Rod Man the funny man – and ‘Last Comic Standing’ champ – returns to Spokane

Observations and anecdotes make up much of Rod Man’s quirky set. The veteran comic, who will perform Friday and Saturday at Spokane Comedy Club, has amusing takes on malls and sobriety.

“I have some fun with what I see and think,” Rod Man said while calling from Atlanta. “It’s a funny and strange world. I was in Portland recently, and I saw a bicycle parade of naked people. You don’t see that everywhere, but they’re keeping it weird in Portland.”

Rod Man will riff on the pandemic. “I think it’s time to get out now considering where COVID is at and get to know your neighbor,” Rod Man said. “I’m trying to know my neighbors, and I’ll get to know people in Spokane.

“The one thing I know about Spokane is the Zags. Go, Zags! I know there is more than Gonzaga to Spokane, and I hope to find it when I come in.”

Rod Man is wise enough to know how to play it, and that’s part of the reason he won season 8 of “Last Comic Standing” in 2014. Rod Man looks back proudly at his accomplishment.

“It was great,” Rod Man said. “I might not be playing Spokane. I owe my shows to the success I had on ‘Last Comic Standing.’ ”

“Funny People,” the dramedy directed film by Judd Apatow, which was released in 2009, featured Rod Man. “That was huge,” Rod Man said. “It was a great movie. It was one of those cool opportunities in Hollywood. I got to go up onstage, and afterward Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler (who starred in the film) are in the green room with me.

“I had some fun with Adam Sandler, who is a Jets fan. It was fun to be in a movie with Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari. It’s helped me build this career that I want to take to another level.”