Last time US comic Josh Wolf toured Australia, he had all kinds of experiences that made him excited to return.
The guy in Perth with that down his pants made an impression.
“I love weird shit and my fans here share that love with me,” Wolf says. “We had a guy in Perth take a giant spider out of his pants in the meet and greet line.
“I also love that when people go out here they go OUT. Nobody has just one beer. Most of all though, the comedy crowds are amazing. As a storyteller, I could not ask for more.”
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Wolf is currently in Australia for his High on Life tour. The tour, which sees Wolf combine his familiar mix of standup, music, and crowd work, is a relatable show about Wolf’s life.
That life, previous performances signal, includes Wolf’s experiences changing his son’s nappy in IKEA and mistiming edibles before a flight, for a teaser.
On this tour, Wolf will also be performing with his son Jake Wolf on stage.
“There is nobody who does what I do,” Wolf says of his tour. “You can’t get the full effect of the show online. It is exponentially better live.”
Wolf, who was born in Boston, performed his first stand up show aged 15. In subsequent years, he moved to Seattle and LA to further his comedy career.
In the early 2000s, Wolf took some time away from live performance and focused on TV writing, working on shows such as Yes, Dear, All of Us (produced by Will Smith), and Cuts (featuring Shannon Elizabeth).
He returned to TV in 2006, performing on Last Comic Standing and regularly appearing on My Name is Earl (2006-2009).
In 2009, he started appearing regularly on Chelsea Lately, and writing for the show.
Since then, he’s published a New York Times best-selling book (It Takes Balls: Dating Single Moms and Other Confessions From an Unprepared Single Dad), won millions of fans on social media — with skits, standup clips, and series content — and continued to perform live on stage.
@joshwolfcomedy What is the weirdest conversation you had with your parents? #standupcomedy #comedy #joshwolf #jacobwolf #fyp #parenting
♬ Son Reacts to strangest talk w dad.joshwolfcomedy – Josh Wolf
Last time he toured Australia, he sold out his venues, upsized, and sold out those. For the fans, it’s Wolf’s candour and propensity for intimacy on stage that resonates.
“I am 100% open with anything that has to do with me,” he says. “And if I want to tell a story about someone else, I always check with them first.”
For a taste of Wolf’s material, social media is a great place to start.
He has more than half a million followers on Instagram, three million-plus on Facebook, over 1.5 million on Tik Tok, and more than 1.5 million on YouTube.
New subscribers will quickly find live cuts about bizarre music festival experiences, performing on mushrooms, and growing up Gen X v Gen Z.
Wolf also canvases public opinion, including whether it’s OK for a barista to touch the mouth hold on a coffee lid.
It’s still a sensitive talking point. “Do not touch the mouth hole,” he says.
On tour of Australia and New Zealand with his son, whom he co-hosts podcast Hey Maan with, he shares on their unique relationship, along with topics such as parenting and whatever is making news.
They go to places other parents and kids may not, but some things are still off limits.
“My underwear, my toothbrush and my ‘medicine’,” Wolf says of things he isn’t prepared to share.
Once Wolf’s Australian and New Zealand tour wraps up, it’s back to the US for an extensive list of dates. Wolf has more on the horizon for 2025, but for now, this is one of the few things he isn’t prepared to go into intimate detail about.
“Some incredibly exciting things coming in 2025,” he says, “but I’m not allowed to talk about them yet!”
Wolf wraps up his Australian tour in Brisbane this week, before heading to New Zealand. Find Australian tour tickets here. And keep up with the latest on Josh Wolf here.