Kill Tony #173 — Dom Irrera
Guests: Dom Irrera
Lineup
Set: Christina discusses the expense of weddings for women and makes a Star Wars prequel reference about Padmé and Anakin's doomed relationship, drawing parallels to her own romantic expectations.
Interview: Christina revealed she's been doing stand-up for about three years with increasing frequency after transitioning from acting. She works as a waitress at Flappers comedy club and was formerly in a medieval-themed metal band called Loch Ness where she played keyboards.
- Star Wars prequel reference: Padmé and Anakin's wedding was the only one that worked because everyone knew it would fail.
- When telling a guy 'I love you,' she expects him to respond with 'I know' like Han Solo.
- Christina bombed the set with minimal laughs but maintained composure and poised delivery throughout.
- Dom and Tony criticized her for relying on open mic audiences who laugh at references rather than genuine humor, advising her to find something with more bite.
- Christina revealed she was kicked out of her metal band (Loch Ness) for sleeping with the lead singer who had a girlfriend.
Set: Melissa performs about seeing only good in people which makes LA feel lonely, discusses starting a 'killing them with kindness' non-profit but renaming it due to racial implications, and closes with an observation about bipolar disorder being like a box of chocolates.
Interview: Melissa reported that things have been getting better, especially the last week. Dom noted he couldn't critique her harshly and praised how she rode through an awkward moment in the set, acknowledging her recovery and comedic timing.
- Almost started non-profit 'killing them with kindness' but it was one k-word away from being racist.
- Bipolar disorder is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you're going to get.
- Melissa acknowledged tension in the room and recovered well, getting a large laugh from the audience for her honesty about the awkward moment.
- Dom gave her genuine praise without harsh critique, noting her ability to hold the laugh and ride momentum through the set.
Set: Isaac performs about having a very Jewish name despite not being Jewish, discusses Jewish holidays and using them as excuses to miss work, and jokes about being Orthodox and inventing fake holidays like Havdalah Gala.
Interview: Isaac revealed he's from Maryland, moved to LA six months ago, and works as an extra. The interview pivoted into deeply personal territory about his sexual history, including his discovery that he wasn't moving properly during sex and initially left his penis stationary inside his girlfriend for two years.
- Jewish name without being Jewish: 'if I got up like, hi, my name is Menorah Israel.'
- Boss assumes he celebrates Rosh Hashanah; he invents Havdalah Gala as three-day festival of sleep and video games.
- Isaac revealed he didn't watch pornography growing up and didn't know how sex worked, leading to him discovering he was 'soaking' rather than thrusting for two years with a girlfriend.
- The audience erupted when Isaac realized through the interview that moving back and forth was essential to sex, describing it as a major life discovery.
- Extended discussion about Isaac's late discovery of pornography and masturbation, including accidentally using Nair hair remover on his genitals at age 13.
- Dom praised the interview portion as the strongest part, predicting Isaac's sexual inexperience material would become his signature bit if he develops it.
Set: Bella performs a short set about being Jewish by ejaculation and making babies, acknowledging she's not very funny and that she wasn't planning to perform. She briefly mentions a Muslim-Jewish joke before running out of time.
Interview: Bella was largely criticized for her set which lacked substantive jokes. Tony and Dom noted she spent the entire minute saying how unfunny she was rather than delivering material, and advised her to write new jokes and build tension before breaking it down.
- Bella's set consisted mainly of self-deprecation about not being funny, with no substantive jokes delivered.
- Tony criticized her for wearing sunglasses and not delivering actual material, advising her to write new jokes.
Stephen Holleman
Set: Vanessa performs about her mother's schizophrenia, including anecdotes about her mother seeing demons instead of her father, perceiving demons directing traffic instead of a teacher, and family meals in the forest at night.
Interview: Vanessa discussed her mother's severe schizophrenia and revealed a traumatic incident where her mother put the family cat Fluffy in the dryer and turned it on, killing it. Tony suggested she frame the serious subject matter better and mix dark subjects with humor.
- Mother with schizophrenia sees demons instead of father; 'Lucifer is home.'
- Mother thinks Mr. Long is a demon directing traffic at school.
- Vanessa revealed her mother's cat Fluffy was put in the dryer and turned on, killing it.
- Dom coached Vanessa to open by acknowledging her mother's serious illness before delivering jokes, and to mix dark subject matter with lighter humor rather than just stating she's not funny.
- Brian made a callback joke about putting clothes in the dryer instead of a cat, which Dom praised as genuinely funny structure.
Set: David performs an absurdist set about dressing as a bear to buy only honey products at grocery stores without paying, then running away. He also jokes about bear attack survival rules and makes a comment about 'not being racist' when specifying black bears.
Interview: David revealed he's 22, started stand-up in New York five years ago, just moved to LA two weeks ago, works as a stand-up comedian doing road gigs, is a former wrestler and college athlete at 141 lbs, and just broke up with his girlfriend after four years.
- Dresses as bear, buys only honey products, tells cashier 'what the fuck is dollars, bitch, I'm a bear,' then runs away.
- Questions who came up with the rule about playing dead for 1,100-pound bear attacks.
- David claimed he went to school with Jon Jones and ate lunch with him daily, including meals of potato bread, before Jones became an MMA champion.
- Extended discussion about David's wrestling background and using wrestling moves in actual fights, including throwing a six-foot-eight bouncer on his face.
- Dom praised David's stage presence, timing, and jokes, welcoming him to LA and acknowledging the value of new comedians moving to the city.