The State at the Warfield, a Recipe For Fun

There are two kinds of people in this world: people for whom the words “porcupine racetrack” mean very little. And those for whom the phrase sparks pure, stupid, unfettered joy — and an urge to watch the 1995 cult-classic sketch from MTV’s The State for the 400th time, then rant at you about their favorite part. (Ken Marino as the gambling priest, obviously.)

Well, fellow members of the latter group, assemble! Specifically, assemble at the Warfield on Oct. 25, when members of The State will deliver the only Bay Area performance on their 2023 reunion tour. David Wain, Michael Ian Black, Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Michael Showalter and the rest of the gang have all steadily worked together in various combinations over the years — Reno 911!, Stella, the sacred text that is Wet Hot American Summer. But this show marks a rare live appearance for the original, NYU-born sketch comedy troupe, performing material from their show that aired for two short but highly influential years in the mid-90s.

America may not have been ready for The State during its original run. The show was mostly panned by critics, and the fact that the group began writing recurring characters that essentially mocked MTV’s demand for recurring characters is pretty telling re: the extent that the network knew what to do with them.

But in the years since the show went off the air, its mythos has only grown. Meanwhile other cult favorites like Mr. Show and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! — both of which had more than a dash of The State’s absurdism in their DNA — helped to further dismantle the lines between what used to be called “alt” and mainstream comedy. For more recent evidence of the group’s reach, check out the crop of comedians currently on the rise in Hollywood, like the creators of the gleefully deranged Bottoms, who cited Wet Hot American Summer as a creative “North Star.”

Which is to say, The State ultimately helped nudge comedy to the left of center. They made it a little more irreverent, more subversive, more delightfully strange. That means the modern comedic landscape is one in which two off-brand Barry Whites dancing suggestively around $240 worth of pudding, six dudes in blue and pink sweatsuits acting out the concept of hormones, a whole sketch that’s just the cast talking in funny voices about fried bumblebees — they all come off as somehow not that weird.

So thank you, The State. And fellow devotees: Put a bag on your head and hop on the ugly bus to the Warfield with me next week, so we can thank ‘em in person.

‘The State: Breakin’ Hearts and Dippin’ Balls Tour’ takes place at 8 p.m. at The Warfield (982 Market St., San Francisco) Tickets and more info here.