The atmosphere at a Tape Face show is infectious—before the craziness even ensues, Face’s “assistant” Phyllis Vanillis walks slowly onstage, moving various boxes while stopping to stare at the crowd, occasionally winking or waving. She also lays down the ground rules for the evening: Tape Face will be selecting audience members at random as part of his show; if and when you are selected, play along—don’t be a jerk. (The actual word she uses is a bit more colorful, but this is a family magazine!)

You quickly realize how integral audience participation is to a Tape Face show. During the course of his 60-or-so minutes onstage, he selects more than a dozen “volunteers” by quickly pacing up and down the aisles of Harrah’s Cabaret and pointing to his selection. Once the selectees take the stage, they’re guided to a hand-sanitizing station by Phyllis and greeted by a one-liner. (“Are you Wi-Fi? ’Cause I’m sensing a connection!)

Then it’s all in Tape Face’s capable hands. As he reaches into his bag of tricks, you never know what will emerge. It might be a tape measure; it might be a hair dryer; it might be a fly swatter. Most times you will not see the punchline until the very last second, but when it hits you, it hits hard. As funny as the bits themselves are, often it’s the reactions of Tape Face’s volunteers that provide the most laughs.

He also has solo bits, many of which will be familiar to America’s Got Talent fans who watched him become a star in real time. But whether he’s performing alone or with an audience member, there’s one common thread: Pure, unbridled enjoyment, a realization that, no matter how different our views may be, at heart we all just want to enjoy life’s simple pleasures. Need proof? As you’re batting balloons around at the end of the show, we dare you to not have the biggest smile ever on your face.

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