By Kelly Wiley

Performing comedy in front of a bunch of drunk people in a small Podunk town is a lot different than performing in front of college students.

But comedian Keith McGill tends to gravitate towards the younger, more sober generation because they understand his comedy.

“I really like college artisans because they are really smart and they know about pop culture, so they know what I’m talking about,” McGill said.

McGill said like every other comedian he was the class clown and liked to joke around with his buddies. At that time he had been to a few comedy clubs, and he soon realized that people get paid for making jokes so he took a stab at it.

The Comedy Caravan in Louisville, originally called The Funny Farm, was having an open mic night with a $50 prize for the funniest person. McGill got a few laughs but did not win.

“I wasn’t as funny as I thought I was,” McGill said.

After that night, McGill said he found his calling. He has worked at Kinko’s and Borders, but he said he will never do that again.

“My first paid show was at The Funny Farm. Someone paid me to do comedy and I had 10 minutes of working material, and I had to stretch to get to 10 minutes,” McGill said.

McGill feels that college students understand him best because they keep up with the pop culture world. If they wanted to hear political comedy they could just turn on CNN.

Some of McGill’s comedy has been featured on “Comic View” on Black Entertainment Television, and “Mabe In America,” with comedian Tom Mabe on Country Music Television. McGill said he has also dabbled in acting.

McGill believes students will understand his comedy because it is geared toward them and uses experiences they can understand.

“These are observations that everyone can relate to,” McGill said. “I am not talking down to you or insulting anyone’s intelligence.”

McGill said his goal is to just get a laugh out of the students. He will perform for free Wednesday night at 8 in the Cats Den.