Brian Regan is happy to be an established comic. He wouldn’t want to break into the industry today.
“The world is changing, and comedy is changing. When I started, it was literally going to [a] club and getting on an audition night,” says Regan, headlining Palazzo Theatre on Saturday night. “I often say, if I were young and trying to get into comedy, now, I don’t know if I would know how to do it. And I’m going to name drop here …”
Go for it.
“I was talking to Jerry Seinfeld about that,” Regan continues. “He was kind enough to say, ‘You would have been able to figure it out, Brian. You would have loved it enough that you would have figured it out.’”
Regan has twice appeared on Seinfeld’s “Comedian in Cars Getting Coffee” Crackle and Netflix series. Regan was among the first comics Seinfeld recruited for the project, which ran for 84 episodes from 2012-2019.
“Before he made any shows, he was going to make 10, and he asked if I would be one of the first 10. I was obviously honored,” Regan says.”So I did one, and then a few years later, he asked if I wanted to do a second one. So I was like, ‘Wow, sure.’ So I’ve done two.”
Seinfeld likes his fellow comics. He has said he would rather hang with a comedian than someone in any other field. Regan has experienced that quality.
”The reason I think ‘Comedians in Cars’ works is because Seinfeld is generous with the laughs,” Regan says. “He will let them get their laughs.”
Regan is a Las Vegas resident comic, familiar around town for years (we actually met at one of Harry Basil’s late-night “Harryoke” singing parties at Laugh Factory at the Tropicana).
“I moved to Las Vegas a loooong time ago, for family reasons. My ex is from here, and at the time we came here because I was doing a lot of traveling, and she had family in Las Vegas,” says Regan, who is originally from Miami. “She could hang with the family while I would go out on the road.”
The couple had two kids who grew up in Vegas. When they came of age, he started performing in town.
“It was weird. Most people want a short commute in life. I wanted to work a thousand miles away from my house,” Regan says. “But now that my kids are older, I changed my philosophy on that, and now I’m enjoying occasionally hopping on stage here in Las Vegas.”
Regan played Palazzo Theatre in April, and is back Dec. 6. The veteran stand-up co-stars in three seasons of “Loudermilk,” Peter Farrelly’s series that moved to Netflix in January 2024. Portraying Mugsy, a recovering drug addict, Regan’s cast mates include Ron Livingston, Anja Savcic, Will Sasso and Mat Fraser.
Regan’s latest Netflix comedy special, “On The Rocks,” premiered in February 2021, recorded at Tuachan Center for the Arts in Utah.
Regan is among the rare comics who broke on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” in 1991. Six years later he released his “Brian Regan Live” comedy album. His crowds grew, as did his education of stand-up.
“My numbers were going higher and higher, and it was a beautiful experience,” Regan says. “Then they started dropping off, and I was getting comments after shows like, ‘Wow, we always enjoy that material you do!’ Meaning, they were seeing the same set.”
Regan has reintroduced a healthy complement of uncertainty in his act.
“I realized that I had gotten comfortable with my 45 minute set that would work, you know. But I realized that I was what I was missing was the fear of having new stuff,” Regan says. “When you first start, there’s a fear component, like, ‘Wow, I don’t know what’s going to happen here. It’s like walking on a high wire. I got back to creating.
“My favorite compliments now are, ‘We like what you did tonight. We never heard any of that before.”
A case of the spins
A Vegas nightlife Icon has taken the entertainment director role at Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Bar. Lee Vlastaris, aka DJ Hollywood, is booking the venue and also headlining Fridays and Saturdays. Vlastaris was a groundbreaking personality during the mega-club boom in the 1990s.
Vlastaris has outlasted most of the places he’s headlined, among them Pure Nightclub at Caesars Palace, Rain at Palms, Wet Republic at MGM Grand, Rehab at Hard Rock Hotel and Hyde Nightclub at Bellagio.
Vlastaris has been a featured performer at Aldean’s since its November opening. His position as entertainment for Aldean’s operator TC Restaurant Group was announced last week.
Cool Hang Alert
Las Vegas Jazz Orchestra is stacked — stacked, I tell you! — in its return to Notoriety Live at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 7) Wednesday. The city’s top jazz players swing in the venue’s Chandelier Room. GA tickets start at $25; go to notorietylive.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.