When an annual event like Comics Come Home delivers fresh and dazzling surprises on the regular, the added bombast just continues to celebrate the show’s still growing legacy. However, after 29 years at the forefront of nationally-recognized comedy fundraisers, it’s the mix of the cool, the new, and the tried and true that helped to celebrate what the show has accomplished over the course of nearly three full decades — and boy, did they let the good times roll this past weekend.
Returning to TD Garden this past Saturday (November 8), Denis Leary once again sounded the horns to gather both new and returning troops in support of The Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care, a cause that — as pointed out at the top of the show by the badass dynamic duo of Neely and his wife Paulina — has changed the lives of thousands of cancer patients and their families. The show itself has raised more than $15 million since its inception in 1995, with this year’s event adding just north of $1.5 million to that number.
Leading the charge alongside Leary and fellow CCH all-timer Lenny Clarke were some of comedy’s fiercest forces, including the legendary Conan O’Brien, the ever-unbeatable Michelle Buteau, the pure energy and showmanship of Sebastian Maniscalco, and Sarah Silverman’s diabolically crushing joke craftsmanship — all of which packed a punch in between the titanic bookend performances from Arlington’s Erin Maguire, who got the night started with gusto (and a flawless drunk Judy Garland impression) long before Medford’s own Robert Kelly (aka “Bobby Fuckin’ Kelly,” as introduced by Leary) set forth on a path of comedic destruction that left nothing but laughter and a few handfuls of almonds in his wake to close out his 12th go-around with the CCH gang.
Of course, the names that fill the marquee every year promise a killer show time and time again. But as with any recipe for success, it’s Leary’s attention to every detail that truly brings out the best in the show, as the Worcester native makes it a point to inject heavy doses of nostalgia, mutual respect for his colleagues, and by way of his backing band, The Enablers, sprinkle the raw power of rock and roll into the festivities (which O’Brien utilized as he picked up his white Stratocaster and delivered an even more locally-focused rendition of The Modern Lovers’ classic hit “Roadrunner”) in order to fully round out a night to remember every single year.
While every blistering performance that transpired over the course of the evening could be dissected with excruciating detail (which we won’t do out of respect for not burning an artist’s material, because that just sounds lame as hell), it would be an egregious oversight to not highlight the return of Lenny Clarke, the great and powerful Boston comedy statesman who has emphatically refused a massage from the cold hands of death more than once over the course of the past five years. Hobbled by a full leg cast after a gruesome injury following a jump from the Jaws bridge on Martha’s Vineyard, Clarke thought differently about wearing his customary brightly colored suit this year as he detailed a roller coaster medical history that has included two heart attacks, two strokes and a bumpy medevac ride since the pandemic, all with the same raspy, vulgar, and gleefully defiant demeanor he’s carried over more than 40 years in the biz. It’s like music to our ears. Long live Lenny.
It’s wild to think about how Leary and crew can top the last one with the next one, and yet, they always find a way to do just that, year in and year out. With the show’s 30th anniversary on the docket for 2026, who knows what they’ll come up with to usher in a new decade of dominance. It’s safe to assume, though, that the big 3-0 going to absolutely rip.
Perhaps Leary should consider wrapping Lenny in bubble wrap though, just to ensure that he keeps the streak alive.
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Before the show kicked off, and a monsoon of dick jokes, guitar riffs and a few well-timed jabs at the Karen Read trial filled TD Garden, Vanyaland had the distinct pleasure of chatting with a few of the comics on the lineup, and asked them in a few different ways what it meant to be a part of such an epic and game-changing event. Check out what they had to say below.
Jason Greenough: You’ve done this show for a more than a few years now. You’ve become as much of a fixture in the planning, it seems, as Denis and Lenny. Not only is that impressive, but you also continue to crush every single year. How does it feel to, first, be asked back every year, and then go out and murder every time?
Bobby Fuckin’ Kelly: I still panic. As soon as I get here, I start panicking because I know it’s coming. I still get ultra nervous, because it changes. I mean, c’mon. You’ve got Sebastian, Conan, Michelle, Sarah, all these people that are absolute killers, and I beg Denis every single year to not put me after them.
It seems like you get higher on the list every year, though. So Denis might be doing it on purpose now.
BFK: I don’t actually mind going up last, it’s totally cool. I love the fact that I get to do this for Cam. Every time I’m asked, I have that thought of ‘it’s Comics Come Home, of course I’d love to do it,’ but then you see all the things that Cam and his family do for this, and then I’m just grateful that I got to be a part of it once, never mind coming back every year. It’s surreal. It won’t hit me until the day after, where I think about being able to do that again, and, like, how I’m friends with Cam. I know his kids, ya know what I mean? I just walked through the Celtics locker room. It’s just insane.
Being a native of Massachusetts, coming from Brookline, how does it feel to be able to come back home in this capacity and do what you do for a cause like this?
Conan O’Brien: It never feels right. I mean, I associate my life in Boston with being in grade school, high school, and college, and just being so hungry to make an impression in any way. Then you come back to an event like this, and you’re in a room with these men and women, and talking to them about comedy and screwing around, then realizing ‘oh, wait. I guess I’m one of these people.’ It’s a lovely feeling, really. It just comes with age, I think. You settle into ‘well, this is nice!’
I used to think if I could be in this business for five minutes, I would be thrilled. Here I am 40 years later, it’s crazy to think about.
That’s what it’s all about. Not to mention, you’ve made quite a name for yourself, I’d say.
CO’B: I really hope so!
As soon as we saw your name on this lineup, the first thought was ‘they have the not-so-secret weapon.’ You have Sebastian, Conan, Sarah, Erin, Bobby. The lineup is always insane, yet we know you’re going to murder. What’s the vibe with being a part of a lineup like this, especially as one of the top names?
Michelle Buteau: It feels good, it feels right. It feels like people are going to get a good, well-rounded show. I do think like I am some sort of secret weapon, because the demographic for show like this may not necessarily be my demo, but at this point, my demo is just humanity.
So, let’s rock and roll. Hopefully I can make people laugh, and get them to donate to this cause. Make ’em laugh, warm ’em up, and get their pussies nice and wet, you know what I mean?