Jack Marion gives himself some applause while audiences are too busy laughing. The comedian will perform at Scandal?s night club, at 2222 Centennial Blvd., on Saturday.
There’s nothing funny about Chinese food — except on Saturdays, when Kowloon Restaurant, aka Scandal’s night club, also takes the title of Eugene’s oldest comedy club, a title that owner Kit Wa is proud to have.
“We have been doing comedy for 12 years,” Wa said.
However, this doesn’t happen every Saturday — there is no comedy when there are home football games because of the traffic. Aside from that, Wa welcomes anyone who is older than 21.
Wa has broken barriers of the roles restaurants traditionally play in society. With the three sides of his business, he has tripled his success by taking the extra risk.
“I wanted to have a true comedy club,” Wa said. “I don’t pack the place every time, but the customers always support it.”
Ryan McCready, bartender at Kowloon, is there each Saturday night to keep people in good spirits along with the comedy. But he mostly leaves that to the comedians.
“The comedy is of a professional level,” McCready said.
This is a commitment that Wa has made to the Eugene community. He has never had an “amateurs night” or other opportunities for the less experienced to take the stage. Also, audiences won’t see the same comedian at his club more than once in at least six months, so the laughs are always fresh.
This Saturday, Rick Birchmore and Jack Marion are performing. Although they are both based in California, neither of them have had trouble relating to national audiences.
Birchmore, known as”The Oakland Outlaw,” uses his biker personality to entertain the crowd.
“My comedy is made for the everyday person,” Birchmore said. “I do comedy, not commentary.”
Birchmore was always the class clown, but he didn’t start performing professionally until he was 36.
“I was always worried that I was going to do my dream and suck at it,” Birchmore said. “Then my dream would be gone.”
Marion, a veteran comedian of 26 years, has no inhibitions about being on stage. “When I’m on stage, I feel like most people feel on their couches relaxing,” Marion said. “I just feel at home there.”
He has performed at various places across the country, including MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. He has also graced television with his presence on networks such as Fox, Showtime and Comedy Central.
On stage, he talks about the everyday trials and tribulations that everybody experiences.
“I talk a lot about men and women and sex and dumb things that people do,” Marion said.
The laughs start at 9 p.m. and last until 11:30. There is a $6 cover charge.
