Jerry Seinfeld delights sold-out Salt Lake City audience with tales about nothing

It really mostly was about nothing.

But that nothingness from Jerry Seinfeld delighted a sold-out audience at Abravanel Hall on Thursday night.

"How do you take the excitement of living here all the time?" Seinfeld asked after taking the stage for his 1-hour, 20-minute show.

The superstar comedian didn't use Utah as the punchline for any jokes, with the closest coming at the end when he asked, "Where are the Mormons drinking tonight? That's what I want to know."

He did say he had been in Salt Lake City for two days and "people are nice. The city is beautiful."

He instead spent his time tackling ordinary topics in his typical way. He poked fun at everyday things in life, like energy drinks — "If you need five hours of energy, go to bed" — texting instead of calling someone, public bathrooms, tuxedos and the post office.

Then he shared some about his family, but even that served as springboard to laughs at the expense of relationships.

"You don't have a wife, you're playing wiffleball. You're playing paintball and I'm in Afghanistan."

He raised his voice a couple of octaves multiple times to stress a point in a story, something he was famous for doing on his hit show bearing his name.

There also was an ongoing battle with the spotlight, where he was left outside its glow and seemed annoyed after it happened multiple times. But he even turned that frustration into laughs, saying he'd point in the direction he planned to walk and hope the operator could keep up with a 61-year-old.

He left the stage to a standing ovation 70 minutes into the show, only to return immediately.

"What a wonderful Salt Lake City experience this was," he said. Then he invited the audience to ask questions.

The first question was about Larry David, and if Seinfeld had any plans with David, a writer and producer for the show "Seinfeld," which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1998.

Jerry deadpanned, "Get lunch," before saying they didn't have any plans for another show.

The next question came from the balcony, where he was asked what advice he had for a stand-up comedian just getting started.

"I'd recommend working from the stage," he said with a laugh. He offered some insight before saying, "It looks like a lot of fun at this point," then he paused. "It's not."

In between the shouts of "I love you, Jerry" came a compliment on his web show "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," and the final question was about the inspiration for the final episode of "Seinfeld."

"We wanted to have a giant reunion," he said about the final episode, then suggested he and the audience do the same before he left the stage for good.

—

Jerry Seinfeld

The comic plays to a full house.

Where • Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City

When • Thursday, Jan. 14