A Grippy Sock Vacation with Rachel Kaly
Bottlerocket Social Hall Owner Chris Copen chats with the New York comedian about her return to Bottlerocket Social Hall and her mentally chaotic hour of comedy.
Grab your grippy socks, Pittsburgh! Join us in welcoming RACHEL KALY back to the Steel City! The New York comic made her Bottlerocket debut opening up for Conner O’Malley in December of 2022, and now she's bringing her new hour-long set to the wood paneling!
Rachel began doing stand-up as a kid in Brooklyn and has been chasing the high of a brief 3-second appearance on Conan ever since. Her craziest idea yet is coming to Pittsburgh, and this is a hilarious show you do not want to miss.
Rachel’s show, “Hospital Hour,” explores her unique journey with mental health and will come to Bottlerocket’s stage on Saturday, March 2nd. Bottlerocket owner Chris Copen (CC) had the opportunity to sit down with Rachel (RK) and talk about her upcoming show, powerful relationships, and her feisty new podcast.
CC: How would you describe your show to someone who doesn’t know you or hasn’t seen your stuff?
RK: It’s kind of an hour-long stand-up show, but also technically a one-person show. It’s not just stand-up; it’s some storytelling that’s basically just my life story of why I am so weird. It’s funny, but it’s very dark. It’s kind of my magnum opus, and I don’t think I’ll ever make something like it again. People are loving it, the reviews are in. It’s a hit. It’s a vulnerable show, and it’s very personal. I think people can relate to it. Or not relate to it and just be shocked.
CC: We had you here opening for Conner O’Malley, how was that expereince for you?
RK: Amazing. He’s so nice and funny. His audiences are literally down for whatever, so I wasn’t like “Are these people going to fucking hate me?” I saw him when I was younger in Brooklyn, I feel like there’s no question he was an influence.
Rachel is hitting some familiar spots on her headlining tour and said Bottlerocket was one of the standout venues she performed at in the past.
RK: I’m going back to a few other places that I toured with Conner. It’s nice to have been to some of those places, but Bottlerocket was definitely one of the best. It felt like Brooklyn.
Rachel has worked this show around the country with faces familiar to the Bottlerocket stage, like Conner O’Malley, Mitra Jouhari, Mekki Leeper, and Joe Mande, as well as other big names like Tim Heidecker and Rory Scovel.
Rachel also works closely with Brooklyn-born comic Robby Hoffman, who headlined Bottlerocket in February 2023. The two work as podcast co-hosts on their show “Too Far,” a show dedicated to talking shit, which started in July of that same year.
CC: Between Conner and your podcast with Robby, do you like surrounding yourself with strong personalities?
RK: It’s so interesting, it would seem so. I think I can adapt and I am good at that. I think of myself as someone with a strong personality, at least in my own work. Particuarly with Robby it is funny to be up against her and feel very small. With Conner, it’s a lot of inspiration and bouncing off each other. It just makes me better.
CC: When Robby was here she talked to my girlfriend and I for an hour about why we need a cleaner for our house. Shes never been to our house. She was very adamant and we almost got one, the conversation changed our whole mindset.
RK: It’s incredible what shes able to get people to do.
Rachel said upon meeting Robby, she knew they had a toxic chemistry they needed to follow, leading to them doing live shows together and, ultimately, the “Too Far” podcast.
CC: One of my favorite things about the podcast is how some guests are very freaked out by your dynamic.
RK: Yeah, we just had my mom on, and she was sort of like, “Robbie, you can’t talk to my kid like that.” We just had Carmen Christopher on, and he and Robbie had a fight, and I was kind of being a mediator. I think that’s what's fun about our podcast; it’s not two people being friendly and whatever because we’re not so friendly.
Experience the funny side of a mental health crisis for yourself at Bottlerocket on March 2nd! Tickets for this event are going fast, so grab yours before they’re gone! You can get your ticket to this wildly unique, one-woman stand-up performance HERE!