Comedian Michael Kosta allows student to open for him
Heather Holm / Activities Editor
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: News
Antonio Burton, a sophomore art education major, was asked by comedian Michael Kosta to be an opening act to Kosta's show Friday night in 7th Street Underground.
Burton said Kosta heard him joking around and beat boxing before the show, and Kosta asked him to go on.
"I work for University Board, and he heard me playing around," Burton said.
Kosta liked how Burton warmed up the crowd.
He then made some jokes about unofficial St. Patrick's Day.
Kosta said he traveled through Champaign to get to Eastern, and all he saw was cops and vomit everywhere.
He recalled a time when he was drunk and tried taking out his contact lenses when he had already taken them out.
Furthermore, he talked about how the reason that Barrack Obama's campaign slogan was "Yes We Can," because it had to do with drinking.
He made fun of the way priests have a half-singing/half-talking voice during masses and wondered if they use that voice when they go out to restaurants like the Olive Garden when deciding if they want soup or salad.
He also made fun of girls who have too many cats.
Corey Bryant, a sophomore physical education major, said he liked these jokes the best because his girlfriend always makes fun of the fact that his mother has six cats.
"My girlfriend always give me a hard time about this," he said.
Kosta talked about how he thought his dog was gay because he ate eleven of his girlfriend's birth control pills one time and said he knew this because the dog started chasing after mopeds and segways instead of cars.
He made fun of a girl in the crowd because her boyfriend took her to Burger King for Valentine's Day and how she had to drive.
Furthermore, Kosta gave advice on what to do when coming across a shark, a crocodile and a bear.
He said to act tall when around a bear, punch a shark in the face and run in zigzags from a crocodile.
"Don't confuse these," Kosta said. "Don't punch a bear in the face or swim in zigzags from a shark."
Near the end, he tried out some new jokes and had the crowd tell him if they liked them or not.
When some people seemed un-amused by some of the jokes, he made a joke about how they were like the old guys from the Muppets show.
Kosta said he has always really wanted a lot of attention, even as a kid.
"Comedy is a great venue for that," Kosta said. "There is usually a captive audience."
Kosta played tennis at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at summer camp, the players would do fun things for the students.
Kosta would always joke around and make funny noises for the children, he said.
Kosta has been doing comedy for about nine years.
"I try to think about my own life and think of things I find funny," Kosta said. "Sometimes things you come up with are crappy and sometimes they are good."
Kosta has been on Comedy Central, Showtime, the Bob and Tom Radio Show, TBS, HBO, XM/ Sirius Satellite radio and Fox.
Kosta said he liked performing at Eastern.
"I thought this was a great crowd and a fantastic venue," Kosta said. "The sound was good."
Matt Caponera, comedy coordinator for the University Board, said the 7th Street Underground is a good venue because it is so abnormal, it usually provides the comedians that come to Eastern with jokes.
Caponera said UB found Kosta at the National Association for Campus Activities regional conference in October at Peoria. It cost around $1,300 to $1,800 for him to perform at Eastern.
Heather Holm can be reached at 581-7942 or haholm@eiu.edu.
Burton said Kosta heard him joking around and beat boxing before the show, and Kosta asked him to go on.
"I work for University Board, and he heard me playing around," Burton said.
Kosta liked how Burton warmed up the crowd.
He then made some jokes about unofficial St. Patrick's Day.
Kosta said he traveled through Champaign to get to Eastern, and all he saw was cops and vomit everywhere.
He recalled a time when he was drunk and tried taking out his contact lenses when he had already taken them out.
Furthermore, he talked about how the reason that Barrack Obama's campaign slogan was "Yes We Can," because it had to do with drinking.
He made fun of the way priests have a half-singing/half-talking voice during masses and wondered if they use that voice when they go out to restaurants like the Olive Garden when deciding if they want soup or salad.
He also made fun of girls who have too many cats.
Corey Bryant, a sophomore physical education major, said he liked these jokes the best because his girlfriend always makes fun of the fact that his mother has six cats.
"My girlfriend always give me a hard time about this," he said.
Kosta talked about how he thought his dog was gay because he ate eleven of his girlfriend's birth control pills one time and said he knew this because the dog started chasing after mopeds and segways instead of cars.
He made fun of a girl in the crowd because her boyfriend took her to Burger King for Valentine's Day and how she had to drive.
Furthermore, Kosta gave advice on what to do when coming across a shark, a crocodile and a bear.
He said to act tall when around a bear, punch a shark in the face and run in zigzags from a crocodile.
"Don't confuse these," Kosta said. "Don't punch a bear in the face or swim in zigzags from a shark."
Near the end, he tried out some new jokes and had the crowd tell him if they liked them or not.
When some people seemed un-amused by some of the jokes, he made a joke about how they were like the old guys from the Muppets show.
Kosta said he has always really wanted a lot of attention, even as a kid.
"Comedy is a great venue for that," Kosta said. "There is usually a captive audience."
Kosta played tennis at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at summer camp, the players would do fun things for the students.
Kosta would always joke around and make funny noises for the children, he said.
Kosta has been doing comedy for about nine years.
"I try to think about my own life and think of things I find funny," Kosta said. "Sometimes things you come up with are crappy and sometimes they are good."
Kosta has been on Comedy Central, Showtime, the Bob and Tom Radio Show, TBS, HBO, XM/ Sirius Satellite radio and Fox.
Kosta said he liked performing at Eastern.
"I thought this was a great crowd and a fantastic venue," Kosta said. "The sound was good."
Matt Caponera, comedy coordinator for the University Board, said the 7th Street Underground is a good venue because it is so abnormal, it usually provides the comedians that come to Eastern with jokes.
Caponera said UB found Kosta at the National Association for Campus Activities regional conference in October at Peoria. It cost around $1,300 to $1,800 for him to perform at Eastern.
Heather Holm can be reached at 581-7942 or haholm@eiu.edu.
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