It’s a sort of homecoming for Gabriel Rutledge who will shoot a special at the Spokane Comedy Club

It made perfect sense to Gabriel Rutledge when the veteran comic was asked to tape a special Saturday at the Spokane Comedy Club.

“It was the club’s idea and it’s a good one for so many reasons,” Rutledge said while calling from his Olympia home. “I don’t know how many comics have played the Spokane Comedy Club more than me but it can’t be many. I just love that club. It always feels like home. I’ve had so many great times performing there.”

One of Rutledge’s favorite memories was playing the last notable event in Spokane just before lockdown in March 2020. Comic Brian Posehn canceled his shows at the last minute due to the coronavirus, which had just claimed the first American lives. Rutledge drove across the Evergreen State and killed before a near capacity crowd looking for something to do during a weekend of uncertainty.

“I think back to that show a lot,” Rutledge said. “I was just talking about it the other day. It was surreal. I remember after the show, someone said, ‘Thanks for coming here tonight.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I didn’t know what to expect.’ He said, ‘Because of the snow?’ I laughed and thought, ‘Never change, Spokane!’ I’ll never forget freaking out after that show since all of my shows were getting canceled. I thought, ‘what’s going on? I better drive back home.”

However, Rutledge had three stiff drinks and relaxed. “I got to stay at the Davenport, which was nice but I wondered if what I just did, perform, was the right thing to do, due to the situation,” Rutledge said.

A couple of readers sent letters to the Spokesman responding to the feature on Rutledge by noting that it was irresponsible to preview any kind of show due to what was on the horizon.

“But nobody knew what was right or what was wrong and what was coming up with the pandemic,” Rutledge said. “Looking back, it was crazy to judge anything at that time. It’s hard to believe more than three years have passed since that show. Time flies and things change.”

However, Rutledge, who will perform Friday through Sunday at the Spokane Comedy Club, still waxes about his wife and three children, who are 20, 15 and 12. “My show continues to be autobiographical,” Rutledge said. “So much has been going in my life with my children.”

Rutledge’s kids, who are growing up in a conventional manner, have a very different experience than their father’s childhood. Rutledge, thanks to his two hippie parents, came of age in a rustic manner in Western Washington, during the ‘80s. Rutledge was born in the woods, was potty trained in an outhouse and was given a rather unconventional middle name, Antelope.

“My brother got to pick his middle name and he chose Daniel,” Rutledge said. “He works in computer science and the kid named Antelope became a comic. I guess that all makes sense. I have no regrets. Stand-up comedy is a loophole in order to avoid adulthood. It’s worked out for me since I’ll be coming back to Spokane to shoot a special. It’s not a bad way to make a living.”