From the city of Peoria to Kaboom!, no one was safe from YouTube sensation Bo Burnham’s unconventional sense of humor at his Sunday show in Renaissance Coliseum.
Burnham was introduced by a choir of angels, which soon changed into a rock song and then a chorus of “The world is not funny, Guy Fieri owns two successful restaurants.”
Some audience members, like Illinois Community College student Kayla Vaughn, sang along with every Burnham song. However, she admits his comedy isn’t for everyone.
“Introvert comedy: it’s slow growing, and only a few [people] can pull off its awkwardness,” Vaughn said. “It’s always best to give [Burnham’s comedy] a try and relax a little with some laughter and jokes about fictional characters.”
And giving it a try was exactly what junior public relations major Taylor Rigwood did.
“I did not know exactly who Bo Burnham was or what he did before his performance on Sunday,” Rigwood said. “I was honestly blown away. He was absolutely hysterical. I laughed so hard that I began to cry multiple times throughout his performance.”
Though his music brought laughter and chanting, his off-the-cuff jokes seemed to get the loudest reaction.
“This is asking for a rock star moment,” Burnham said, as he kicked a garbage can standing in the aisle.
Burnham also poked fun at his viewers. One of Burnham’s victims was a male wearing a bunny hat as his Halloween costume, which Burnham called “the laziest costume ever.”
During the show, Burnham invited a male student from the crowd to switch spots. As the comedian took his seat, he proceeded to boo the fan.
As the show went on, Burnham displayed his comedic knowledge about Peoria’s crumbling business infrastructure and the Hilltop’s Kaboom! as the show progressed.
“Kaboom! with an exclamation point,” Burnham said. “Was that decided in a five second meeting? ‘Quick, we need a mascot. A gargoyle. Okay. Kaboom!. Great.’”
Burnham ended the show with one of his songs and thanked the audience for being there. He left Bradley students with one final message after asking who their biggest rivals were.
“ISU, f**k them,” Burnham said. “I hope you get more points than them and [that] when the clock runs out, they have zero.”
According to sophomore ACBU Event Coordinator Jackie Meyer, ACBU sold roughly 1,600 tickets.
“I thought the event went really well,” Meyer said. “The students enjoyed it, [and] Bo was really great and did a god job relating the students.”
