“Laugh uhhhh Palooza” an initially uncrowded, yet intimate event sponsored by WBRS, Crowd Control and Student events, occurred last Friday night in Cholmondeley’s Coffee House. Facebook pages for the event promised an entertaining evening of standup comedians and collegiate improv comedy, along with an a cappella act (Rather Be Giraffes) and a belly dance routine by Brandeis’ own Belly Dancing Troupe.

The evening started strongly with two professional comedians, Alex Giampapa and Josh Day. Giampapa, the opening act, gave a short, 10-minute routine in which he poked fun at hookup culture and double meanings — he pointed out how terms “butt dial” and “booty call,” though seemingly similar, actually have completely different definitions and connotations. To amp up the relatively empty audience and help dissipate some of the awkwardness, a self-aware Day poked fun at the low turnout and the importance of forever maintaining low expectations.

After Giampapa finished his set, Josh Day performed next. At thirty minutes, his routine was the longest act of the night. The event was specifically advertised with Day as a special guest, so expectations were more or less high, and they were relatively met. Day’s jokes were mostly pun-based. The surprisingly not-cheesy build-up to the one-liners was ironic and self-deprecating. I actually thoroughly enjoyed his sense of humor, which was rather original and not overdone. He had great stage presence, probably due to his large build and crazy hair, which he revealed underneath his hoodie-flannel combo to the audience. There was a natural flow to his routine that seemed more like a humorous conversation with the audience.

An especially funny pun included something about Brandeis sounding like a guy playing with dice and another one asking “what brand dice is that?” Day also made a somewhat controversial pun with his joke about his Jewish motorcycle called a “yamahamika” (hybrid of Yamaha and yarmulke). But because Day’s routine felt so conversational and at some points improvised, he went on tangents that he sometimes did not recover from, making the 30 minutes seem like they were dragging at some points. At many moments during his performance, he would joke, “Okay, now I’m gonna tell some jokes” repeatedly, but he seemed a little distracted.

To take a short break from comedy, the Brandeis belly dancing team, which consisted of about five Brandeis students, performed a short routine with simple yet impressive movements and colorful outfits. It was nice to see a piece that diversified the event a bit instead of focusing the whole three hours on mediocre comedy.

In addition to Crowd Control and TBA — Brandeis improv groups that performed that night — Crowd Control also invited Northeastern University’s improv group Improv’d and Suffolk University’s Seriously Bent.

In both acts, the jokes could have been slightly more transparent. Seriously Bent elicited a few chuckles from the audience, but no one was exactly dying of laughter.

Mina Bond ’19 gave perhaps the most enjoyable student stand-up routine. Her performance came like a breath of fresh air. The audience enjoyed this one, as well: Bond’s act received immense laughter and applause. She had a sort of addictive enthusiasm and confidence that made her jokes all the more hilarious. Her jokes had a great combination of self-deprecation and provocativeness, and it made her stand out from all the other comedians.

One of the best ones was about partially wanting to participate in the women’s march in order to sync up with women from all around the world.

Bond talked about sex unapologetically and relatably, similar to comediennes like Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer; however, she kept her routine completely fresh and original.

A cappella group Rather Be Giraffes performed songs “Jack Rabbit” by San Fernim, “Youth” by Troye Sivan and “Greedy” by Ariana Grande, featuring strong vocals and soloing.

This performance showcased lots of energy and passion. Soon, toward the last hour of the event, more people started to enter Chum’s to watch “Laugh uhhhh Palooza.”

The event, which promised a night of comedy, fell flat at some moments. However, overall, the effort was there, and those in attendance — mostly the clique-ish friends of the performers — seemed to enjoy themselves. The night went well but perhaps could have been scheduled a bit better; the hosts also could have presented a little more strongly. It is important to understand that student comedians and improv groups are not professionals, and for juggling school and other extra-curriculars, their work was admirable.