Comedian Shane Mauss is coming to Gainesville for the first time, equipped with jokes about everything from bad LSD trips to psychedelic experiences.
The comedian, who has appeared on Conan, The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel, will be performing Wednesday at High Dive, located at 210 SW Second Ave.
Doors will open at 9 p.m., and the show begins at 10. Tickets are available for $10 at the door or for $7 in advance on ticketfly.com.
According to Pat Lavery, owner of Glory Days Presents, High Dive has previously brought in big-name stand-up comedians such as Ralphie May, Doug Benson and Brian Posehn. Lavery wrote in an email that High Dive is happy to add Mauss, whom he recognized for his unique style, to the list.
Mauss’ “This Is Your Shane On Drugs” tour is exclusive to three independent venues in Florida where he will be conducting trials of his new material. The material is drawn from Mauss’ experiences with psychedelics.
“I kind of like to take a subject and explore it from some scientific angles and share my stories about my own experiences too,” Mauss said.
Over the years, Mauss has told some stories about his experiences at shows, but he’s never performed an entire show with the material.
Now, he’s made that his goal.
“I have a podcast where I go around talking with scientists about why we behave the way we do and how the mind works and that sort of thing,” Mauss said. “And psychedelics are a little bit of a window into that so I’m kind of combining a little bit of scientific jokes but mostly psychedelic jokes.”
Mauss will take viewers through the idea of consciousness as well as perception and how it can be “wacky sometimes on non-drug related stuff.”
The routine will include a story about a bad LSD trip Mauss experienced 15 years ago.
It makes for a pretty funny story, he said.
Because of the stigma attached,
Mauss said he can’t make certain jokes in an average comedy club, but he believes he’ll be able to show an interesting and different perspective while telling some of his favorite jokes.
“Like, when I do tell them at clubs they go over really, really well,” Mauss said. “But I just cant do like, a whole hour of that.”
On his off nights, Mauss decided to start finding independent venues where he could do his unique act for fans. If it goes well, he plans to record the material and perform it nationally.
“These are actually like really special shows for me, and I’m not just saying that,” Mauss said.
Mauss said he looks forward to being able to let loose and perform the show, especially because of the monotony that comes with telling the same jokes each night as a comic.
“This is going to be a really good time for me to kind of experiment and open up and really have fun,” Mauss said. “And whenever a comic is having fun on stage, the audience will have fun as well.”
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 7/30/15]
