Standup star Felipe Esparza returns to Amarillo for the first time since 2018 with his At My Leisure Tour, set for 7 p.m. Saturday in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.
Esparza called last week for a quick chat about the tour, his dark sense of humor and his national breakthrough more than 15 years ago on NBC’s Last Comic Standing.
Chip Chandler: You’ve been doing this At My Leisure tour since fall of 2024. That doesn’t sound very leisurely.
Felipe Esparza: They’ve got me in a life contract. But, oh man, I love it.
CC: What do you like about the road? Do they treat you well out there?
FE: Delta has two lounges, Delta One and the regular Delta lounge. I was at the regular Delta lounge, and a fan recognized me, and she took me to the Delta One. We got inside of a Porsche SUV, with a Delta driver, and he drove us to the plane, and we got in on the side of the plane. We got in before the handicapped people and first class. I thought that was, like, crazy. Then I asked them how much this cost normally. And then I said, well, I won’t be getting that normally.
CC: How different is the show now from when you recorded your most recent Netflix special, Raging Fool (2025)?
FE: Like, 100 percent. My wife (Lesa O’Daniel Esparza) directed and edited the special. We did two sets, so we ended up cutting the jokes we didn’t need for the special and ended up having like 20 minutes that we didn’t put in the special, so now I have like an hour and 30 minutes of new material but just I haven’t put it together.
CC: When do you start planning out a new show? When do you start writing and workshopping it?
FE: The first time I go back on stage after I film the special. I try to do none of the jokes that I already did. But you know, sometimes you throw them in there, but most of the time, like right now, I could put an hour together if I want to. But I have a tight 45 that kills.
CC: Why do you like making dark jokes?
FE: It just comes out naturally now. … So I was talking about my friends, you know, they’re at the age now when their kids are having kids. You know, I thought, I haven’t even met my kids.
CC: Say that again. You haven’t met your kids?
FE: Yeah. A lot of my friends, or like their kids are having kids, and I’m like, I never met my kids. So, my kids are having kids, and I never met both of them. Yeah, so that’s dark, and people laugh at that.
CC: What’s it like making comedy in these times?
FE: I did a show at the Comedy Store and I opened up my show with, “What a time to be alive in America.” And I say, “For white people, it’s a great time, but for brown people, it’s like we’re living in that movie Back to the Future, and we’re staring at a Polaroid photo and our family is disappearing in 2025.” And then after that, I say, “If I was a white comedian, I’d be considered a genius for that joke. Joe Rogan would invite me over.” See, then I find the balance, man. For me, I find a balance. Well, I don’t hurt nobody, and everybody can walk away going, yeah, he’s crazy.
CC: I got to ask you about Last Comic Standing, if only because my friend Kristin Key was on a few seasons before you (Key placed seventh in Season 4 in 2006; Esparza won Season 7 in 2010). She’s from here in Amarillo. I know that it seems like that kind of really pushed you up to another level. Is that right?
FE: Yes, because I was only known on the West Coast, you know? Like some of the guys in the show were already on Letterman. They already had Comedy Central specials. But I had a lot more experience than a lot of those comics. I started noticing after a while that I had more jokes than them, too. But my first joke was, I went out with a big woman, we had sex, and she got up before me to go to the bathroom. When I saw her walking away, I realized we looked the same. I thought that was me dying. I thought it was an out-of-body experience. And when I won the show, (host) Craig Robinson took me to the side, and he goes, “Man, I knew you were going to win when you did that joke about the out-of-body experience.” He goes, “Man, everybody—the producers, the executives, the president of NBC, the f—-ing cameraman—they were all repeating that joke through the whole season.”
Tickets are $29 to $96, plus service fees. Call 806-378-3096.
This week’s other can’t-miss options:
Amarillo Wranglers vs. Oklahoma Warriors: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex Coliseum, 401 S. Buchanan St.; tickets $21 to $32; 806-242-4233
Kicker Monster Trucks: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, doors at 5:30 p.m.; 1 p.m. Saturday, doors at 11 a.m.; Amarillo National Center on the Tri-State Fairgrounds, 3301 S.E. 10th Ave.; ticket prices vary; 806-376-7767
West Texas A&M University Faculty Grand Recital: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on the Canyon campus; free; 806-651-2840
Turnkey Tyrants: 8 p.m. Friday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Corey Hunt & The Wise: 9 p.m. Friday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237
Logan Ellis & The Fever Dream: 9 p.m. Friday; Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
“New York, New York” WT Opera Gala: 5:30 p.m. Saturday; West Texas A&M University Alumni Banquet Hall on the Canyon campus; tickets $100, tables $1,000 and up; 806-651-2840
Fred Barchetta Tribute to Rush: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Rockwell Event Center, 16307 Interstate 27; tickets $25 pre-sale, $30 day of show; 806-683-2156
Slade Coulter and Travis Roberts: 8 p.m. Saturday; Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road; cover
Rhett Uhland: 9 p.m. Saturday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237
The Shane Rogers Band: 9 p.m. Saturday; Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Bored Teachers “Is It Friday Yet?!” Comedy Tour: 3 p.m. Sunday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex Auditorium, 401 S. Buchanan St.; tickets $42 to $69; 806-378-3096
Movie options:
Opening Thursday: Thriller Send Help, actioner Shelter and sci-fi horror flick Iron Lung (Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive, and Cinergy, 9201 Cinergy Square)
Special engagements: Kid fave The Lego Movie (through Feb. 5, Cinemark Hollywood 16); Documentary Melania (through Feb. 4, Cinemark Hollywood 16); The Lord of the Rings extended edition trilogy (through Feb. 5, Cinemark Hollywood 16); Secret Movie Series (Monday, Cinemark Hollywood 16)
