Yakima Laughs Big as Nate Bargatze’s Tour Rolls In

The Yakima Valley has been treated to several big-name comedians in the past several months, with the likes of Bert Kreischer, Brad Williams, and upcoming Anjelah Johnson-Reyes. But this Friday night (January 16th), our little city got a big-eyed view of Nate Bargetze when his Big Dumb Eyes Tour came through Washington.

Big Clean Comedy At The Yakima Sundome

The Yakima Sundome was dang near sold out for this night full of clean comedy. Some innuendo was there, but this was a show that you could bring the whole family to, and Yakima clearly did.

Kicking off the show was Nate’s long-time friend, comedian and host for the evening, Julian McCullough, who riffed with the crowd, even bringing a young girl onto the center circular stage. He did quite the set to open the show, in which he talked about our town, “the ghosts”, swatting at bugs, Chip & Dale’s adventure, and his relationship to Nate.

I mentioned how the stage was centered and circular. I’ve seen this on TV, but it was the first time I’ve seen it in person, and I must say, I liked it. All the comics were mindful of it and did a great job addressing all sides throughout their sets. 4 video screens aimed in different directions above the center stage kept the spotlight on the comedian's face, so even though there really wasn’t a bad seat in the SunDome, people in the back could see what was going on, or focus on their face when on the stage is nothing but butt.

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Andrew Stanley’s Turn On The Stage

The first official act of the night was Andrew Stanley, out of Atlanta, Georgia, who took to the stage with his calm, shy, possibly awkward demeanor, attributing it to the fact that he was homeschooled, and going off the life impact of his parents’ choices. Andrew’s only been doing comedy for the past 9 years, but has already become one of my favorites.

Dustin Nickerson’s Teaching About the PNW

Speaking of favorites, Pacific Northwest fav Dustin Nickerson took the stage sporting a Yakima Pippins jersey and joked how he was only on stage to teach the rest of the comics how to properly say Yakima. Dustin also poked fun at his family life and the differences between Millennials and Gen-Z, all the work one group has done, that the other just doesn’t appreciate. If you see Dustin performing in Seattle, Spokane, anywhere in the PNW, SEE HIM!

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Derek Stroup Longs For A Simpler Time

The comic that blew me away and might have been my favorite for the night was Derrick Stroup. Southern charm and rapid-fire storytelling hit the right notes for me. And his bit about the ways cigarettes have saved a lot of people and holidays through the years, hit close to home for me.

The Big Dumb Eyes Take The Stage

The man of the night, the main event, Nate Bargatze’s intro video played, and he entered the circle. Joking about his love of AI (at least in public) and the future of it, taking care of parents in their golden and elderly years, marriage counselling, and sharing text messages from his family, the crowd loved every minute.

Thank you to the folks at the SunDome, and thank you to The Big Dumb Eyes Tour for coming through our foggy/ghost town! Check out some photos from Nate & the wrap up below.