On Saturday, April 2nd, 2022, my husband and I had the pleasure of attending the Amy Schumer & Friends comedy show at The Mirage in Las Vegas. We didn’t know what to expect but were intrigued, mainly based on Amy’s recent role co-hosting the Oscars. We were already looking for something special to do for our anniversary, and our friend randomly offered us the tickets at the last minute, so we decided to go for it.
Before I get into the show’s details, I’ll start by saying that we had a great time and really enjoyed each performance. We had never heard of any of the other comics performing that night, but we walked away a fan of each of them that night. They were all hilarious in their own unique ways, and we would gladly see any of them perform again.
Strict phone policy at the show
There was a strict electronics policy in place at the Mirage Theatre that evening, and many guests were complaining as they entered about not knowing what was going on. You had to place your phone and smartwatch (if applicable) into a locked bag that stays in your possession during the show. After the show had been completed, you needed to find a person in the lobby who could unlock your bag.
Even though you likely already had your tickets on your phone, you needed to see a person at the ticket desk who would verify your digital tickets and give you a hand-written ticket to enter the show. This was their only solution since people couldn’t show their digital tickets when entering the theater because their phones were locked in a bag.
The problem was that a long line built up at the ticket counter, and people were getting impatient. The show started late because it took so long for people to get their hand-written tickets sorted out, and we could hear people grumbling about it as they entered the theater.
We lucked out and avoided the long line because we had arrived early to capture some footage of the Mirage Theater lobby and record the introduction to our next video. So there was no line at the ticket counter, and we could take advantage.
Who are Amy Schumer & friends?
I’m sure it varies depending on the show, but for this particular night, we had the pleasure of seeing Julian McCullough, followed by Jaye McBride, then Mia Jackson, and finally, Amy Schumer, of course. As previously mentioned, we had never heard of any of these comedians (besides Amy) and didn’t know what to expect.
Here’s a bit about each comedian and our thoughts on their set.
Julian McCullough
Julian, who referred to himself throughout the night as “Amy’s special friend,” is a Philadelphia native who now lives in New York City. I’d say his top 3 bits of the night were:
- Chippendales
- Being young-old, or a “young fart,” at age 42
- Philadelphia being a city that peaked in 1776
Each of these bits was very funny, but the Chippendales one literally had me crying. He talked about how he used to perform in Las Vegas at the Rio hotel, and after his first set, these three hunky guys came up to him talking about how much they enjoyed it. They invited him to see their own show playing at the Rio, Chippendales, and said it was an $80 ticket but that they could get him in for free.
I don’t want to give away too much of the bit, but the stories that ensued about his experiences at the Chippendales show are absolutely hilarious. My husband and I were both dying, and actually, my husband Michael said that Julian was his favorite comic of the whole night after the show.
The other thing we loved about Julian’s set was his crowd interaction. There were several occasions during the show where an audience member shouted something out, and Julian was always able to flow with it so well. His improv skills were put to the test that night, but he killed it.
Jaye McBride
Jaye is a New York native born upstate but now residing in Brooklyn. Her style is more on the dry side but very witty and smart. Her first minute or two wasn’t anything that memorable, but then she said, “So I’m sure you’ve all figured out by now that I’m trans. All you Vegas detectives out there.”
That line really loosened the crowd up and allowed Jaye to get into her groove. Then came the line of the night when she said, “Actually, I wasn’t even trans until I got the vaccine.” That one brought the house down.
Jaye had a funny bit about having an uncle who wasn’t comfortable talking about her sexuality and sex life. So she sends him explicit photos of her sexual escapades to get around this. This story got a great crowd reaction.
Finally, her bit about being an altar boy at church as a kid and wishing those things would have happened was hilarious. “I tried everything too. I’d go in the booth and say, Father, this confessional is just too hot for pants.” That line had my husband in tears.
Mia Jackson
Mia Jackson, a native of Columbus, Georgia, refers to herself as a “bonafide Georgia peach.” She has toured with Amy before and is a staff writer for Amy’s newest show, Life & Beth. Mia started her set with a funny bit about how she gives off HR vibes and apologizes for always sounding like a corporate HR person.
She also has a hilarious bit about being tall and what kinds of things people say to her about her size. Mia seems to have the most significant online presence of the three opening acts we saw that night. Her set was great, and we would gladly see her again, but she didn’t have the same type of ‘bring the house down’ moments that Julian and Jaye had.
Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer is a Long Island girl who still keeps close touch with her high school besties and has a complicated relationship with her parents. She has taken these pieces of her life and created Life & Beth, a comedy-drama on Hulu. She has said that the series is about 50% biographical.
Schumer hosted a cooking show with her husband and Chef Chris Fischer during the pandemic. Together they cook up comfort food while quarantined at home in Martha’s Vineyard. “Amy Schumer learns to Cook” airs on the Food Network.
Someone yelled out to Amy about enjoying her cooking show during her comedy set. She responded that she was more interested in hanging out drinking wine than cooking but that she enjoyed making it with her husband.
Amy Schumer’s Las Vegas show
This was Amy’s first headliner in over four years. She said early on in the show that it was her first time headlining a comedy show since becoming a mother in 2019. Certainly, everyone wondered what she was going to say about her recent experience as a co-host of the Oscars, and she didn’t waste much time tackling that topic.
Regarding the now infamous Will Smith slapping of Chris Rock at the Oscars, Amy said she didn’t have any jokes about the incident but found it disturbing. I remember her mentioning the term “toxic masculinity” and questioning what this meant for us as people.
She quickly pivoted into, “But what I think would be funny would be for me to share with you the jokes that the academy wouldn’t allow me to say on TV.” This got a good reaction from the crowd, and Schumer spent several minutes telling these Hollywood jokes. I remember her saying something about Nicole Kidman’s corpse attending the ceremony.
Amy Schumer’s personal comedy
A good portion of Schumer’s set was focused on herself and her relationship with her husband. She talked about her hysterectomy and actually found a way to make it quite funny. She had all kinds of funny bits related to her aging body, being the spokesperson for Tampax, and her and Chris’ sex life.
At one point, a man yelled out from the audience, “I love you, Amy,” and she responded, “Aww, thank you. I wish my husband wasn’t here.” It was so funny the way she said it.
Summary of Amy Schumer & Friends
We had a blast attending Amy Schumer & Friends in Las Vegas and would gladly go to see her again. Getting familiar with three new comedians was a pleasant surprise, and we hope to see more of their stuff in the future. Amy Schumer certainly did not disappoint in her performance, and we would consider ourselves bigger fans of her after seeing her perform live. If you get the chance to see Amy Schumer & Friends, we definitely recommend doing so! It certainly made for a memorable anniversary weekend for us.
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