Some influencers are born to do more than TikTok, and this performance highlights just that.
Connor Wood’s stand-up comedy tour, “Fibs & Friends,” stopped at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on October 24 and brought his internet humor to the stage.
Connor Wood, also known as Fibula across his social accounts, started his career like most young people do nowadays: on TikTok. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wood posted relatable rants about being unemployed. From there, his comedic personality was shown weekly when he started a podcast with his close friend and fellow TikTok creator, Brooke Averick.
The “Fibs & Friends” tour has been appearing sporadically for a little over a year, gradually making its way throughout the country, so when the Minneapolis announcement came across my desk, I knew I had to attend.
The show started with Twin Cities-based comedian Lucy Beers Shank. Her set brought up the crowd’s energy with her Gen-Z-speak and the horrors of her past job as an elementary school teacher.
Shank’s performance was good but nothing special, and definitely worked as an opening act. I would have loved to hear more of what she had to say, and less of her talking with the crowd on one single topic, especially since her set was only about 15 minutes.
Following Shank was Maggie Winters. I’ve known about Winters for a while, since she has been opening for Wood since the tour started and recently sat in Brooke Averick’s chair for an episode of “Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast.”
When they announced her at the show, I was honestly overwhelmed with shock that she was present. I find her comedy completely relatable and funny; she even started off with one story from Minneapolis where she partook in a bar fight.
Her performance felt like a conversation with just herself and the audience. She covered a wide range of topics while seamlessly tying in jokes. She talked about still living with her parents in Chicago to the taboo discussion of depressive episodes, which are now called “crash outs.”
Next was the main event.
Going into this, I knew almost nothing about Wood’s stand-up routine. The presence of this tour is slim-to-none on social media, and I hadn’t heard anyone discuss if his live act is actually funny.
Turns out, his act was just like the podcast. This isn’t bad, as the podcast was how I became a fan. His jokes were casual and it really did feel like he was just saying what was on his mind, which is what people love about him. He pointed out the young men that were dragged to the show by their girlfriends and came to a conclusion on the attractiveness of the Minneapolis mayor.
The best part was his crowd work, which we needed more of. I have a feeling that his set is mainly just an outline, as he got off topic so easily that the Varsity Theater staff were trying to get his attention to get him off stage.
This whole experience, from the beginning to the end, was just how I expected, and it felt like a dream to see it live. Its many topics and unscripted vibe made it feel like the best kind of conversation.
Abby Madsen can be reached at mads3817@stthomas.edu.
