Lynch, who replaced comedian Zach Galifianakis on Program Board’s schedule in August, already canceled shows on Oct. 8, 9, Thursday and Saturday while spending the week with his family in nearby Saginaw.

“I couldn’t blow you guys off, because you’re an hour from where my mom lives,” Lynch said, “and Zach (Galifianakis) already blew you guys off.”

According to The Saginaw News, Lynch’s father, Leo, died Oct. 9.

But that did not stop Lynch from singing about AIDS testing, throwing stools, impersonating Lewis Black and climbing on a fan’s chair Friday.

Touring in promotion for his album “3 Balloons,” released in March, Lynch took the stage at 8:10 p.m. in front of an enthusiastic Finch Fieldhouse crowd.

“There was definitely around 1,000,” said Pinconning junior Crysta Heckman, comedy chairwoman for Program Board. “We set up eleven hundred chairs, and they were almost all full.”

In addition to performing musical comedy with his acoustic guitar, Lynch also played a keyboard and took a moment to impersonate Galifianakis and his piano-accompanied stand-up.

The final song of the main set was a piano-fueled ode to Lynch’s wife’s breasts, accompanied with a video and photo montage of women’s breasts. Interspersed in them were images of Morgan Freeman, an octopus doing karate and Jeff Daniels, all of which were running jokes during the show.

“It makes them funnier, I think,” Lynch said. “If I had just flashed Morgan Freeman, it wouldn’t be funny, but put him between some boobs? Hilarious!”

Singing about AIDS testing, throwing stools, impersonating Lewis Black and climbing on a fan’s chair only begins to describe the insanity of Stephen Lynch’s show Friday.

Touring in promotion for his album “3 Balloons,” which was released in March, Lynch took the stage at 8:10 p.m. in front of an enthusiastic Finch Fieldhouse crowd.

“There was definitely around one thousand,” said Pinconning junior Crysta Heckman, comedy chairwoman for Program Board. “We set up eleven hundred chairs, and they were almost all full.”

Lynch played the show, despite cancelling shows on Oct. 8, 9, 15 and 17. Due to a family emergency, he spent the week with his family in Saginaw. According to The Saginaw News, Lynch’s father, Leo, died Oct. 9.

“I couldn’t blow you guys off, because you’re an hour from where my mom lives, and Zach (Galifianakis) already blew you guys off,” Lynch said.

In addition to performing musical comedy with his acoustic guitar, Lynch also played a keyboard, and took a
moment to impersonate Galifianakis and his piano-accompanied stand-up.

The final song of the main set was a piano-fueled ode to Lynch’s wife’s breasts, accompanied with a video
and photo montage of women’s breasts. Interspersed in the bosoms were images of Morgan Freeman, an
octopus doing karate, and Jeff Daniels, all of which were running jokes during the show.

“It makes them funnier, I think,” Lynch said. “If I had just flashed Morgan Freeman, it wouldn’t be funny, but put him between some boobs? Hilarious!”

Lynch was joined on this and other songs throughout the night by David Josephburg and Rod Cohen. Both tour with Lynch, and Cohen is a friend of Lynch’s from their college days at Western Michigan University.

Lynch said he was unaware of the football game between Central Michigan University and WMU the day after
his performance until a few hours before the show. Although he made mention of it onstage, Lynch said he
was not a football fan, and was not emotionally invested in the rivalry.

“If you hadn’t told me there was a game, I never would have known,” Lynch said. “And I still don’t care.”

After joking throughout the performance about a dream about being Prince he said he had the night before, Lynch ended his encore by singing the musician’s “Purple Rain” with Cohen and Josephburg.

During the song, he ran into the crowd,grabbing and teasing people near the aisle, and climbing onto the
back of Alma College junior Morgan Valko’s chair.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, Stephen Lynch is touching me!’” said Valko, a Goodrich native.

Valko said this was the second time she had seen Lynch, and enjoyed his show just as much as the first time.

Western Michigan graduate student Joey Norcross said he loved the entire show, and his favorite song was
“Dirty Sanchez,” which Lynch performed with Josephburg.

“I laughed the entire time, my stomach hurt,” Norcross said.

Lynch previously performed at CMU in 2005, and sarcastically gushed about how much better that first show was.

“Oh, four years ago was a much better crowd,” Lynch said. “It was night and day. No, it was great both
years, and I did a completely different show.”

Lynch said he will return to his tour next week, including an Oct. 24 show at Carnegie Hall, his first ever at the venue.

Three Leaves Drive from Denison Drive to Deerfield Road is closed to thru traffic today through Sunday. McGuirk Sand and Gravel will replace a storm sewer across the street. Any questions can be directed to the Division of Public Works at 779-5401.

