Comedian Daniel Sloss Returning to Dallas, 'One of My Top 3 Shows of My Last Tour'

Like most comedians during the pandemic, Daniel Sloss says he lost his "fucking mind a bit."

And like most good comedians who can see an opportunity even in a harrowing situation such as during global lockdowns, Sloss says he spent his pandemic time by finishing his book [Everyone You Hate is Going to Die], "put on a bunch of weight and smoked a bunch of weed."

Sloss also took the time to use the Earth-shaping events of the past two years to realize how he and his comedy could change. The result is his latest live comedy tour Hubris featuring Sloss and his friend and comedian Kai Humphries, which comes to The Majestic Theater on Friday, Nov. 19.

"I think everyone changed during the pandemic," Sloss says. "I don't think anyone went into the pandemic and came out the same fucking person. So much stuff happened: the Trump presidency turnover, George Floyd, so many global terrifying events happened over the year. I don't know if I've matured but I've definitely changed."

One major change is how he talks about himself and events such as the COVID-19 crisis.

"It's dated a lot of material. I would say, 'I was flying to Australia the other day.' No you fucking weren't. That's not true," he says of joke set-ups pre-travel restrictions. "It's such a weird thing to do jokes about COVID because people are so fucking sick of it. It's still ongoing and people don't want to talk about it."

Sloss says that over the summer he started rewriting and performing the adjusted material that took him all over the world. More people across the globe know about him and his comedy thanks to his presence on streaming services, which led to sold-out shows in countries as far as Australia and Spain, which he says was "insane." 

"I think one of the big advantages is it forced people to sit in their house and watch Netflix," Sloss says. "Even though the pandemic was shite, it forced people to watch Jigsaw."

Sloss has the rare ability to attract a wide variety of comedy fans that can transcend political, social or religious beliefs without shying away from difficult topics to mine for material.

"No matter where a country leans to politically, I'm going to find my audience there," Sloss says. "If it's left-wing or a right-leaning country, people come and see me. Some places are more sensitive about certain subjects. Certain places don't like sex-ed or birth control. That would be 'controversial' over there. I tend to find comedy is universal. Everyone likes to laugh and unless you're doing political stuff or local material, the material should be able to work anywhere."
Finding ways to approach new territory in his act isn't a challenge to Sloss. He says he feels like he owes it to the fans who follow him and the people affected by those topics.

"I'm a big advocate that you can make jokes about big subjects in any time," Sloss says. "Just bear in mind, you are bringing up the worst moment in somebody else's life. It doesn't mean you can't do jokes about it but just have to be aware of it. You can't be fucking shocked when you trivialize one of the worst moments of their life. What are you adding to the conversation? Is it clever or are you turning something on its head or just making fun of a group being beaten on? What are you using your jokes for?"

The last time Sloss was in Dallas was 2019 for his X tour, which eventually became the basis for his first HBO special. The set featured frank stories about some difficult moments from his life, and the audience hung on his every word.

"I really, really love Dallas," Sloss says. "It was one of my top three shows of my last tour. The gig really was fucking electric. I said to my agent, I could see myself filming a special here. I'm genuinely looking forward to it."