At some point after starting a career in stand-up comedy, one realizes that you might have to make some sort of move. For St. Louis-native Gabe Kea, that move was to Cincinnati. He was born to Canadian parents who settled in St. Louis after moving around the U.S. several times. "Everybody says it’s a great place to raise a family,'" Kea points out. "The running joke is that that should be the town motto." After finally working up the nerve to do stand-up in college, Kea realized he needed to get out there and just do it, feeling a change of comedy scene might be just the tonic.
After a talk with Michael Kurtz, who runs Go Bananas, he decided the Queen City was the place he ought to be. Cincinnati, it turns out, offered many advantages, including proximity to several other places like Dayton, Indianapolis, Columbus, Lexington and Louisville, all cities with at least one comedy club (if not more). Kea also warmed up quickly to the comedy mind-set here. "There’s more storytelling comedy here," he says. "No one ever says, 'Cut the fat,' which is something I always heard in St. Louis." While he doesn’t tell lengthy tales like a Mike Birbiglia or a Geoff Tate, he does have some hilarious longer takes on things ranging from the importance of proper driving attire to his sister’s disdain of a single, seemingly mundane word. Kea will feature for headliner Kurt Metzger. The MC is another local favorite, Mike "Meat" Cronin, a comedian that falls into the category of "gets funnier every time you see him."
Kea and Metzger perform at Go Bananas in Montgomery Thursday-Sunday. Tickets are $8-$12. Go here for show times and ticket information.
