Nate Bargatze has made the leap from Spokane Comedy Club to Spokane Arena

Nate Bargatze’s voice jumped an octave when recalling the green room at the Spokane Comedy Club where he performed less than six years ago.

“They have a great couch at that club, and it’s such a nice atmosphere for comics,” Bargatze said, while calling from his Nashville home.

Stand-ups rave about the candy, premium beer in the fridge and the X-Box at the comic’s oasis on Sprague. When Bargatze returns Thursday to Spokane he won’t be back at the 350-capacity club. Instead the soft-spoken humorist will perform a mile away, headlining the Spokane Arena, which accommodates 12,500.

“It’s wild how much has changed,” Bargatze said. “The last few years have been surreal. Sometimes it’s hard to believe how things are for me now.”

Bargatze’s mind was blown in October when he hosted “Saturday Night Live.”

“That was just insane,” Bargatze said. “I watched ‘Saturday Night Live’ a ton when I was a kid. I became friends with (SNL alums) David Spade and Adam Sandler.

“I was just happy to know some of the greats from SNL, but then I got to host the show. It is the most fun thing I’ve done in my career.”

Bargatze, 44, had no problem with the live aspect of the iconic program, even though he’s not an actor. Bargatze nailed the challenge, since he’s an inveterate comic, who is used to living in the moment onstage.

“Performing in front of a live audience wasn’t that big of a deal, since I perform in front of a live audience every night,” Bargatze said. “It was a great time being on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I got to talk with (SNL Executive Producer) Lorne Michaels and I got a call from Pete Davidson, who told me not to fight it and I didn’t. I just let them lead from one skit to another.”

The Foo Fighters were the musical guest, and Dave Grohl, who is always upbeat, was surprised by how mellow Bargatze was during the show.

“Dave said, ‘Aren’t you excited?’ I told him, ‘I am, but I don’t show it the way you do.’”

Comics can be stereotyped as selfish and ego-centric, but the married father of an 11-year-old daughter is happily laidback.

“That’s just the way I am,” Bargatze said. “I guess I am nice, but I don’t like to make fun of people or make fun of the crowd. I prefer to make fun of myself and just talk about what’s on my mind.”

Bargatze will open and close his set at the Spokane Arena by waxing about being a guy from the last century.

“I talk about being from the 1900s,” Bargatze said. “It was a different time. I graduated from high school in 1997, and it’s just a completely different world that we’re in.

“There are so many people that can relate to how different things are now and that are used to an old way of life and aren’t so good with modern technology. Some people feel like they’re left behind.”

Many comics from the 1900s broke courtesy of appearances on “The Tonight Show,” but Bargatze is a 21st century entertainer, who became a sensation courtesy of three Netflix specials and podcast appearances.

“Comedy is everywhere now,” Bargatze said. “Comedy is in your pocket. Pull out your phone and you have access to some amazing comedians. Appearing on a podcast, not just having one, but appearing on a popular one can change your life.”

Comic-UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s podcast,” The Joe Rogan Experience,” has been a game-changer for Bargatze.

“Joe’s podcast is massive,” Bargatze said. “His podcast is more influential than a sitcom. If he stopped doing a podcast to focus on a sitcom, that would be a step down. That’s how much the industry has changed.”

Within a half-decade, Bargatze went from performing to a double-digit audience at clubs to selling out arenas. A few months before playing Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena last April, Bargatze attended a Twenty One Pilots concert with his 11-year-old daughter.

“I asked her how she thought I would do playing there,” Bargatze said,

and she said, ‘I don’t know. This is a really big place.’ “

Bargatze drew 19,365, which broke the Nashville venue’s all-time attendance record.

“It was unreal,” Bargatze said. “Who would ever think that would happen?”

Bargatze who hails from sleepy Old Hickory, Tennessee, is at his best joking about relatable subjects, such as travel, family and pop culture. One of Bargatze’s best bits is about how the young mothers from MTV’s “Teen Mom” have the right idea.

“It would be a lot easier to have kids when you’re 16 years old,” Bargatze said. “When you’re my age and you have a young kid, you get tired. But I love being a father and a husband.

“I talk about the fights my wife and I have, and not only is it something people can connect with, what I talk about comes from a place of love. I’m not an angry comic. My family comes first.”

After living in Los Angeles for a decade, Bargatze moved back to the Volunteer state for the sake of his daughter.

“I wanted her to have a normal life,” Bargatze said. “Los Angeles is full of the abnormal. The cool thing is that I can have a career and she can have a regular childhood. It’s all worked out for us.”

Bargatze, who is performing in the round on his “Be Funny” tour has made the jump to arenas in a seamless manner.

“It’s been an adjustment, but I’m handling it,” Bargatze said. “People talk about when you play the arenas there’s the big screens, but I think they’re a good thing. Let’s say you see a comic in a theater, you can’t see his face. You can see a comic’s expressions on the big screens so the facial expressions go over better.

“I saw Adam Sandler’s arena show in Seattle and it was great. He does a great job with the screens. It’s fun to be in a big venue with that many people laughing, since laughing is contagious, which is a great thing.”