Las Vegas Weekly

October 2, 2008 · 1:29 PM

There’s your carrot, kid: Six questions with Bryan Bruner

By Allison Duck

Photo: Tiffany Brown

Ever go to a show for the opening act then leave before the main band comes onstage? Such may be the case with Bryan Bruner, the host and emcee of the LA Comedy Club at Trader Vic’s. The popular comedy club has made a name for itself in Vegas hosting many big name stars like this week’s headliner, Ian Bagg. The heart and soul of the LA Comedy Club however, is Bruner. He opens the show every night with a power-packed few-minutes worth of comedic gems that warm up the crowd and put him on par with the headliners he introduces. We decided to make Bruner the main event with this interview.

What other local gigs did you have before hosting at the LA Comedy Club?

Bryan Bruner: I was a garbage man, a construction worker. I helped old ladies cross the street. I was just an Average Joe. In California, I had done the Laugh Factory and the Improv and any one-nighter I could take as well as being a bus boy, construction worker and old lady helper-across-the-streeter.

Do you ever secretly feel that you’re better than the headliners performing?

Umm, no not the headliners. But I like to make the guy after me sweat a little.

Can you tell when the crowd is faking laughter just to be nice to the comics on stage?

Oh yeah without a doubt, there’s belly laughs and then the quaint polite laughs.

How does your sense of humor spill into the non-work aspects of your life?

I guess I’m quick-witted. I’m always the first one to pipe in when someone screws up.

Tiffany Brown

It seems like you approach all facets of your life with humor, as evidenced by your business card. How did you come up with the idea for the world’s greatest business card?

Those are really my two wiener dogs, and I used to go around telling people I had two wieners so when my friend took that picture I felt I should put it on my business card.

Do you ever get to do a full set at the club?

No, they like to hold it in front of me like it’s a carrot.

This week Bruner gets to turn that carrot into carrot soup, as he finally takes a much-deserved feature spot in the lineup at the LA Comedy Club. Catch him performing with Ian Bagg this Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.

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