• Bruce Walton

It seems as though the comedy scene in Daytona Beach is getting harder and harder to find. With the recent closing of a couple of comedy clubs it seems that the only time we can catch comedy is when the Peabody Auditorium brings a celebrity comic and that may be every blue moon. After searching and searching I finally found a place that does comedy and the great part about it is they let locals perform.

The Tir Na Nog lets a group of comics host stand-up comedy every Wednesday at their bar. One Wednesday they let their veterans perform stand-up and on the following Wednesday they have open mic comedy. I was very pleased at what I saw this past Wednesday so I would like to introduce you to the comics.

The first person is Zach Bennett. He is our host and comic. His comedy is very natural but witty. Its almost as if he’s having regular conversation but it just so happens to be funny. He also shows great participation and support with the comics on stage.

The first performer of the night was Ian Perna. He does a great “In your face” style of comedy. Very laid back demeanor but you still get the feeling that he could kick your ass. He has no problem dealing with the crowd and hecklers. I don’t know what type of wrap Joe Rogan has as a comedian but he reminds me of him and I like Joe Rogan so thats not a bad thing in my eyes.

The next comic to the stage was Joe Lovece. Joe is a set up, punch line, type of comic. Even in his set-ups he still might catch you out of no where with a punchline. His comedy reminds me of some one who would work for a sketch comedy show or a studio audience, sitcom type of show.

Our next comic to the stage was Sareth Ney. Sareth is definitely not scared to go there. He made it very clear that he is proud of his “dirty mind”. Don’t get it twisted though, his jokes definitely have cleverness to them. And his jokes are back to back so you definitely get your fill when you watch him. The most impressive things about his show is that he actually changed his clothing and became an entirely different character which is his alter ego “Wu Man Chu”. Wu Man Chu is a character inspired from the infamous rap crew “Wu Tang Clan” with a mixture of a super hero. I wish I took a picture of the costume but he definitely diverted my attention away from my camera. I was interested in exactly where he was going with it. He didn’t let me down.

The next comic to the stage was Blair Baker. One thing I can say about Blair is she has great stage presence. She works the stage very well and she just has a pleasantness about her. Very spunky. Her comedy was well rounded. Energetic, witty, risky, sexy.

Moving right along we have Annie Pozzella. One of her strong points was that she definitely gets you very involved with her story. To the point where you are imagining exactly what is happening. Her style of comedy is “Hey, family. Here’s how my day went” and its lighthearted and funny at the same time.

The next comic to the stage is Rica Marie. I actually know Rica personally from our Performing Arts class at Daytona State College. She has always had an up beat energy about her. Her comedy is just the same. She even had some raunchy yet bashful moments which gave her comedy a cute feeling to them.

The closer for the night was Sean Beagan who was also the birthday boy. His comedy was definitely polished. He didn’t seem like he had to write much because the way he improvised on the spot was quite impressive. His jokes were definitely well structured and clever. He works the crowd very well and seems to understand the vibe in the room.

Although he didn’t really perform our other host was Marty Labbe. I wanted to introduce him, too.

All-In-All, I was pleased and refreshed. But don’t take my word for it I would definitely go check them out. The variety will give you your feel of what you need. There were moments where i burst out laughing, moments where I was embarrassed, and moments where I were genuinely just intrigued. We definitely need to support things like this. I would definitely like to see this thing grow. My only regret is that I didn’t get video to show you some clips but I won’t forget next time. Thank you for having me and see you next Wednesday

Next Show – Wednesday, April 6th – Open Mic Comedy – Tir Na Nog Irish Bar 612 E International Speedway BLVD, Daytona Beach,FL 32118