Sal Vulcano is known for being one of the four men from the highly popular truTV show, “Impractical Jokers.” The premise of the show consists of following the Tenderloins comedy troupe, made up of Sal, Joe Gatto, James “Murr” Murray, and Brian “Q” Quinn, with hidden cameras as they coerce each other into playing practical jokes on each other in public.
The lights dimmed at exactly 8:30, creating screams of joy throughout the audience. A member of CUB came out to welcome the audience and to introduce Long Island comedian, Chris DiStafano. He is known for being in MTV’s Guy Code and Girl Code. The majority of Chris’s jokes revolved around his family, specifically his nephew with a peanut allergy and his four-year-old daughter. Roars of laughter ensued in the crowd as Chris connected with the college-aged audience with jokes about social media and relationships. After about half an hour, it was time for Sal to walk on Kendall Hall’s stage.
Sal walked onto the stage and was greeted by roars of joyous screams and hollers. Some students were standing, one student held up a blown-up photo of Sal himself, and a sea of phones on the air ensued. After the screaming died down, Sal asked to put all phones away and then greeted the audience. He began the show by getting a feel of the crowd, and asking if any faculty in the room. No one raised a hand, leading Sal to say, “Let’s get this f***ing party started!”
Sal got to know his audience, and specifically a biology student who expressed her love for the comedian. Sal was successful in sending the audience into fits of laughter after almost everything he said, from telling break-up stories to talking about his grandparents’ moth balls. One of my favorite jokes from the night was when Sal talked about his experience with drinking two Five Hour Energy drinks combined with a night of partying and drinking. It basically resulted in an Uber review gone wrong.
One of the highlights of the night was Sal’s story about how he was scared of Gloria Estefan’s “The Rhythm is Gonna Get You” as a younger child. As a kid of the 80s’, this song was a hit among households – more specifically, the Vulcanos’. Sal literally feared that the rhythm was actually going to get him. Sal began the bit by stating some of the lyrics to the song – “At night when you turn off all the lights… no place to hide… the rhythm is gonna get’cha.” Sal was so terrified about the lyrics that his own mother would use the “rhythm” against him whenever she could in order to coerce him and his sister into behaving.
It was an incredible night of comedy- one that will forever be remembered at TCNJ.