Hannibal Buress talks Oddball Comedy Festival, riding Segways

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Funny or Die’s Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival

5 p.m. Aug. 10. $53.35-$123.90. Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood, 2002 Lakewood Way, Atlanta. 404-443-5090, www.livenation.com.

Stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress has had a 2014 that would make even the most energetic person stifle a fatigued yawn. He has a supporting role in Comedy Central's "Broad City," currently filming its second season, and working on another show for the network; he had a role in the 2014 hit "Neighbors,"; he released a TV special, "Hannibal Buress: Live From Chicago"; and he's working the late night TV circuit, with appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "The Late Show with David Letterman."

Even with a jam-packed schedule, he squeezed in a few minutes to talk to us about his appearance at the Aug. 10 stop of the Oddball Comedy Festival at Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood (read an interview with tourmate Reggie Watts here), riding Segways and crazy parties.

Q: I know you've worked with several people on the tour, but have you ever performed all together like this?

A: A lot of us have performed at the Comedy Cellar (in New York) before, but that's usually in front of 150 people. This is going to be thousands. So this is going to be the first time doing a bunch of big shows with Louis (CK) and Amy (Schumer) and (Bill) Burr, so I'm excited just to see what everybody's doing.

Q: Do you think you'll get into crazy hijinks backstage?

A: I don't know. Louis' pretty chill, a lot of them are kind of relaxed – I don't know if there'll be crazy hijinks. Everybody's in their 30s or older, so I don't know, we'll see. I like to hang out and have fun a little bit, but I don't know about everybody else, I can't speak for everybody else. Usually on a tour we get everybody together. Some fun will be had.

Q: Are you planning to try out any material at the Oddball Fest? What can we expect from you?

A: Yeah, when you're performing for 15,000 people, that's not the best place to try out new jokes. Usually I like to adjust to the city a little bit and maybe talk about the city I'm in, but for the most part doing some common stuff. New to the crowd, but not brand new material.

Q: Can you give me a teaser of anything Atlanta-specific you might talk about?

I’ve been to the Clermont Lounge – that’s a weird place. I like Atlanta. It’s a good city. A lot of rap groups are from there. It’s a fun place to hang out.

Q: That’s a good summary of the city – rap and fun.

A: Rap, fun, an inability to handle snow, even in the smallest amounts. I took a Segway tour in Atlanta a few years ago –

Q: Did you really? How was that?

A: It was good. It was fun to ride a Segway. Have you ever ridden a Segway before?

Q: I haven’t.

A: You're probably one of those people who make fun of people riding Segways.

Q: I am!

A: But you haven't even ridden a Segway, so you don't even how you feel like a God amongst men.

Q: I will admit that everytime I see people on Segways, I make fun of them without fail.

A: Yeah, well, they're making fun of you. While you walk around or drive around, they're moving around, getting forward motion with two toes, and that's it.

Q: All right, next time I have the opportunity to ride a Segway, I will take it at your recommendation. So, it’s exciting that your Comedy Central Show, “Broad City,” got picked up for a second season. How did you get looped into working on that show?

A: Me and (show co-star and creator) Ilana (Glazer) used to be in an underground gambling rings in Queens, and it kind of got out of hand. I was crushing her, and she was down a lot of money. I won't get into details, but she was really down. She's a gambling addict. I was like, "Whaddya got, 'cause I got cash, are you still trying to bet?" In retrospect I wish that I kind of told her to chill out, you're not really thinking with your right mind when you're down gambling, you're just trying to get back. She said, "I have a TV show, I could give you a role if I lose, and you have to pay me money if you lose." And so she lost and I got my role.

Q: I can’t tell how much of that story is true, but I’m going to go with all of it. So, you played a cop in “Neighbors” (the 2014 movie starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron) who gets involved with a college party. Have you ever been on the other end of that situation and thrown a party that had to be broken up by the cops?

In 2008, I was living in a nice apartment with roommates in Chicago. And they threw a party, and most of the people there were their friends, and people I didn’t know, and they treated me like it wasn’t my place. So there are all these people in my house acting like it wasn’t my house. And eventually the police came to break it up and I started calling people out – he doesn’t live here, she doesn’t live here, he doesn’t live here – it was the only time I’ve ever been happy to see the police.

Q: You recently tweeted, "Are y'all ok with my next tour being called the 'Superfluous Pu Pu Platter Tour'?" Are you actually thinking about naming it that?

I am thinking about naming it that. I guess I was at a place that had pu pu platters on the menu, and then I somehow brought in superfluous. I thought it was funny. So yeah, I might name it that, but it’s good to have second and third options.