Stephen Lynch

Music comedian Stephen Lynch will perform stand-up comedy at 8 p.m. today at Finch Fieldhouse. Lynch is well known for his performances on Comedy Central Presents. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for the general public. Central Michigan University’s Program Board is sponsoring the performance. For more information, contact the University Central Box Office at 774-3000.

Disabilities Awareness

A Disabilities Awareness Fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Finch Fieldhouse Room 110. This is the highlight of the university’s effort to increase disability awareness during the month of October. The comprehensive and interactive event will include a disability-related film series, therapy dogs, musical and theatrical performances and displays, health screenings, concessions and more. Handicapped parking will be available. There will be 50 vendors and advocacy groups. Admission is free. For more information, contact Beth Kennedy at 774-2726.

American Experience

Join WCMU, The Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers and The Mackinaw Area Historical Society from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Mackinaw Crossings’ Courtyard Cinema in Mackinaw City. There will be free refreshments and a free screening of American Experience “The Great Fever” at the Courtyard Cinema. The film discusses yellow fever, and local health officials will be on hand to discuss preparedness for disease in local communities. For more information, contact Sarah Adams at 774-1539.

Permanent Collection

Permanent Collection will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. today and Saturday in Moore Hall’s Bush Theatre. It was written by Thomas Gibbons and directed by Steve Berglund. It is a Barrymore Award winner and an intellectually charged drama exploring art, truth and prejudice. “Permanent Collections is searing examination of racial politics that ultimately asks how much space — literally and figuratively — the White world gives to African Americans,” said Peter Gibbons of Playscripts Inc. “What is the cost of failing to view the world through another’s eyes?” Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. For more information, call the University Central Box Office 774-3000.

Blood Drive

The Central Michigan University versus Western Michigan University Blood Battle hosted by the American Red Cross continues. Students interested in donating today can stop by the Emmons Hall lobby between 11 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. Students 17 and older are eligible, provided they weigh more than 110 pounds and are in good general health, among other conditions.

Choral Concert

Central Michigan University choirs, including Chamber Singers, Women’s Chorus and Concert Choir will perform works of American Folk Tunes from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the Music Building’s Staples Family Music Hall. The event is open to the public.

Diwali

Celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, begins at midnight and runs until 11:59 p.m. Saturday. It is hosted by the Central Michigan University Multicultural Center and symbolizes the human urge to move toward the light. Gift exchanges traditionally take place and festive meals are typically provided, along with fireworks. For more information, contact Ulana Klymyshyn at 774-7318.

The show is at 8 p.m. Friday in Finch Fieldhouse.

Lynch’s publicist, Nicole Catrini of Sarah Hall Productions, said Lynch had to cancel two recent shows due to family emergencies, but the show at Central Michigan University was not affected.

Scheduled shows for last Thursday and Friday in Pheonix, Ariz. and Reno, Nev. were rescheduled for Jan. 8 and 9, respectively.

Crysta Heckman, comedy chairwoman for Program Board, said she is hopeful for Friday’s show and has received a lot of enthusiastic feedback for Lynch’s performance.

“I know when he was here last time, he was a big hit and he was really popular,” said the Pinconning junior. “When I did my survey of the student body of comedians they wanted to see last fall, he was in the top three.”

A popular fallback

Program Board President and Muskegon junior David Breed said everybody involved with the show on Program Board is a Lynch fan, and the group contacted him immediately when comedian Zach Galifianakis canceled this summer.

“After Zach canceled, Stephen Lynch was the first person we turned to, to see if he wanted to do the show,” Breed said. “I’ve been listening to him back since my freshman year of high school. My favorite song would probably be ‘Lullaby.’”

Heckman said even though tickets are $10 for students and $20 for general public, the prices are considerably cheaper than are typical for a Stephen Lynch show.

“The average ticket price for him is $50 to $60 for his normal show,” Heckman said. “Even though we are charging, we’re charging a fifth of the price most people would charge for a show like this.”

Students excited

Sophomore Ali Brady, who shares Lynch’s hometown of Saginaw, said she only recently heard Lynch’s comedy and was surprised by what she heard when the unassuming-looking Lynch began to sing.

“He just sat down with an acoustic guitar and started saying dirty things,” Brady said.

As an interesting twist to the event, Lynch, who graduated from Western Michigan University in 1993, will be performing the day before CMU’s football team takes on WMU in Kalamazoo.

Shepherd sophomore Luke Dille said he would expect Lynch to make a joke about it, and possibly some heckling from the audience back at him.

