About 12 years ago, I was already hearing the buzz about Jo Koy, the Filipino American comedian. At that time he had shows in small venues like the Improv. Fast forward more than a decade, Jo Koy is now one of the biggest stand-up comedians in the world. His shows are selling out like hotcakes and breaking records. Yes, that’s one of my peeps. Being a Filipino-American myself, I couldn’t be more proud of him.
In September 2020, the storyteller/comedian was featured on the cover of Variety. The caption says, “Jo Koy, Legend and Groundbreaker”.
According to Variety, when he had a show in Hawaii, Koy said “I would refresh the screen and the seat map would turn red from tickets that were sold. Every time I hit refresh, it was like a virus taking over the country – it would turn red and red and red and then sell out.” He added, “I beat Mariah Carey for the most tickets ever sold by a solo performer.”
According to Wikipedia, in 2005 Jo Koy became one of a select few comics to receive a standing ovation on the “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.
And speaking of shows, I had the opportunity to see this legend on August 15 at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa. After the two opening acts, the anticipation of the audience was palpable as Jo Koy entered the stage. Koy mentioned that he had to wait 15 months for this OC show due to the pandemic. But he waited no longer and Koy was soon pointing fun at couples arriving late on the front row. Unfortunately, the girl date didn’t take it lightly and she had to be escorted out. If I had to describe his humor, I would say it is toilet humor mixed with plenty of ethnic and old age teasing. This is definitely not appropriate for kids. Do not invite those who are easily offended. A show with Jo Koy is not complete without telling a story about his son and his heritage. As a Filipino who lived in the Philippines until I was twenty-two, I could relate to every story he told. At the show, he focused a lot on the audience that he could see. He made jokes about their names, what they do, the older folks, and the audience kept rolling on the floor. Jo Koy also did a segment about wearing a mask. He mentioned what he learned from wearing a mask, “I learned that when you wear a mask, I realize that my breath stinks. I was like what is that smell, oh it’s me. I need to floss. Now I can’t stop flossing.”
Jo Koy doesn’t need a script. It all comes naturally for him. He is very witty. Just by looking at you, or hearing your last name, he can deliver something hysterical that the audience will love.
Jo Koy has raised the bar. He nailed every single joke, (at least from what I remember watching his show in OC Fair. I was observing the audience, and I haven’t seen such a multi-racial and mixed-age crowd in quite a while. But surprisingly, I think his biggest fans are Filipino and Asian septuagenarians.
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