off 60 cents a day?” Potacke played his childlike, naïve side off his next couple guests. Upon discovering that his next guest, “Animal expert” Chris Waelti (actually another local comic), hadn’t brought along any actual animals from the Vilas Zoo, Potacke slid out of his chair, crumpled up on the floor, and wailed, “Why am I so bad at this?” When he learned that Jessica Witham of Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies was in fact a burlesque performer and not a baker, he leaned in, patted her on the shoulder, and told her, “You don’t have to take your clothes off for people to like you.”

Potacke plugged The Frequency’s drink specials at random opportunities, sang an off-key farewell song to the tune of (again) “Soak Up The Sun,” and just in general pulled off a surprisingly consistent, well-rounded show. It works as weird sketch comedy and it works as a conversational look at local folks. (Potacke is even scheduled to interview a real talk host, local progressive radio staple Lee Rayburn, during his next show on March 9.) Potacke’s a picture of failure, and he’s turned it into a refreshing jolt of a show.