Glaser is no stranger to the state; she attended the University of Colorado Boulder for a year, and she performs here so frequently that she decided to record her 2022 HBO special, Good Clean Filth, locally at the Paramount Theatre. She also shares that doing standup in the Mile High City is unlike anywhere else: "The difference is the shortness of breath on stage," Glaser jokes.
"Every time I go to Colorado, I always say I want to move here," she continues. "I think this is the city I need to live in. Given the choice to live anywhere, I would live in the Denver area because my best friend lives there. I love skiing, and I'm also kind of obsessed with Columbine. Let's not get into it, but I've been to Columbine High School a lot of times, because I've read a lot about it. I was a freshman in high school when it happened; it profoundly affected my life. I'm obsessed with Colorado in every way."
For nearly two decades, Glaser has honed a comedic style that blends brutal honesty with relatable hilarity. She's become a formidable force in the comedy world, fearlessly tackling personal and taboo topics with her distinct wit. And it all goes back to her time at CU Boulder.
"One of my friends saw a flier on campus for an upcoming standup comedy showcase asking comedians to sign up," Glaser says. "She stole the flier, brought it to my dorm room, slammed it on my desk and was like, ‘You're doing this.’ And I was like, ‘All right, but I guess no one else can because you stole the flier.’ So I started writing jokes and Googling different comedians, because I wasn't really a huge fan of standup comedy — I had never really seen it. And then, obviously, I became a huge fan of it ... At that first set, I walked out on stage and I got those laughs, and it was the answer to everything I've been looking for my entire life. It felt like, ‘Oh, my God, this is it!’ Finally, I was good at something."
Nikki Glaser has a two-night run at Denver's Paramount Theatre.
Photograph by Johnny Martyr
Although recording a special is exciting, Glaser is looking forward to performing her first weekend show after the filming process. "It's great because I can be much more present," she explains. "With the live tapings of shows, there's a lot of nervousness. It’s like, ‘I gotta get this right.' There's a lot of pressure, and obviously, it's such a celebratory, fun moment, but it's nice to just have a show that only exists in that moment. You’re a little bit freer, because you can say things that you know you aren't going to put on camera and won't follow you around for the rest of your life.
"I get to do material that excites me again," Glaser continues. "I get to do some of the bits the way that I did them before I was trying to perfect them for TV. So I'm just going to feel super loose and free and excited to be on stage for the first time since having this really big crescendo of a moment recently. It's starting the new year off in the perfect way. And I have so many friends in Denver. I've been going there for so many years in my career; I always have great shows there. I just know that people like me and get me, and I always have such a good time on stage and off stage. It's just a great city to be in."
"I'm kind of obsessed with Colorado in every way," says Nikki Glaser ahead of her New Year's Eve show at the Paramount Theatre.
Photograph by Johnny Martyr
As Glaser preps for her Denver show, she promises there will be a mix of perfected material and fresher, more experimental bits. "It's going to be a mixture of stuff that is just crushing and new stuff," Glaser says. "It's like when you go to see your favorite artists and they're on autopilot when they're playing the hits, and they're most alive when they're playing the new stuff. Even though I like to hear the old stuff, I like when they're doing the new stuff more, so that's kind of the mood I'm going to be in at the Paramount. ... It's a great way to usher in the year. I think as much as we don't want to put meaning around New Year's Eve, there's just something special about closing up the year in a city that I love so much with friends, in a theater that has so many good memories for me."
Nikki Glaser: The Good Girl Tour, Saturday, December 30, and Sunday, December 31, Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place. Tickets are available at nikkiglaser.com.
