If you have somebody in your life who claims they don’t enjoy stand-up comedy, show them clips of Nate Bargatze.

It isn’t just that Bargatze, who headlines Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh this week, is an expert joke writer with an on-stage style all his own. Those things are certainly true, but Bargatze’s comedy, at least in my mind, is so appealing that I have a hard time believing anyone wouldn’t find him funny.

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Born in Tennessee, Bargatze had a father who was a clown and later became a magician. The cover of Bargatze’s Yelled at by a Clown is a picture of young Nate and his dad, who is decked out in full clown regalia.

My first headshot #oldheadshotdaypic.twitter.com/UcQvIDBBjN

— Nate Bargatze (@natebargatze) April 28, 2018

In perhaps another ode to his dad, Bargatze released Full Time Magic in 2015, and it’s one of my favorite hours of comedy. Bargatze’s newer material in Season 1 of The Standups on Netflix is outstanding as well, and the buzz generated by his Netflix exposure is helping him sell out shows on his current tour.

In a Wednesday afternoon phone interview, Bargatze and I discussed telling jokes from his early days in comedy, how audiences can still surprise him, his love of Vanderbilt athletics and more.  

Enjoy the interview, follow Bargatze on Twitter and don’t forget The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes at the end.

Raleigh! Get your tickets now. I'm heading to the @GoodnightsCC for three nights, 5/10-5/12. You won't want to miss out: https://t.co/SuUkNxTj5Bpic.twitter.com/1kitHKnf0e

— Nate Bargatze (@natebargatze) May 7, 2018

Tony Castleberry: I looked at Goodnights’ website on Sunday night and your early Saturday show was already sold out. That’s impressive, Nate. Have sellout crowds been the rule and not the exception on this tour?

Nate Bargatze: The crowds have been good. It’s all kind of happening, people being more excited to come to shows, after the Netflix thing aired.

TC: That’s understandable. Are there any jokes or bits from your first couple of years in comedy still in your act? If not, do you ever think about bringing early bits back?

NB: I don’t know about the first couple of years. Not at the beginning. There have maybe been a couple in there from the beginning to like seven years into comedy, maybe. Now I have some bits or jokes that could have been like eight years old. I’ll do them occasionally, if I do a private event or something like that.

Not at a club. It’s hard to remember them if you get out of telling them because you get into a rhythm of knowing how to tell them. We’re doing shows almost every day so you get used to saying it.

The last time I was at Goodnights, I messed up my closing joke. I forgot how it went. It was a whole thing. That’s happened a couple times, where you’ll start an old joke and in your head, you’re like, “I don’t even know how this could be funny.”

Happy #StarWarsDaypic.twitter.com/bGi65F1sbK

— Nate Bargatze (@natebargatze) May 4, 2018

TC: [laughs] I talk to a lot of comedians and I’ve heard some of them talk about early jokes like they’re their little babies. I was just curious if there was any nostalgia for some early jokes that you’ve told.

NB: As far as that goes, yeah, absolutely. My Comedy Central hour (Full Time Magic), I was very proud of. I was happy with those jokes. It was something where I thought, I’ll never get better than that. It’s just different now. I’ve gotten older and the way you tell your jokes is different.

TC: You’re better at it.

NB: Yeah, you get better over time. I had a Superman joke a long time ago and that was kind of the first big joke. Not that it did anything, but it was like the first joke you could close on and you knew it would work. Those old ones are the big ones.

TC: Are you ever surprised by what an audience finds funny, like laughing harder at a setup than a punchline or something like that?

NB: Yeah, when they laugh and when they don’t laugh. I feel them sometimes not get it. Sometimes they can laugh super early. I don’t know if I feel it as much now. I tell stories, but I try to put a lot of laughs in the story so when it’s quiet for a little bit longer than I think it should be, I’m like, “I don’t think they’re getting it. Maybe I need to slow down. Maybe they’re not getting the little jokes that are in the middle.”

TC: Who’s your favorite Vanderbilt athlete or team of all time?

NB: The first one was this guy named Corey Chavous. He was a cornerback, No. 4. I loved him. I was probably a freshman, sophomore (in high school). I just loved him as a player. He played in the pros, played for the (Minnesota) Vikings. He was my all-time favorite. Jay Cutler (a quarterback who has been in the NFL since 2006). People don’t like him, but he was a big deal for us. Jordan Matthews (an NFL wide receiver since 2014) and in baseball, we have a ton of guys.

I always follow Vandy guys wherever they go in the pros. Outside the (Tennessee) Titans, I don’t have a super strong loyalty to any pro team so I can kind of just float around and if a Vandy guy goes somewhere, just root for him.

Here it is, The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes:

We are having a heated family-wide argument in my house about how to open a bag of chips so yeah come on by unannounced we would love the company.

— Christopher Layton (@LaytesAgain)

May 10, 2018