The Iranian-American comedian talks performing in arenas, his upcoming Australian tour and the absurdity of political correctness.
Amir K is finally back in Los Angeles, his hometown. Having only recently hopped off a flight from Arizona, his feet quite literally just touched home ground. This tour has seen Amir traverse the United States with presidential velocity. Taking a moment tonight to enjoy relative bliss, Amir is hanging out at his friend’s house in Long Beach.
I say the bliss is ‘relative’ here, as Amir will soon be hopping on a plane and heading to Australia for the next leg of his tour. The last time Amir was in Australia, he was touring with renowned American comedian Theo Von. Playing arenas with a capacity of “nine to 12 thousand,” Amir felt like a fish out of water.
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“I don’t know if comedy belongs in a venue [like that]. I don’t know if the connection is the same as a comedy club. I think there’s a reason comedy clubs are designed the way they are. Some of the seats on the balcony are miles away. I don’t know if you can connect fully to a comedian in a space like that. The intimacy and energy of it is gone.”
Amir, who had never played in theatres this size before, was initially taken aback by the prospect of performing in a venue of this size. “The nerves are always there, but especially in a venue like that. But they’re more excited nerves – just feeling like once you step on that stage, you come alive. You’re energized.”
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For this upcoming Australian tour, Amir will be performing in small comedy clubs, something he says he is very excited about. “I’m looking forward to bringing the shows to a smaller venue where I can see the people. I do a lot of riffing in my shows. Those smaller rooms are way more conducive to that,” Amir said.
Still loving the rush that comes with live performing, Amir compares his comedy to other art forms. “You’re never going to paint the same painting twice. You feel the energy and work off that. When I’m really in my element, I’m playing jazz up there; riffing, peppering in some material. It’s fluid. That’s where I’m best: when I’m in that groove.”
Amir has also found that Australian audiences are more willing to embrace his comedy than most. In that same token, though, Amir has also found that Australians are keener to call him out than most.
“I dated an Australian once and it was a huge culture shock. You guys are so straightforward. There’s seriously no bullshitting. That translates well to a comedy audience. There’s no place for ego. If you eat shit, Australians will let you know,” Amir laughs.
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Though for Amir, being a foreigner in a strange place is something he has long been used to. At the age of five, Amir and his family moved away from Iran to escape the war. Not knowing a single word of English, he distinctly remembers sitting in a primary school and not understanding a word.
“I was just bawling my eyes out because I didn’t understand what anyone was saying,” he says. “Back then, I must have had a little Iranian accent. But I basically just tried to learn the American accent by mimicking them. Because of that, I now do like a thousand characters in my act. It helped me find characters and play with them.”
Through these hard times, humour was always the substance that sustained Amir and his family. Perceiving it the same way he did when he was a child, Amir often tends not to shy away from difficult topics within his set.
“I think we’re getting over it though,” he says when asked about political correctness. “I’m not a politician. I don’t want to be held to politician standards. I’m a comedian. I’m a clown. I shouldn’t be taken seriously in anything I say.”
While there has long been a question asked of comedians regarding political correctness, Amir remains firmly rooted in his perspective. “You can say whatever you want and people can skew it however they want. But I do find now that people try to find buzzwords to latch onto and get offended. Whatever happened to sarcasm and just laughing and shit? Just don’t go if you don’t want to. Why does it make you mad if a group of people laughs?
Amir K is performing at the Comic’s Lounge on November 27. Tickets can be accessed here.
