LOL in Phillips County

Over five hours of stand-up comedy in two different locations in front of hundreds of people was held in Phillips County last Thursday and Friday as Montarctica Productions presented four comics at the Villa Theatre on Thursday and at the Buffalo Barn in Saco on Friday.

“The comedians were hilarious last night,” Montarctica Production’s proprietor Travis Rhoads said as he set up at the Buffalo Barn on Friday night. “They crushed it and in the audience, we had people ranging from 18-year-olds to my former kindergarten teacher …she took some ribbing and took it really well.”

Comics for the two shows were Sean McBride and Adam Hunter from Los Angeles, Calif., Tamara Boggio Upton from Red Lodge, Mont., and host for the night Donovan “Beef” Archambault who currently resides in Billings, but is a Harlem High School graduate and tied for first place in KMMR’s Talent Show last year.

“From Poplar to Havre, I consider it all my home,” Archambault said before Friday’s show. “Billings and Malta are probably where I have done the most shows. Last night’s show was really good, the energy was great and the crowd was hot.”

Hunter, the headliner for the two nights, picked on Barb Swingen (Rhoads kindergarten teacher) at the Friday show, but she wasn’t the only audience member to catch some playful ribbing…not by a long shot…as he labeled Jake Stuart, Cody Oxarart, Wyatt Lien and Scott Ost as members of the failed boy band named “No Direction” and talked about how Rhoads (who drove the comic from the airport in Billings to Malta) spent the entire trip naming all the different jobs he has around Phillips County.

“This kid hustles,” Hunter said.

At the Friday show, Archambault started the night talking about the only other time he had been to the Sleeping Buffalo, adding that he hoped Friday was going to go better than the first trip to the hot springs when he was an infant.

“The only thing I remember from the first time was I peed in the pool,” he said.

Those who attended the Thursday show in hopes that Hunter would rag on the audience during the Friday show were not disappointed as during his hour-long set, he said he had found Bigfoot when Scott Menelly walked by, thanked Shane Carnahan for wearing his best pair of shorts to the event and complimented Cole Brown on his thunderous laugh and wild afro.