Joe List: Enough For Everybody [Comedy Special]

One of the most joyous things about being a fan of stand up comedy is definitely watching the evolution of success come to those who truly deserve it. Sadly, the well-deserving aren’t always the ones who seem to achieve such “success”, or whatever you would like to call it. But sometimes, just sometimes, a true genius will emerge in this very specific world of the arts and the aforementioned evolution can happen right before your very eyes. I firmly believe that today’s subject, the hilarious Joe List, is definitely in the latter category.

I first discovered Joe List around 8 years ago or so when I was first beginning to dive back deep into the world of comedy, mostly via podcasts and dabbling in comedy specials back when they were far less abundant. I can vividly remember standing in the kitchen of my rented home in southern Spain preparing a nightly family meal, listening to one of these “podcast things” that I had recently become interested in. The podcast for the evening was none other than the already long-lasting pod at the time, Doug Benson’s legendary game show, Doug Loves Movies. I had begun learning about some of the hot and upcoming acts of the time that I had been missing out on around that time via this very podcast. Frequent DLM guests like Bert Kreischer, Iliza Schlesinger, and Tom Segura were just beginning to work there way towards being household names. And wouldn’t you know it, there was one comedian that rose above all of them for me personally. One comedian that felt authentically fresh but also maintaining an old school appeal. Yeah this comedian really got to me.

That comedian was none other than Mark Normand.

Many of you hopefully know where I am going with this. I know that certain groups of comedians are somewhat hard to separate from one another even though they’ve had very different yet equally successful careers in comedy. And that can definitely be said about the Tuesdays with Stories boys, Mark Normand and, yes finally…Joe List. I listen to one episode of Tuesdays and was instantly hooked. And while I am still a big fan of Mark, if I had to make a bias choice between the two (which is stupid and unfair, but I’ll do it anyway) based solely on relatability in even the slightest sense, I have to say that Joe continues to be one of the top stand up acts working today.

And over the last almost decade of following the career of Joe List, it is almost astonishing just how much he has accomplished. I say almost, because I do not wish to negate the fact that Joe had been in the game for over a dozen years before I got around to noticing him, thus making Joe seem like an artist who didn’t put in the work to get where he is today. But in the second act of his career thus far that I have had the pleasure of witnessing, Joe has had specials on Netflix, #1 charting comedy albums, 3 brilliant self-produced specials, 3 very different yet equally unique podcasts (Tuesdays, Mindful Metal Jacket, and that one where he talks about movies with that weird little boy who knows nothing about movies). He even penned and starred in arguably the best film of 2022, Fourth of July. I’ve also heard his tales of getting married, and most recently his journey into the world of fatherhood. 

Yes, Joe has proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of comedy. I had the great fortune of seeing Joe live at the SoHo Theatre in London a few months before the world shut down for a while, and it still stands as one of the finest stand up performances I have ever seen. And the future is only looking more and more bright as he continues to put out incredible work.

And speaking of incredible work, how about we finally talk about the titular reason anybody may have somewhat wanted to read these words.

With his 3rd special in just as many years, Joe List has once again given us his very best with Enough For Everybody. This special is nothing short of being poignant, topical, and absolutely fucking hilarious. The latter being the most evident and obviously most important. If there was any hint that Joe’s rise to stand up fame has affected his material, it is subtle at best. It’s only in his distinct sense of self-awareness that one would be able to recognize just how much of a rise this man has had over the last few years. Yes, there were obviously “Tuesgays” in the audience. But it did not stop Joe from writing the material that would accumulate in being one of the best stand up specials of 2023 thus far.

Enough For Everybody is one of those specials that is sure to stand the test of time. As I mentioned, there is a sense a good deal of topical and “of these times” material within the special, but I dare say this could not take away the timelessness of Joe’s art. I’ve often been quoted as saying that Dave Chappelle’s For What It’s Worth is the magnum opus of recorded stand up comedy. And 20 years later, some of its topics can seem a bit outdated. But the jokes still hit as hard now as they did then. And I am willing to bet the soul of Joe’s unborn child that Enough For Everybody will be a masterpiece that will fated the same. It’s really that damn good.

From powerfully simple observations, to unwarranted self-deprecation, and down to outright silliness, Joe List has created something here that is definitely not to be missed. It has been so damn exciting to watch Joe go from your favorite comedian’s favorite comedian, to a household name in his own right. And just as each special that has come before over the last few years, Enough For Everybody is definitely further proof that even though a couple of decades have already past, Joe is not going anywhere. In fact, it’s safe to say that the best of Joe List is definitely yet to come.

Head on over to comedianjoelist.com to see when Joe will be in a city near you (hint: it’s likely soon), and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button on YouTube, you know, algorithms and what not. Enjoy!