If it weren’t for the occasional lime green skin suit and nipple clamp-clad fan, the crowd for The Eric Andre Explosion Tour would have seemed sensible. For every 10 chic leather jackets and tech industry standard All-Birds, there was one super-fan — usually wielding a bottle of ranch — gazing toward the stage through tiny sports sunglasses.
Another giveaway to the imminent debauchery was the charter bus parked in the front of The Salt Shed that Friday evening, as the banner on the side of the bus read: “Pre-Game Consumption Lounge”, and had ushers welcoming fans in. When I approached I was promised “some broccoli, some ranch, and edibles”, to be made available to me if I simply filled out their contact form so the dispensary they work for could send me emails until I die.
Anyone who is familiar with The Eric Andre Show would recognize the iconic set on stage; consisting of Eric’s desk, a frumpy chair for guests, and a refrigerator. Next to each set piece was a tray of either cheese balls, pies or ranch, which would end up on lucky audience members.
The opener, DJ Dougpound, performed a sort of soundboard-enhanced stand-up while wearing a bright yellow jacket, and hair that matched his white khakis. He performed stand-up that was intertwined with audio drops and remixes of his own jokes; when a joke didn’t land right, he would follow it up with an earnest recording of himself singing “I hope you like my joke” or a laugh track to outperform the audience.
You can expect an unexpected entrance from Eric Andre: accompanied by the most avant-garde jazz possible, he body-slammed his desk, shattering it into pieces. The audience welcomed the various foodstuffs thrown onto them by Andre, as bathing his fans in ranch is his love language. Sweat pours down his royal blue suit as he catches his breath on the new desk, which was quickly replaced by trotting Salt Shed staff during the chaos.
The next hour was one of the most unique, jarring, and engaging comedy performances one could ever see. After a short monologue consisting of irony and purposefully stale punchlines, Andre asks, “Who wants to get sexy?!”, while he beckons a fan onto the stage, stripping him of his shirt, and proceeding to tie them up to a medieval rack looking device. While on the huge screen above the stage was a clip of Janet Jackson giving her fans a lap dance as they’re tied up in a similar fashion, on stage Andre flailed his body onto the shirtless fan – who moaned with laughter and joy the entire time — setting the bar high for the following segments.
Fans were asked to participate in almost every aspect of the show, and soon, Andre had volunteers bringing their phones up so he could text and call their exes or moms. The screens of fan’s phones were projected for everyone to see, giving audiences the ability to feel all the tension as Eric texted someone’s ex-boyfriend awkward and mindless flirts; later breaking the news to the boyfriend by FaceTiming him in front of the entire venue.
I would not be surprised if Eric’s entire tour was sponsored by Hidden Valley, as ranch was poured on fans throughout the show, with some fans even coming “pre-ranched” (bringing their own ranch from home). A highlight of the night was the ranch drinking contest, where three rabid fans hopped the gates to the stage to participate in exactly what it sounds like. One fan doubled over after half a bottle, another finished a bottle and a half, and the last drank two bottles like water and went in for another before Andre stopped him. After the show, I caught one of the competitors dressed in a neon crop top stained with ranch who identified himself as Andrew. As I asked him how he felt after consuming a bottle and a half of ranch, he said “sick.” Figures.
Although the show was brief — starting at 7 with Andre giving his goodbyes by 8:30 — the procession of people leaving was orderly and murmuring with contentment. His fans were satisfied, as if finally reaching the itch that only Andre’s antics could scratch. As for myself, I was satisfied knowing my stomach was not filled with a liter of ranch, and I expect the majority of the attendees were too.