It was standing room only at the Vic Theatre Thursday night, as one of the Just for Laughs Festival heavyweights, Nick Swardson, gave the crowd an evening to truly remember. With an arsenal of jokes that touched on everything from cats vs dogs to the Virgin Airlines “rave plane”, Swardson barely allowed audience members to catch their breath between laughs.

In a very funny bit, Swardson speculated on what it must have been like to be the first person to ever suffer from a brain freeze - this being of course the inventor of ice cream. “Here you go kids. I have created a tasty treat called ice cream (as he pretends to sample). Come everyone, try this tasty treat.  It’s very delicious (as he samples faster and faster). I am eating this delicious treat faster and faster now”. Until, “Arrrrggggghhhhh! Oh my God!!!! What the f**k is this!? My brain is being eaten alive!” Of course the pain goes away moments later. “What the f**k was that?”

Swardson’s material was nothing short of brilliant, but I had hoped to see a longer set. He left the crowd with a humorous story where he was flying first class only to have Liv Tyler sitting next to him. Somewhat nervous and not knowing what to say, he opted to say nothing. He leaned his seat back to sleep and Liv Tyler followed suit, wherein he was “sleeping with Liv Tyler”. Swardson explained that they were baking chocolate chip cookies in first class and he groggily awoke to “What’s that smell?” only to have Tyler smile and whisper from her sleep excitedly “cookies”. “Is there possibly a better way to wake up?” asked Swardson to the crowd. Of course, he then explained how lucky he was to have Liv Tyler sitting next to him instead of say, Gary Busey, or it could have been, “What’s that smell?” with a reply of “COOKIES, MOTHERF**KER!!!”

Nick Swardson was simply hilarious and showed Chicago why he is considered one of the top comics in the circuit.

After Swardson’s show at the Vic, I scrambled over to Stage 773 just a few blocks west on Belmont. Stage 773 is TBS Just for Laughs comedy hub during the festival where a variety of super funny comics take on four stages all week long. While there, I was lucky enough to catch The Urban Comedy Hour, which featured a slew of great South Side Chicago comedians, including its hysterical host, Brian Babylon. Afterwards, Ari Shaffir took on the late night slot with his storyteller series “This Is Not Happening” to round off a perfect night of comedy.