Matteo Lane Said “We Gotta Catch Up!” So OUTtv Did.

Okay first things first, how do you even stay sane doing this?

Matteo Lane: I don’t drink, I don’t do any drugs, I don’t party. Travelling takes so much out of you. When I’m home in New York, I go to the gym, eat normal food, play Fortnite with friends. Things that keep me feeling routine-oriented.

On the road I try and preserve all my energy for the show. My opener and I are usually friends, so we’ll figure out dinner or go to the gym together. But once the show’s done, you’re so tired you just go back to the hotel and crash, then wake up at 6am and do it again.

I’ve been doing this almost 19 years so I kind of blackout at airports now. Nothing’s a surprise. Clear check, here’s my ID, everything in the bag, Delta Lounge, get on the plane. I even recognize the same flight attendants at this point. We’ll just look at each other like, oh, you again.

Okay but what are you eating at the Delta Lounge, be honest.

Matteo Lane: The eggs, but sometimes I get there and I become like a snooty Bridgerton woman. “These eggs are powdered. They’re not real eggs.” What blows my mind is that coffee is bad everywhere unless you’re at an actual coffee shop. Like, why can’t drip coffee just taste fine?

You've toured internationally too. Does the humor land differently depending on where you are?

Matteo Lane: Not so much queer humor specifically, but humor in general. British and Australian audiences are the most similar to American, same references, same language. But in Italy, they clap more than they laugh. My friend Francesco DeCaro, who’s also Italian, notices the same thing. I think to them it’s more theatre-esque. They’re showing you they appreciate you, just differently.

Amsterdam, they’re more withholden. Spain was shockingly good, one of the best audiences I’ve ever had, in Madrid. Ireland I fell in love with. Helsinki I was genuinely shocked by how connected they were. Vienna, they’re a bit more reserved but happy to see you.

South America is next on my list. I’m going to Mexico City for the first time, which I’m excited about. My grandfather’s Mexican, and I have a lot of fans there. I just don’t know yet what touring looks like there.

Your material feels really personal and specifically you. Where does that come from?

Matteo Lane: I didn’t see a gay man do stand-up until I was 23. Not in a movie, not improv, not sketch, stand-up specifically. I knew Mario Cantone existed but none of it was accessible to me. There was no Instagram, no internet the way there is now. So by the time I got on stage, it felt like a real chance to celebrate being gay.

For most of my career I was performing in front of people who had no idea what it meant to be gay. I’m talking Dayton, Ohio, 12 people, no one bought tickets to see me, just doing a favor for the club. I had to make them laugh. That shapes how you write. You spend 15 years building a bridge and then you realize, oh, laughter actually works. If someone comes to my show and the only gay person they’ve ever known is from a Fox News headline, and then they laugh for an hour, the next time they think of a gay person, they’ll think of that. Not the headline. That’s not curing cancer, but it’s something.

You seem really confident on stage. Is that just who you are or did that take time?

Matteo Lane: I’m still insecure! I was 125 pounds, balding, not in the gay scene at all. I was just in basements with other comics doing open mics.

I built my confidence on stage by being funny. Being appreciated for my humor and my creativity. And then eventually I got a personal trainer and a hair transplant, so you know. Things happen.

But the confidence on stage is like… I have this aunt, Aunt Cindy. She’s an incredibly strong Mexican woman from Chicago who helped raise me. Just someone who knew exactly who she was. Exuded confidence. I never had that growing up, I was made fun of terribly in middle school and high school. On stage I kind of channel her. And if I have jokes that I’ve worked out over a year and I know they work, that gives me strength too. If I went up unprepared, I’d be a mess. But if I’ve put the reps in, I feel ready.

So how does this tour feel compared to previous ones?

Matteo Lane: Much more conversational. Much lighter. Every night it feels like I’m sitting at brunch just chatting with my friends. I really like this hour. When you’ve been touring a set for a year or two, some jokes in your head you’re like, I have to say this again? But this one, it’s still fun for me every night.

What are you doing right before you go on stage?

Matteo Lane: I have Samara Joy playing, me and my opener are just hanging out, I’m going through Instagram. I always have raspberries in the green room, it’s my favorite fruit. That’s it. I’m not meditating or doing anything elaborate. I want the whole thing to feel conversational, like you’re just there to hang out with a friend. So I keep that energy backstage too.

Last one, what do you want people walking out of the show feeling?

Matteo Lane:

I just want them to laugh. Life is hard right now. The anxiety collectively is at an all time high. People wake up and immediately the news is devastating and they feel helpless.

I hope for one hour they’re on a little vacation. You don’t have to think about work, the world, your problems, your family. Just laugh.

When I was younger and gay and struggling, if I didn’t have Kathy Griffin, Joan Rivers, Margaret Cho, I truly don’t know what I would’ve done. I just needed someone to take me away from my own internal struggle. If I can be that for someone for an hour, that’s everything.