Comedian Eric O’Shea Delivers Humorous Set

Award-winning comedian Eric O’Shea hit the ARMAH stage in the Lane University Center on September 10.  University Programming Council welcomed him with open arms and great hospitality.  The Connecticut native has over four million hits on YouTube, and has since received attention from Mr. Steven Spielberg.  O’Shea’s “Songs for Commercials” prompted a “RAVE” review from Spielberg.  O’Shea has been performing at various college campuses for over 13 years, after impressing a crowd at an open mic night in New York City.  Since the start of his comic success, O’Shea has appeared on ABC, Disney, VH1, NBC, the Emmy’s, and Sirius XM.  He has been nominated six times as Campus Activities Magazine’s Male Performer of the Year, having won the award in 2007.

As usual, the guest commented on our small, mountainous college town, noting that it felt like the clouds were hitting his car.  He immediately saw soccer fields and squirrels flagging him down the many one way streets.

O’Shea focused on various common college topics.  First off, are you single? Don’t you worry.  Sprawl out on your spacious mattress and enjoy life.  Or, follow O’Shea’s accurate imitation of a lonely, single adult by cuddling a pillow and crying.  Whether single or taken, fear not.  O’Shea pointed out that we are, in fact, the last “cool” generation.  As children, we were beaten with wooden spoons and raised tough.  Lucky for us, he noted, we made it to adulthood before the super weird, alteration-of-common-name-pronunciations era.

The highly energetic college show included multiple impressions such as O’Shea’s noticeably famous Elmo voice.  The entire crowd “awed” and heart-eye emoji-ed their way straight back to childhood.  O’Shea also amused the audience with the voices of his three year old niece, the stereotypical mother, the high-pitched people of the 1940’s, and our ancestors who would probably be “pissed at us for complaining about being chilly” – while they had to travel over millions of potholes in their covered wagons.  Another hilarious impersonation included O’Shea acting as an infomercial salesman for Fart Away.  His entertaining accuracy could easily persuade potential buyers.

Last in the set, but most definitely not least, was O’Shea’s famous “Songs for Commercials” performance.  He created this act while attempting to combine his broadcasting background with comedy.  The spot-on music usage for various products can be found on both his website and YouTube channel (Eric Oshea).  Some crowd favorites from his Frostburg performance included the pairings of tequila and “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus; car insurance and “Collide” by Howie Day; Nyquil and “Enter Sandman” by Metallica; pregnancy tests and “Le Freak” by Chic; and Viagra and “You Raise Me Up” by Secret Garden.

O’Shea closed the night by asking that, as students and young adults, we just “try everything in life!”  He challenged the crowd to keep moving forward.  This advice pointed out that no one else is worried about what we, as individuals, are doing.  He stated, “Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player of all-time, but did you really think of him all that much today? Not really.”  Do whatever makes YOU happy!

Featured images belong to Emily Michael/TBL.