Scott HansenBy Tom Schardin

Comedy Night in a crammed room about the size of handball court with only one route to a pallet-sized stage isn’t supposed to work.
Don’t tell that to Jim Fraser, owner of the Buffalo Tap in Savage.

Don’t tell that to Bill Bauer either, a comedian for 25 years, who is part of the Minneapolis Comedy All-Stars.

Fraser met up with Bauer at the Joke Joint in Bloomington last summer with hopes of bringing comedy south of the river to his establishment in downtown Savage. Fraser’s room only seats 65 people, so Bauer was a little skeptical at first.

“I first told him you don’t have enough seats to make this work,” said Bauer. “But Jim looked at this long term. He saw the potential in it. And it’s working.”

Last October, comedy night at the Buffalo Tap was born and just recently (March 19), Fraser and Bauer had their fourth show that featured two local headliners who tour nationally in Craig Allen and Michael Thorne.

With Bauer’s connections with the Minneapolis Comedy All-Stars – which began in the 1980s with the likes of Louie Anderson, Alex Cole, Jeff Cesario and Joel Madison – Bauer has been able to book some big-name comics in Buffalo Tap’s four shows since October.

On April 16, Scott Hansen, five-time winner of the Minnesota Comedian of the Year, will bring his act to town.

“Our first show last October was a feeling-out,” said Bauer. “At that time, we knew this would be an audience that won’t be satisfied with the ordinary. But that show went well, but every show has to be great for this to work.”

The shows are on Wednesday nights. Bauer finds out which comedians are coming to Minneapolis to perform at the big comedy venues and then he tries to book them for a night at the Buffalo Tap.

One show featured Lizzy Cooperman, an urbane, Jewish comic, who has appeared on the “The Late Show” with Craig Ferguson 10 days before appearing at the Buffalo Tap. She’s also been featured in NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”

“Lizzy’s show should not have work at the Buffalo Tap,” said Bauer. “She’s this hip, Jewish comic. I was wondering if the audience would connect with her. It took about 10 minutes for the audience to acclimate to where she was coming from and then it worked extremely well.”

Fraser said he wanted to have a comedy night at his establishment to offer up something different for his customers. He knew there would be limited seating. He knew there wouldn’t be a lot of profit margin after paying the comics with limited tickets sold.
But it was something he wanted to try.

“We had high hopes it would work,” said Fraser. “I asked my customers if they’d be interested and they said yes. So far, every show has sold out right away. We’ve been very happy with the talent Bill has got for us. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Fraser is looking at doing a show about once every six to eight weeks. He says it takes a lot of energy to pull just one show off.
Bauer is also working for free. He’s not taking a cut for promoting the show.

“I’ll work for free to put this show together because I want it to be the best show possible,” said Bauer. “As an artist, a comedian, I can do that. If I wasn’t enjoying it, I wouldn’t do it. I’m betting on the long-term potential that this will work at the Buffalo Tap on a semi-regular basis.”

Allen seemed to enjoy his set on March 19. After walking off the pallet-sized stage, he looked at Fraser and said, “I didn’t want that to end up there.”

And like every comedian would, Allen certainly had a little fun with the Buffalo Tap’s low-budget stage and ventilation.
He started his set, “Hey, Welcome to the Buffalo Tap – & Sauna. Can someone put some more water on the rocks back there?”

Allen has made his home in Burnsville for the past four years, but he tours the nation as a standup. He’s also highly sought after corporate entertainer.
Meanwhile, Thorne, who lives in Apple Valley, has had one Showtime Special and has been in the comedy business for more than 20 years. He captivated the Buffalo Tap audience with his high-energy act, which has been called Judge Judy meets Jerry Springer.

Bauer said both Thorne and Allen, along with 1978 Burnsville High School graduate Scott Kadrlik, a first-year comedian who opened up the show, were all talents that matched the room.

“That’s how this will work – you have to match the talent with the room,” said Bauer. “With 65 seats, it’s a very intimate show. Again, it shouldn’t work. You have to sell every ticket to break even. The profit margin is on the liquor and food.

“But this has turned into a fun night of entertainment, where you don’t have to drive to downtown Minneapolis,” continued Bauer. “You get to see some big pretty big names.”

Contact Tom Schardin at tschardin@swpub.com.

COMEDY NIGHT
Scott Hansen performs Wednesday, April 16.
Contact Buffalo Tap for cost and upcoming shows.
Location: 4990 West 123rd St., Savage
Information: (952) 808-7317 or www.buffalotap.com