‘CALLING’ HUB COMIC
HBO funnyguy in lineup
Boston Calling's lineup of funny folks for its Comedy Experience in May has some familiar faces taking the stage at the Harvard Athletic Complex on Memorial Day weekend.
“I used to think cities were for special people,” said comic
Pete Holmes, who's behind the HBO show “Crashing” and set to perform at Boston Calling. “Like, to have an apartment in Allston meant that you were special.”
Now, he'll be showing up in Allston as a pretty special person himself. The Lexington native will be joining other notable comics, such as Comedy Central sensation Hannibal Buress, who will be hosting the event, as well as
Phoebe Robinson and Jordan Rock — Chris Rock's brother. For Holmes, the Boston Calling performance will be a welcomed homecoming.
“When I was 13 or 14, I'd wait for the bus — I think it was the 62. I'd take it down Mass. Ave to Alewife and then take the T to Harvard Square — just to go to Harvard Square.” There, he'd hang out at Newbury Comics and the Pit. All the while, he said, he'd picture himself as Matt Damon from “Good Will Hunting,” fantasizing that Minnie Driver was going to come along and discover he was a bonafide genius.
It was also in the Boston area that Holmes tested his standup skills for the first time.
“It takes a while to be funny where you're from,” Holmes said. “Boston is where I started off doing open mics. I was really, really new, and it was embarrassing.”
Since those early days of performing at the old Comedy Connection in Faneuil Hall and Hong
Kong (the real one in Cambridge), Holmes has refined his comical craft — especially for our local audience.
“They know the references I know,” he told the Track. “It's an elevated audience. We know how to make fun of ourselves. We know we're gruff, that we grew up driving down roads that were made for a horse and carriage. We can tease ourselves about all that.”