LOL WITH IT: Comedic Podcaster Greg Proops @ Helium this weekend

Last night, standup comedian and podcaster Greg Proops recorded his Smartest Man in the World podcast to a crowd of hardcore fans at Helium.

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LOL WITH IT: Comedic Podcaster Greg Proops @ Helium this weekend

POSTED: Friday, July 13, 2012, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Comedy LOL With It

Every Friday, Ryan Carey covers the people and events that are giving Philly the giggles.

Last night, Greg Proops recorded his Smartest Man in the World podcast to a crowd of hardcore fans at Helium. A long episode capping off at two hours and fifteen minutes (quite a bit longer than his usual "Proopcasts"), the comedian detailed his visit to historical sites in Old City and listed his favorite soul-singers to emerge from Philadelphia during the '70s. He also discussed Pete Rose, and explained why Satchel Page is one of the greatest ball players ever to play the game (an important moment for Proopcast fans, since he discusses negro-league baseball very frequently and it became an in-joke to mention Satchel Page at least once on every episode.)

His Smartest Man podcast is gaining lots of steam. Says Proops, "I’ve had more writeups and more attention for the podcast than anything I’ve done in the last 20 years. I’ve done Asscat over at the UCB, I’ve done full-on musical Shakespeare in London, I've been doing "Whose Live" on tour with the guys from Whose Line is it Anyway and I was on audible doing Audible Proops from 2001 to 2005. I’ve had more fun doing [the podcast] than anything else during this time."

While his current heat is for Smartest Man and he's most famous for his participation in the improv games on Whose Line Is It Anyway, Proops' wheelhouse is standup comedy, which is what he'll be doing tonight and tomorrow at Helium. Proops tries to save most of his decidedly leftist politics (although he's no longer the biggest Obama fan) reserved for the Proopcast tapings, but rants tend to develop in his standup act as well. He frequently skewers the arguments against progressive politics and the hypocrisies of the far-right. He is also known to ask where everyone is originally from, and joke liberally about where people grew up. A world traveler, he can roast any state in the Union, and most countries as well. After spending the last few days here in Philly, he'll undoubtedly have a few loving jabs for our culture/history/food/weather.

You'll also be able to see Proops on TV again soon, on ABC's forthcoming Trust Us With Your Life. Hosted by Fred Willard, the show will feature a different celebrity guest and an improviser who will act out the celeb guest's life story. Proops jokes, "The first episode I taped was with Serena Williams. There's nothing funnier than a bunch of white guys pretending to be [her]."

Tickets for Greg Proops at Helium are still available. There will be two shows tonight and two shows tomorrow, both nights run @ 7:30 and 10. For tickets and more information, visit heliumcomedy.com.

Have a comedy event you'd like featured in an upcoming LOL With It? Email the author at ryan.carey@citypaper.net or tweet him @slackerDIYtoday.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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