Review: Minnesota's best comedy festival proves you don't need big names for big laughs

There were plenty of memorable stage moments during the 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival, which was held over the weekend after a three-year hiatus. Organizer Bob Edwards got the biggest kick out of surveying the late-night scenes at the Corner Bar, where more than 80 stand-ups from across the country caught up with old friends and made new ones.

"Sometimes I just stand here for five or 10 seconds and enjoy it," said Edwards, pausing at the door of the Seven Corners bar after a cigarette break while his guests tore into a free taco bar like they were dining on caviar and oysters. "This is what the festival is all about."

Well, it's also about the opportunity to catch comics on the brink of national stardom.

There were hitches. Headliner Bobcat Goldthwait canceled two days before opening night because of a bout with COVID. One comic took one look at the festival's newest venue, Palmer's Bar, and canceled her performance. Edwards' bike got stolen.

But for the most part, the festival was a smashing success, especially for fans eager to discover the Next Big Thing.

Some standouts were:

Ashley Gavin

The fest's hottest ticket was for a chance to get insulted by this TikTok star and host of the podcast, "We're Having Gay Sex." The New Yorker didn't disappoint.

At the first of two sold-out shows Saturday at Cedar Cultural Center, she schooled her audience of mostly young lesbians on everything from how to clap to what to wear, using a tone normally associated with college football coaches. Gavin was so busy working the crowd, she barely had time for prepared material, squeezing a six-minute routine on Bumble into her final two minutes.

But her fans know tough love when they see it. In between her two sets, she darted out to Cedar's patio and did a few more minutes of material before patiently posing for pictures for well over a hundred delighted worshippers.

"I'm the reverse Ellen," she said from the stage. "I'm mean up here. I'm nice out there."

Usama Siddiquee

In his Minneapolis debut at the 2019 festival, the comic/actor showed promise that he would one day take his place among the best touring performers in the country. That day has come.

In his late-night set Friday at the Comedy Corner Underground, the New Yorker bellowed with such confidence that he probably didn't need the mike. He expertly handled delicate material about race, especially in a bit dissecting how whites and his fellow Desis take different approaches to placing their parents in nursing homes.

He also smoothly dealt with loud drunks in the back, showering them with so much love they were left speechless. Siddiquee doesn't made many trips to the Twin Cities; that needs to change.

Pearl Rose

Rose sneaked out of Washington, D.C., during the pandemic to return home to Minnesota, Lucky us.

Of all the performers exploring dating and mental health (is every new stand-up these days in therapy?) she stood out, thanks to original takes and a perfectly dry delivery.

Her bit about Kris Landahl may not fly on the road but it's just one reason she deserves the title as the local scene's most intriguing newbie.

Fabrizio Copano

I don't think I've ever heard a joke about former dictator Augusto Pinochet. Then again, I don't think I've ever seen a stand-up from Chile.

Copano, already a major star in Latin America, showed why he deserves just as much attention here in the United States, leaning into his unique perspective while never alienating those who couldn't find his home country on a map.

I'm hoping "Daily Show" correspondent Dulce Sloan had a chance to catch his act while she was in town for her own sets. He'd be an intriguing candidate to take the place of departing host Trevor Noah.

Carmen Morales

It's appropriate that Morales opened for the great Jackie Kashian Friday at Cedar Cultural Center. She shares her mentor's high-energy, in-your-face delivery (do not come late for one of Morales' shows and then try to sit in the front row). But unlike Kashian, she's more interested in getting personal, especially when it comes to lambasting her father and revealing her insatiable sexual appetites.

"I see some of you are really enjoying me," she said. "And some of you are scared."

I was a little of both. And that's a compliment.