“I think Stephen Lynch is the kind of guy that would make a joke about it,” Dille said.

Breed said when the show was booked, Program Board was not aware of the coincidence.

“Initially, I don’t think anybody realized that it was going to be the day before,” Breed said. “I had never heard that he had went there. It was more the irony of it. We weren’t too worried about it.”

Bringing entertainment, however, comes at a cost.

With a $37,000 price tag for Stephen Lynch to replace comedian Zach Galifianakis, who was set to receive $40,000, Program Board has to be prepared to shell out bigger dollar amounts for performers.

Although Program Board keeps all profits from tickets, the profits generally only make up for the cost of the event, if that.

“In order to bring these folks to campus, of course there is a dollar amount to it,” Coordinator of Student Activities Damon Brown said. “We don’t try to gouge students but, at the same time, Program Board has a financial responsibility as well. We try to find a ticket price that allows us to break even or as close as possible.

“We aren’t trying to make a profit, but (we have to figure out) how much are we comfortable with losing.”

Brown said Program Board is allotted $290,000 to spend on entertainment, encompassing comedians, musical acts, movies and any other events they organize. The money comes from the Central Programming Fund, money put aside specifically for entertainment on campus.

Brown said for each event brought to campus, Program Board has to pay all costs for the entertainment and production costs, which sometimes can cost as much as the performer itself.

Program Board President and Muskegon junior Dave Breed said the group could probably make back what it pays for some entertainment by charging more for admission, but members do not feel good about forcing students to pay more than they have to.

Bigger acts

Breed and Brown said many students ask for big acts but, with a $290,000 budget, the group cannot do so without raising ticket prices or drastically reducing the amount of entertainment.

“It’s tough to find the right fit,” Breed said. “Students want to see the cost low.”

In an interview with Central Michigan Life in July, Kyle Dysarz, the student assembly chairman for Associated Students of Michigan State University, said their aim is much like Program Board’s because they don’t look to make money.

“We (see it as) investing (the students) money,” Dysarz said. “We look to take a hit and not make revenue.”

Brown said because East Lansing is such a different demographic and can have events at the Breslin Center, it is tough to compare the entertainment MSU brings to the entertainment CMU brings.

Although the bigger shows at CMU usually cost between $40,000 and $50,000, Brown said Program Board still keeps ticket prices relatively inexpensive for students. He said lectures are set up differently.

“We don’t charge for lectures and so that’s one of those things (where) we bring somebody to campus (for) $20,000 to $25,000 and that’s gone. There’s no money coming back from that,” Brown said.

Brown said each year, the group goes through the budget to figure out how much each chair will get ­— the concert and comedy chairs usually get most of the money.

Lobbying for more

Student Government Association President Jason Nichol said increasing the Central Programming Fund, where Program Board’s budget comes from, is one of his primary goals this year.

“This is one of my pet projects, to get more money for these groups,” the Mount Pleasant senior said. “What we’re planning on doing is every Board (of Trustees) meeting we’re doing, we ask for more money. We are trying to stress the vitality and the importance of programming on CMU’s campus. One of the things we stress is the retention rate of freshmen.”

The Central Programming Fund has appropriated $800,000 a year to fund Program Board, Greek Life, registered student organizations and other organizations that bring programming and events to campus.

“Unfortunately, costs go up, it’s as simple as minimum wage going up and things like that,” Nichol said. “So the amount of programming these groups can do is progressively less and less.”

Comedian Stephen Lynch will replace comedian Zach Galifianakis for his originally scheduled show.

Lynch last performed at Central Michigan University in spring 2005 at Finch Fieldhouse.

Program Board was in charge of deciding Galifianakis and Lynch, and President Dave Breed said they wanted Lynch to come back for some time.

“It just came right on,” the Muskegeon junior said. “Four years was a long time ago and it was a popular act. He’s come up with new things lately.”

Lynch is famous for his politically incorrect songs. When he last came to CMU in Feb. 2005, he sang about such topics as his ugly baby, Jesus’ little-known brother Craig Christ and New York City cab drivers. Lynch’s most recent CD is titled ‘3 Balloons.’

Breed said after they found out Galifianakis would be unable to perform at CMU because he is filming a movie, they immediately contacted Lynch.

“He was the first we contacted and he was available,” Breed said.

Galifianakis was set to make $40,000 for his performance, but Breed said he was unable to talk about the contract between CMU and Lynch.

Breed said they are planning on this being a big performance.

“(We want to get) pretty close to selling out. With as popular as he is, and there being 3,500 seats in Finch, our goal is to get close to that,” he said.

Breed is not sure exactly when students will be able to buy tickets or how much they will cost.