“He was edgy and very funny,” senior Geoff Porter said.
Lee opened his set by making fun of the names “McMinnville,” “Linfield” and “Linfield Activities Board.”
As the night went on, Lee was more than willing to self-deprecate and brought down his friends, family and everyone else in his life.
To demonstrate his own lack of toughness, Lee talked about his name.
“You can’t be tough with the name ‘Pete Lee’ because my name has four Es in it,” he said.
He continued to compare his name to the sound of a weak car alarm.
Lee suggested that other masculine stereotypes are not true. He talked about the flirtatious relationship between a catcher and pitcher in baseball, his favorite sport.
At one point Lee described a negative shopping experience at an apparel retailer. After an employee assumed Lee could not afford a pair of pants, he insulted her. As she began to cry, Lee told her, “You look fat when you cry.”
A shirt with the same catchphrase was available for purchase after the show.
The audience gave the comedian a warm reception, laughing loudly and often.
Although mostly respectful, there was some interplay between the comedian and his audience. Lee singled out some members of the audience and asked them questions that encouraged some heckling toward the end of the show, which prevented Lee from telling at least one joke.
By the last part of the show, neither Lee nor the students wanted it to end.
Lee called the crowd in Ice Auditorium one of the best audiences he has performed for and admitted to stalling a bit before telling his last joke.
After the show he stayed to talk to fans and sell T-shirts.
Lee tweeted his thanks to Linfield. He also praised the state for feeding him an “Oregon Burrito” and attached a photo of himself in the bathroom.
A semi-finalist on season six of the NBC series “Last Comic Standing,” Lee also had a special on Comedy Central and appeared on the network’s “Premium Blend.”
He placed 12th in the “Comedy Central Presents Stand Up Showdown,” a countdown of viewer-voted best comedians, and was voted Country Music Television’s “Next Big Comic.”
Lee’s CD, “Gasmoney,” is in regular rotation on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.
For more information about Lee and his comedy, visit www.petelee.net.
Sean Lemme/Staff reporter
Sean Lemme can be reached at [email protected].
