There is no better name for latest round of shows than “The Maronation Tour.”
It not only describes the 51-year-old’s preferred aesthetic, which finds his jokes marinating in the stew of insecurity, cynicism and wounded optimism in his brain. It also plays on his name, which has become more well-known over the past six years thanks to his influential podcast, and his IFC series, “Maron,” which started its third season in May.
“I like getting the hang of each level of this process and still having things happening creatively for me,” Maron said over the phone. “I think I’m in a groove. I’m comfortable playing bigger places and making crowds come around to what I do, spatially, with the intimacy of it.”
Maron is best known for his confessional stand-up sets, which balance his neuroses with an everyday, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”-style apoplexy at humanity’s failings. It’s part social critique, part self-analysis, and it has struck a chord with comedy fans who look to Maron to help form their opinions on popular culture.
But his latest — and by far biggest — tour bears the marks of his recent success. It plays the on July 24 and the on July 25, two large steps up from the comedy clubs Maron was packing in recent years (themselves an improvement over his general lack of touring before that).
“I had a change of thinking,” Maron said of theaters, which he formerly derided as too impersonal. “When you’re doing a real theater, I realized you can use that space however you want. The best comedy is still done in places with low ceilings and tightly packed seats, where the (voice) amplification is so effortless you become one mind with the audience. It’s almost claustrophobic.
“But having that confidence and being aware of the space extends to theaters. I can still do it the way I want to do it. It helps that most of the people are there to see me, which is a relief. You’re in this respectable arena, and you’ve already done your training at the gym.”
Theaters are built to resonate, and so is Maron. As his profile has risen — from a cult alt-comic to a figurehead of 21st century stand-up — so has his confidence.
It was on display last month when he recorded the 613th episode of “WTF” in his garage with an unexpected (but welcome) guest, President Barack Obama. The frank conversation, which attracted controversy over in a discussion about racism, thrust Maron into a whole new level of notoriety.
Less political but no less nerve-wracking was last year’s Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival, a large-scale amphitheater tour sponsored by FunnyOrDie.com that featured comedy heavyweights , , Hannibal Buress and more.
Its was an unexpected highlight of the summer concert season, as was Maron’s nimble, commanding stand-up set, which probably also captured a few new fans.
“I’ve been doing comedy half my life, and sometimes I forget my skills,” said Maron, who admitted feeling nervous before taking the famous outdoor stage. “I knew with Red Rocks, I’d need to do bits with specific punchlines and endings, and wait longer for the laughs and pace myself and pay attention to my timing.
“But as I walked to the stage, I put all the awareness and wisdom into place, and I did my first joke, and I was like, ‘I get it.’ Five years ago, I was circling the drain, career-wise, and I had no real expectations even in my wildest dreams that this would go where it’s gone. So I’m incredibly grateful.”
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642, jwenzel@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnwenzel
MARC MARON: “THE MARONATION TOUR”
Stand-up comedy. 8 p.m. July 24, Boulder Theater; 8 p.m. July 25, Paramount Theatre. $29.50-$35. bouldertheater.com or altitudetickets.com.
