GREAT ESCAPE: 'Drink Till We’re Funny,' a Free Night of Comedy

Weekends should go out with a bang, at least sometimes.

That’s why Sunday nights at 9 p.m., when every other local weekend event is over, floors swept and lights off,  Backstage Grille in Timonium is still going strong, hosting “Drink Till We’re Funny.”

There’s no cover charge and no minimum drink order. In fact, many of the draft beers are just $2. But considering many of the comics are just starting out on stage, the more you drink, the funnier they’ll be.

Between six and eight comics take the stage each Sunday night. To balance out the comedic unpredictability of some of the newcomers, Hightopps always makes sure to include a headliner whom you might have actually heard of before.

This Sunday, June 19, it’s Adam Dodd, a comedian who has toured nationally. If you’re not easily offended, and if you’ve already started drinking today, check out his idea of comedy on his Youtube channel, here. It’s juvenile, irreverent, and he’s clearly stuck in an elementary schooler’s bathroom-humor mentality.  In brief, he’s absolutely hilarious.

“Drink Till We’re Funny” was founded four years ago by T. Brad Hudson, a local comedian and author who wanted to start his own show that allowed local comics to shine in a no-pressure type venue, helping to get their feet wet if they were still new to the stage.

Patch a week after we launched in August 2010. 

“One of my favorite things at the show, is when someone doing stand-up for the first time comes up on stage and does really well,” Hudson said. “It's really an amazing thing to watch, and quite frankly, the driving force to keep producing the show year after year. I get calls and emails from guys that have moved to New York or Los Angeles thanking me for giving them their very first stage time.”

Hudson said the audience is often between 50 and 60 regulars, with numbers as high as 100.

“Of course, every show isn't completely awesome,” Hudson said. “But, in my opinion, that's what makes it even more fun. Picture the American Idol audition shows before they go to Hollywood. We have some total train wrecks, but sometimes really bad comedy can be funny.”

Hudson is also committed to providing a great stand-up show for free, for the loyal fans of stand-up comedy, to help more established comedians test-drive their new material.

It’s like being in a focus group—with a lot of alcohol and jokes. Who could resist?

“I think in this troubled economy and difficult times, for some folks, that a free night of laughs might be just the ticket,” Hudson said. “It may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but I bring free laughter to the people.

"Making people smile and possibly forget their troubles and woes for a couple of hours is why I got in this business in the first place," he said. "There are few things more rewarding to me than looking over a crowd of people that are laughing.”

Editor's Note: Having paid my way through college working at Hightopps Backstage Grille and serving Sunday night comedy, I am compelled to remind patrons to take care of your servers.