BOCA RATON – Six South Florida comics concluded their April mini-tour of the Northeast and Midwest with a showcase at a Boca Raton German-themed restaurant on Cinco de Mayo.
The Happy Habibis tour, headlined by Nadeem Awad and produced by David Sadman, swapped tacos for schnitzel on Thursday at the Biergarten.
“It felt good to have a show and give the tour some closure,” Sadman said. “We had two of the guys on one leg of the tour, and two of the guys on a different leg. Bringing them all together is kind of cool. It’s a lot of fun.”
Awad, Sadman, Anthony Terzo and Brian Coronado began April with a week performing in New York and Massachusetts – the highlight of which proving to be a Friday night show at the Hard Rock in Boston.
“The Hard Rock was great,” Awad said. “The place, it filled up really good. We got a good response. The establishment, they want us back.”
The New York shows were the third within a year for Awad and Sadman.
“New York was good – as usual,” Awad said. “I had my fill of pizza. I don’t think I want to see pizza for quite some time.”
Awad and Sadman hit the road again at the end of the month, heading to Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.
This time, instead of bringing Terzo and Coronado with them, Zach Bugarin and Steve Lamm joined the party.
The quartet packed into Lamm’s 2001 GMC Yukon, stopping for a show in Georgia on the drive north.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Lamm said of the midwestern audiences. “They were very welcoming. We showed up, rolling into town. Everyone was like, Oh, cool! People we don’t know.”
The South Florida comics sensed a different level of enthusiasm from the Midwestern audiences.
“In the Midwest it felt like people were just ready, sitting back in their seats like, Alright, we’re excited for this,” Awad said. “Their whole week’s planned. Let’s go see the comedians from South Florida.”
Sadman and Awad will be in South Florida for the month of May. Next week Sadman Comedy Productions is producing two Delray Beach shows headlined by Joe Bartnick – Tuesday at the Turtle Tavern and Thursday at Tim Finnegans. Bartnick often travels as Bill Burr’s feature comic.
The following week will feature another Biergarten show.
Though nothing is yet planned, Awad would like to launch of mini tour of the Rockies in the coming months. But on Thursday, enjoying a glass of tequila, he was reveling in conclusion of a successful month touring with his South Florida jokesters.
“Nobody beat the shit out of each other,” Awad said. “Nobody got arrested. All in all, a home run.”
