Antoine McNeail is a throwback comedian with a modern take on life.
He keeps it contemporary — joking about celebrities, pop culture, dating trends and social media — but there’s nothing that’s off limits.
“Comedy doesn’t have a race, it doesn’t have a gender — it’s about everything and everyone,” he explains. “There are no rules — what’s funny is funny.
“Someone could literally pass away, and I’ll be at their funeral cracking jokes about them,” he adds with a deep, hearty laugh. “And I’ve done just that.”
The ability to make fun of others while not offending has made McNeail a staple in the Madison comedy scene over the past couple of years.
In September, he celebrated his second year hosting and managing a regular comedy and poetry showcase at the VFW club on East Lakeside Street, and was crowned favorite comedian in Isthmus’ readers choice awards known as “Mad Faves.”
McNeail is as laid back on stage as he is in person. “My style is like that guy at the barbecue or the office party who’s got a drink in his hand and is ready to tell you a story,” says the 38-year-old, who works a desk job in healthcare when he’s not performing.
At a recent VFW club show, McNeail took the audience of about 150 through his recent drought in what he calls “man-woman relations,” justifying how his current stretch of bachelorhood has resulted in mismatched sheets and tattered towels, among other things.
“I’m single. I’ve been single for a long time, so it’s easy for me to poke fun at myself and say what a single man does or, in my case, doesn’t do,” he says.
Another of his favorites is poking fun at rappers. “I absolutely love hip-hop — that’s the culture I grew up in — so it’s easy for me to emulate and mock the things that are natural to me,” he explains, flashing his quick, wide smile. “It’s low-hanging fruit for me.”
McNeail began doing standup about five years ago at the Wednesday night open mic at Comedy on State. That taught him that comedy was like “working a muscle,” he says. “The only way to build that muscle is on stage. You can have it perfect in your head, and even have it written down perfectly, but you don’t know if it’s going to work until you’re on stage.”
McNeail moved from Milwaukee to Madison in 1999, “went to the UW, studied political science, graduated and never left.” He says his family back home had the biggest impact on him becoming a comedian.
“It’s all based on me having conversations with my family,” he says. “Everyone is always one-upping each other, saying something funny. You have to find your place. And if you don’t have something funny to say, you’re going to the low man on the totem pole in a conversation.” He adds: “We’re literally a family of comedians — I’m just the one that got on stage.”
As a kid, McNeail became a “student of comedy without even noticing it — I was always watching things like Comic View on BET or Def Comedy Jam or In Living Color.” Some of his comedic idols include Tommy Davidson, Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence. As he grew older, he would “consume it all, it doesn’t matter what form it was in — it could be a romantic comedy, it can be standup, it could be a sitcom, it could be a sketch comedy.”
Given that he came up watching comedians push the limits, McNeail says it’s a shame how some are now catching grief for just doing their job.
“I don’t think that comedy should be scrutinized at the level it is these days,” he says.“It’s making too many comedians watered down.
“You don’t pay to watch a guy under a spotlight talk about things that are politically correct and socially pleasing,” he continues. “You’re going to [a comedy show] to hear things that you may not hear in regular society. That’s the point.”
He also doesn’t appreciate being labeled or categorized. “I thoroughly dislike the idea that there’s white comedy or black comedy — comedy is just comedy,” says McNeail. “I get low-key offended when people say that I’m doing a black comedy show. No, I’m doing a comedy show. It just so happens that we include diversity.”
Comedy & Poetry Jam by 1Motion Out Reach Enterprise takes place on the third Saturday of the month at the VFW, 133 E. Lakeside St., near the Alliant Energy Center. More information at facebook.com/ComedyAndPoetryJam or by calling 608-513-1717.
